Iran’s economy must follow a fixed system in accordance with its constitution. This system classifies the Iranian economy into the following sectors: a) State, b) Co-operative, and c) Private. - The State sector: - This sector includes major large-scale industries, financial industries, metallurgical and mining industries, energy generation plants, foreign business, irrigation projects, Radio, television, post and telegraphs, telephones, roads, railways and various other organizations providing infrastructure. All of these industries are government owned and are managed by the administration. In the last few years almost 80% of Iran’s state owned organizations were privatized.
- The Co-operative sector: - This is another important part of Iran’s economy. It plays an important role in boosting the economy since there are almost one hundred and fifty thousand co-operative organizations operating in different business segments in urban and rural areas of Iran. These co-operatives have their own boards that are governed by the rules and regulations of the government of Iran.
- The Private sector: - In the last few years Iran has begun to understand the importance of the private sector in relation to the globalization of business in other parts of the world. In order to keep up with global trends, the government of Iran has made the necessary amendments to the constitution in an effort to allow for privatization of some of the ailing state owned enterprises and has welcomed foreign investments for further growth.
Private sector industries in Iran operate mostly in the areas of food processing and packaging, real estate business, carpet manufacturing, trade, and services required for government owned or co-operative sector enterprises. Oil and Gas industry Iran is thought to hold around ten percent of the world’s total oil resources. At the same time, Iran’s available natural gas is believed to be sufficiently abundant to make Iran the second country in the world in natural gas resources. This is why petroleum product exports account for 80% of the total commodities exported from Iran. Today the revenue generated from petroleum exports accounts for almost 60% of the country’s budget. The oil and gas industry has enabled Iran to steadily strengthen its economy following the country’s war with Iraq, though it took considerable time to rebuild its big oil refineries, which were destroyed during the war. Other industries that are major contributors in generating revenue and providing employment are the construction industry, manufacturing and mining industry. |
