03-07 Iran

It is difficult to analyze Iran unless you get immersed in Iran politics. Starting with the takeover of the state by religious fundamentalists in 1979. Shi’ite Muslims. That is when their Ayatollah at the time was predicting that Iran would have a population of 150 million. Raw power.
Then women were having more than 5 children on average. This has dropped today to 1.7. Iran’s population of 82.7 million is declining at the rate of about 1.2 % a year at present. Love the photo of the young Iranian girls.
Again, you have to get into Iranian politics to understand what is going on. Iran, with ambitions to have nuclear weapons, is under strict US sanctions on its exports of crude oil and on badly needed foreign investment.
The threat that Iran poses as a nuclear power is to the State of Israel, a strategic ally of the US in the Middle East.
The result has been a massive decline in the value of its currency, the Rial. The photo shows the value of the Rial in a range of foreign currencies.
Back to population issues. Iran like all the nations of the world that are facing population declines has embarked on a program to encourage larger families. Nothing new here. New rules on maternity leave, special health provisions and so on. But like every developed nation facing a decline in population, these special incentives just do not work.
Something more significant having on the lives of women everywhere as they become more affluent and independent. Better educated, living in cities and having choices. It all ads up to smaller families.
The special Iranian problem is the economic hardship in the nation linked to US sanctions. Today, as well, societies are facing economic decline and hardship linked to the pandemic. For Iran, it is a double whammy.
Iranians, I have known in the Toronto, speak of their nation with great affection. One of the oldest civilizations in the world. And Tehran, its capital, one of the most beautiful cities of the world.