Country Profile - Iran, Islamic Republic of
Region: Middle East
Population: 79,109,000
Percent of population in urban areas: 72
Source: Population figures from the United Nation Population Division
Grain Production, Imports, Exports (metric tons), and Availability (grams/capita/day)
| Domestic Production | Grain Imports | Grain Exports | Flour Imports | Flour Exports | Available in food supply | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 9,304,246 | 4,388,441 | 5,939 | 4,389,865 | 325,844 | 420 |
| Maize | 1,851,999 | 4,005,482 | 11 | 4,006,653 | 4,440 | 7 |
| Rice | 2,449,995 | 2,180,127 | 1,309 | 2,309,532 | 6,286 | 82 |
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations using 2013 data, the last year with all data available.
Notes: Rice production is paddy rice. Import and export figures include husked and milled rice.
Legislation, Milling Industry, and Fortification
| Legislation | Number of industrial mills (>20 metric tons/day) | % flour/rice produced in industrial mills | % industrially milled flour/rice that is fortified | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat | Mandatory | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Maize | 0 | 0 | ||
| Rice | 0 | 0 |
Source: FFI database. See how we got this information.
Nutrients Added Through Fortification (parts per million)
| Minerals | B Vitamins | Vitamin A | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron | Type of Iron | Zinc | Folic Acid | B12 | Niacin | Riboflavin | Thiamin | ||
| Wheat | 30 | Ferrous Sulfate | 1.5 | ||||||
| Maize | |||||||||
| Rice | |||||||||
Source: FFI database. See how we got this information.
Neural Tube Defects, Anemia Data, and Zinc Intake
| Neural tube defects per 10,000 births1 | % Anemia in non-pregnant women of reproductive age2 | % Anemia in pre-school children3 | % Population at risk of inadequate zinc intake4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 28 | 32 | 23.2 |
1Source: The International Centre on Birth Defects - ICBDSR Centre. International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research, Annual Report 2014 with data for 2012.
Note: This figure may not include pregnancy loss or terminations of pregnancies due to pre-natal diagnosis of a neural tube defect. With all folic acid interventions in place, the birth prevalence of neural tube defects would be about 6 per 10,000. Contact us at info@ffinetwork.org to see if information on neural tube birth defects is available on a city or regional level.
2Source: - WHO. The global prevalence of anemia in 2011. Geneva: World Health Organization: 2015.
Note: Anemia can be caused by many things. Fortifying flour and rice can reduce the risk of anemia caused by nutritional deficiencies. The classification of anemia as a public health problem, according to the World Health Organization, Global Prevalence of Anemia in 2011, is:
≤4.9% No public health problem
5.0-19.9% Mild public health problem
20.0-39.9% Moderate public health problem
≥40.0% Severe public health problem
3Source: - WHO. The global prevalence of anemia in 2011. Geneva: World Health Organization: 2015.
Note: Pre-school children are usually defined as ages 6-59 months.
4Source: - Wessells KR, Brown KH. Estimating the global prevalence of zinc deficiency: results based on zinc availability in national food supplies and the prevalence of stunting. PloS One 2012; 7: e50568.
Note: Zinc is needed for optimal child health and physical growth and normal pregnancy outcomes. If the probability of inadequate zinc intake is greater than 25%, it is considered an elevated public health concern, according to Conclusions of the Joint WHO/UNICEF/IAEA/IZiNCG Interagency Meeting on Zinc Status Indicators.