18.7% of Iran's population is currently below the poverty line. Iran also has an unemployment rate of around 11.8% of its population. The poverty rate significantly died down around the 1990's and 2000's, especially between 1998 and 2005, when the poverty rate went down by about 20% (the rate went from 33.50% to 13.60%). But it unfortunately started rising again after 2013.
Sanctions Affecting Iran
The United states has led international efforts ever since 1979 to impose sanctions on Iran to influence their policies, such as their uranium enrichment program (images below). These sanctions have taken a toll on their economy and people, but more specifically, Iran's $483 billion, oil-dominant economy, making it harder to export their oil (production graph on left). This creates an effect that makes it harder for Iran to obtain specialized materials for their nuclear program. This also affects the people's wages, because the oil business and nuclear program won't be able to pay their workers as much if they don't have enough money.