The Deputy Minister of Labor of the Iranian regime has highlighted significant statistical limitations concerning social harms, particularly within the workers’ sector.
Mohammad Chakoshian, speaking to the regime’s ‘ILNA’ news agency, acknowledged the Ministry’s data on social harms as “inaccurate.” He noted, “Our statistical surveys within the labor community are typically outdated, with limited new research in this area.”
Over recent decades, regime institutions have consistently obscured or classified key statistics relevant to evaluating political, economic, and social conditions, hindering access, especially for researchers.
On February 19, Vahid Shariat, head of the Scientific Association of Psychiatrists of Iran, expressed concern to the state news agency ‘IRNA’ about “high suicide statistics” among residents and medical professionals, urging the Ministry of Health to disclose accurate figures and criticizing their confidentiality.
In recent years, a notable number of workers have committed suicide due to factors such as job insecurity, lack of social security, salary non-payment, or dismissal, though exact statistics remain undisclosed due to confidentiality, with only some cases publicized.
On November 8, 2023, economist Farshad Momeni of Allameh Tabatabai University urged authorities to release even “baseless statistics” to boost morale, emphasizing the importance of transparency: “The CIA’s data on us is more comprehensive than our official data.”
On July 24, 2023, ‘Ham Mihan’ reported that the regime’s welfare organization withheld the number of “babies with disabilities,” citing confidentiality.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Abbasi, Deputy Minister of Interior, announced on August 12 a ban on government agencies disclosing injury statistics, which will now be managed by his institution.
The head of the regime’s Social Affairs Organization highlighted the conflicting statistics on social harm reported by some officials and deputies.
The regime’s authorities’ provision of inaccurate statistics has led to skepticism from the scientific community and domestic and international institutions across various fields.
