I thought some of you may find this interesting!

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/sep/25/afghanistan.terrorism25

Iran then and now

Then: 1976
 

• Constitutional monarchy under the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

• Parliament: Majlis elected by the people but as approved by the shah; senate appointed by the shah

Population 34m; 52% illiterate

Unemployment 2.9%

Average income $100 a month

Exchange rate 70 rials to dollar

Total university graduates 440,000

Newspapers 7

Number of cars in Tehran 700,000

The word "traffic" (pronounced "teraafik") became part of the lingua franca as the capital's citizens began to experience congestion on the roads.

Number of mosques in the capital 1,800

These became a hotbed of revolution as the pulpit acted as the main transmitter of political ideology. Disgruntled youths from traditional backgrounds attended mosques not just for prayer but for political direction.

Women could dress as they wished although most in the countryside and provinces still wore colourful floral chadors.

Hotpants and platform shoes were de rigueur in a capital hungry to compete with the rest of the world in the latest styles.

Women were regarded as equal in a court of law. They had just been given laws that protected them against divorce and loss of custody of children.

But the vast difference in the culture of the traditional families and the westernised families meant that 50% of girls eligible to attend high school did not because their families did not regard society a morally safe place, according to Islamic feminists.

International film awards 3

Mention Iran in 1976 and people in the west would have thought of oil, Persian carpets and cats.

Now:
 

• Islamic republic under a supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, elected by the assembly of experts. A president, currently Mohammed Khatami, is elected by the people.

• Parliament: elected by the people after a strict vetting procedure by the guardian council. The assembly of experts is a second chamber consisting of mojtaheds (clerics/legal experts) elected by the people.

Population 64m, more than half born after the Islamic revolution; 17% illiterate

Unemployment 12.5%

Average income $60.50 a month

Exchange rate 8,000 rials to the dollar

Total university graduates 4.8m

Newspapers 48 (was 87 before a crackdown)

Number of cars in Tehran 1.73m.

The word "pollution" has found its way into the vocabulary, caused partly by the exhaust from many old Hillman Hunters (the first car to be assembled in Iran).

Number of mosques in the capital: 2,300

Many of yesterday's revolutionaries who form the reformist ranks now bemoan the fact that attendance at mosques has dropped in the last 20 years despite the growth in the number of mosques.

Women are required to wear some kind of Islamic dress, from the traditional chador (no longer colourful and flowery but almost universally black) to a modest coat and a scarf.

Increasingly the new generation extend the boundaries of the dress code. This summer saw a profusion of three-quarter length trousers in Tehran, which needed a shorter coat, to reveal how up to date the wearer was with western fashion - and revealed an unprecedented amount calf.

Some 60% of university entrants last year were women who go into higher education with enormous gusto, but only 13% go into the workforce afterwards.

Islamic Sharia law rules that in blood money (compensation paid to families if they are killed in an accident or intentionally) a woman is worth half of what a man is. They are not allowed child custody and divorce is easier for men than women.

But surprisingly Iranian women are more confident than they were, perhaps because of the limitations imposed on them.

International film awards 118

Mention Iran now and people think of ayatollahs and art house films.

Seems like a little bit of the good, a little bit of the bad, and a whole lot as stayed the same!

Iran 2007:

Iran's GDP : $852.6 Billion

GDP Per capita: $12,300

Unemployment rate: 11%

Population Below poverty Line: 18%

Iran has U.S sanctions and exports less oil than the regime of Shah. Seems to me with those huge factors Iran today has shown it is much better today than it was then.

If Iran had U.S sanctions in 1977 and exported the same amount of oil, the people would be living in tents.

i must agree with aimster

regarding unemployment btw, people do have choices.  how many years have they been saying "stop becoming doctors or engineering major, there are no jobs in those fields' yet they do it cause they wanna show off and say i'm a doctor or a mohandes

now that's not everyone but there are a lot of people in that situation

well ofcourse all countrys in the world have grown and have goods now, we shouldnt compare the timing we should compare iran with other countries to see what more they offer that we dont , i think in my opinion iran was doing preety damn good during shah's era comparing to other country's in the world.

Before the Pahlavi Dynasty 99% couldn’t read or write! Under the Shah (1976) the average income was 100 dollars per month (in 2001 it was 60,5 dollars per month). 100 dollars in 1976 was much worth than 100 dollars in 2001 (my guess would be four times more worth). If Shah had continued there would be less than 17% illiterate (following the White Revolution), there would be NO sanctions, Iran would be a superpower AND respected throughout the world and people would actually have freedoms (which they already had in a larger scale than now). But all in all, democracy is better than the Shah or the mullahs...

... and, 

Aimster don’t even consider posting bullshit propaganda, I’ll just piss on you

Iran was exporting 6mpb of oil a year during the regime of the Shah.

Iran's economy halted in 1977-1979. It had negative growth.

Negative growth is a sign of a failed economic regime. That is why the regime of the Shah fell.

The Shah failed to invest the oil revenue into the economy. Rather than spend the money on the economy he spent it on a military dream.

Yes, Iran was rising rapidly. It was pumping out oil faster than they knew what to do with it. That was Iran's chance to invest that money into the economy. What did Iran do with that money?

Ordered $billions of dollars worth of military equipment.

The current regime of Iran is richer than the regime of the Shah. Yet, if the current regime was to order 500+ Aircraft from Russia they too would face negative growth. Yet, Iran was pumping out these orders in the 1970s. You know what would happen to the current economic state of Iran if it ordered 500+ military aircraft from Russia? It would see a major economic decrease because there would be no money to invest in other sectors. Buying military equipment is not an investment,. It is throwing money away, unless you buy domestic goods.

The Shah had a nice vision.. he just rushed things and screwed up.

Shah continued?

1977-1979 what was Iran's GDP growth? It was NEGATIVE.

1980+ Iran's GDP ROSE with U.S sanctions and a War with Iraq.

I wonder why? Maybe because all military orders were CANCELED.

they are richer than before, but wheres that money going? to rafsanjani's savings account in sweden. and some goes to khameneis pocket

Iran's GDP is growing. Exports are rising. Non-oil exports are rising.

All are signs of a positive economic regime. The money is being reinvested into the economy.

GDP growth has been above normal levels at rates as high as 6-8%.

You make it sound as if the Shah lived in a tent and the mullahs are living in palaces covered in diamonds. Give me a break.

they are.. i was in iran just last august, they own some nice cribs if you ever go to iran, go to lavasan , go to shemiran and youll know what im talkin about

The Shah’s “military dream” was not based on personal ambitions of power. Rather it was based on necessity and deeply considerations. Iran was the center of what we call the “middle east”. The Shah secured all the middle east and created stability. Look what happened after the islamofascists took over: Afghan war, taliban, increasing terrorism all over the world, 9/11, Iran-Iraq war, etc. – all these “negative” powers like Bin Laden and other terrorists throughout the middle east area were and are still inspired by the mullahs in Iran, and in some cases even sponsored by the mullahs. They dream of creating a pure “Islamic state”. If Shah still was in power it would never have gone so far. Iran was threatened by Iraq already when the Shah was in power! Read the CIA declassified files!

The economy halted in 1977-79 because people were protesting all over the country. And don’t come up with the reasons – we have already “discussed” this matter! The Shah DID IN FACT spend the money on economy! Don’t you ever read books?!?! That was the whole idea in the White Revolution!

That proves nothing.

If you wish to have an ecomonic debate then please post facts. What the hell does "I saw them living in mansions" have to do with anything?

What you are suggesting is that the mullahs take $billions from the Iranian economy and yet the Iranian economy continues to rise. Therefore, the mullahs are brilliant greedy people. They can steal from Iranian funds and still keep the economy at rising levels.

You are an idiot.

Shah spent 35% of their income on military.

Why did they people protest if they had great lives? Blah blah blah blah.

It's ok you have nothing. "Go read a book?" LOL

The gross domestic product is the TOTAL market value of certain products within a year! The mullahs can take a lot of money while the GDP continiue to rise as 80% of the exports are based on OIL! The value of oil is inter alia based on world economy! The average Iranians in Iran don’t experience any economic progression in their personal lives.