Although economically classified as a developing or emerging market, Iran can be considered in many ways a developed country. It has strong established industries such as auto manufacturing (capable of producing more than 1 million vehicles per year) and pharmaceuticals (mainly generics).
Several hundred companies are listed on the Tehran stock exchange and around 8 million Iranians own shares. Its rail infrastructure is internationally respected and the metro system in Tehran can compete with its European counterparts in terms of efficiency and service levels.
Iran has impressive education standards with a youth literacy rate of 98% and a university enrollment rate of 58% (similar to developed countries like France and Germany). Building on the golden era of Persian scientific prowess, Iran is making advances in various areas. Iran ranked 16th on global output of academic articles and is placed 43rd worldwide on availability of scientists and engineers. Bloomberg included Iran in their 2013 overview of the 50 most innovative countries.
Iranians are generally more internationally oriented than western media would have us believe. Foreign languages are compulsory at school (with a surprisingly high number of people speaking German) and social media are used extensively to stay abreast of the latest fashion, technological and economic developments.
The Iranian population is tech-savvy and rapidly digitizing with 35 million smart phones and an Internet penetration above 50%. Social media usage is widespread and Iran has witnessed a surge in online services in the past few years. The country’s leading ecommerce player, Digikala, is already estimated to be worth around USD 300 million.