This report provides a view of Iran's manufacturing performance for three-quarters of 2016 (21 March to 21 Dec 2016). Figures are based on two kinds of statistics: Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) and Manufacturing Production Index (MPI).

The first one is the MVA growth rate based on the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the second one is the index of manufacturing production (MPI) measured by CBI for manufacturing establishments with 100 employees or more.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 12 percent of Iran's GDP in 2016. As per the CBI latest figures, GDP rose by 11.6 percent year-over-year in the nine months ended to 21 December 2016. The oil sector was the main driver of this growth with 10 point percent contribution while manufacturing sector contributed 0.7 point percent of growth (Chart1). Iran's manufacturing value added expanded by 5.8 percent y-o-y in the three-quarters of 2016.

Iran manufacturing output growth improved during the nine months of 2016. The overall trend of quarterly MPI during past five seasons is upward and manufacturing production output recorded the highest growth rate; 14.56 percent in the Q4-2016.