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Intuition: Poverty reduction should be seen as a part of a wider enterprise to establish a well-ordered and balanced society. Obviously, this target cannot be achieved overnight and it requires many different, consistent and harmonious efforts to attack the causes of inequity and deprivation from different angles. To guarantee less poverty in future means to tackle child poverty today. Children in poverty at present guarantee the persistence of poverty in the future, unless they are the main target of social protection programmes. Hence, the most effective approach to any poverty reduction effort is to tackle child poverty first. Malnourishment and under-nourishment, insufficient health care, and poor schooling, if there is any, are the main causes that breed poverty. Children living in a poor family have prime candidate potential for becoming the future poor. The descendants of the poor remain poor because they are deprived from basic nutrition, health care, and education. This cycle reproduces poverty and the victims end up in copiously documented ‘poverty traps’. Iran with young population, almost 25% below the age of 15, should take child poverty more seriously otherwise the future of the country would be in jeopardy. This study provides an account of the status of child poverty in Iran. The overall figure of child poverty is disaggregated into 30 provinces. Uneven development in different regions of the country is a source of noticeable differences in per capita income (consumption) in different provinces. Hence, poverty statistics show a discernible variation in poverty incidence in different areas. High poverty incidence rate in areas with rich natural resources reveals a basic policy failure plus the fact that poverty reduction programmes can be successful provided that there is a comprehensive, participatory and community-based approach to tackle the problem. Methodology: In this study micro-data collected through Iran Household Budget Survey (HBS) over 1999-2007 is used. The HBS was conducted on a provincially representative sample of close to 30,000 households. Absolute poverty incidence in 30 provinces is calculated and then the ratio of the children under 16 living in poor households to the total number of children is accounted for both in rural and urban areas. Findings: Although, the latest poverty incidence rate in Iran is around %30, child poverty incidence in some cases is markedly higher. For example poverty incidence in Sistan and Baluchestan province for the urban and rural areas are %70 in our sample, in 2007. Nevertheless, overall child poverty incidence in 2007 in the urban and rural areas of the country is %38 and %18, respectively. The lowest urban child poverty headcount rate of %17 occurs in Mazandaran and for the rural areas of %18 occurs in Mazandran, too. Child poverty incidence rates declined during the time frame of the study, while both the rates of poverty incidence and intensity are higher in the rural areas than the urban ones. The highest child poverty rate in Iran has been occurred in the eastern part of the country where was drought stricken region for eight consecutive years. Failure of the drought relief schemes led to massive migration which itself deepened the incidence of poverty.

Keywords: Child, Iran, Poverty, Rural, Urban

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