If Iran is the 2nd biggest supplier of oil in the world? Why is the country so poor?

I can't understand that a country with so much oil is so poor. I've heard that they outsource oil refinement to other countries, and the goverment subsidicies the cost of fuel. I can't understand why they wouldn't refine the oil themselves?If Iran is the 2nd biggest supplier of oil in the world? Why is the country so poor?
First, they aren't that poor, per capita is about 9,000. Its not comparable to western countries with an average of 30,000. but health care is cheap and education (up to higher education) is free and with subsidies gas prices are low, this gives a relief.


beside that Iran is a very cheap country,(to paint you a picture, you can get a sandwich for as little as 15 cents) meaning that even with a low income people can buy a lot.


and the reason for oil import, Iran has some oil refineries but their capacity has remained or even decreased because of sanctions. other countries are not allowed to share their refinery tech with Iran. in addition to that there was mass illegal export of gas to neighboring countries (where smugglers could sell the gas for a higher price) this has been partly addressed by giving drivers a limited amount of gas.If Iran is the 2nd biggest supplier of oil in the world? Why is the country so poor?
It's NOT SO POOR. Go and see for yourself. And plus it has suffered from many conflicts and situations.
Iran is the 4th largest exporter of oil in the world, worth over $ 60 billion a year.





At over $10,000 per capita GDP (PPP), it is not one of the poorest nations, but islamic laws and corrupt governments make economic progrress slow.
Iran uses a great deal of their oil domestically. Many of there power plants are oil powered which means they can not export and sell the oil they produce. Also, Iran's oil fields are government owned. THis means that the Government decides where the money is going. THe money is unevenly distributed and many citizens do not see the money. This happens all over the middle east and oil producing nations. Saudi Arabia is another where ths happens. Prince Saud is one of the wealthiest men in the world yet Saudi arabia is relatively poor