Government and power in Iran

Who leads Iran, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary Islamic republic.

Who leads Iran?

• Head of state: Masoud Pezeshkian (President of the Islamic Republic of Iran)
• Head of government: No Prime Minister
• Foreign minister: Seyed Abbas Araghchi (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Iran

Government

• Office of the President
  Publishes presidential statements, decrees and cabinet news.

Parliament

• Islamic Parliament of Iran
  Publishes the record of open sessions, bills and the list of members.

Elections

• Guardian Council
  Publishes candidate vetting outcomes, election supervision decisions and reviews of legislation.

Public audit

• Supreme Audit Court
  Publishes reports on the audit of the national budget and public bodies.

Access to information

• Publication and Free Access to Information system
  Government portal for submitting and tracking requests under the access-to-information law.

Public contracts

• Government Electronic Procurement System (SETAD)
  National portal on which executive bodies publish purchases, tenders and auctions.

Laws and the official gazette

• Majlis Research Center
  Publishes the database of Iranian laws and regulations and research reports on legislation.

Government below the national level

• Provinces (31): Governor-general (ostandar) appointed by the government on the Interior Minister's proposal
• Counties (shahrestan) and districts (bakhsh): County governor (farmandar) and district governor (bakhshdar) appointed through the Ministry of Interior
• Cities (about 1,345 municipalities) and villages (about 37,000): City and village Islamic councils directly elected for four years; the city council elects the mayor; village councils choose a village manager (dehyar)

How local power works in Iran

Places in Iran

• All 31 first-level divisions
• The 98 largest cities
• Official statistics for Iran

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.