TEHRAN – Iran's Municipalities and Rural Administration Organization will inaugurate 5,811 development projects in rural areas during Ten-Day Fajr celebrations (January 31-February 10, marking the 42nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution).

A total of 11.6 trillion rials (nearly $278 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) has been spent on these projects, Ali Ghorbani, deputy head of the organization, said.

Most of the projects, equivalent to 71 percent, is related to the field of road maintenance, he stated.

Other projects include creating fire stations, green spaces, sport, and cultural places, he added, Mehr reported on Monday.

Mohammad Omid, the vice president for rural development, said in November 2020 that for the first time in the country, the migration of people from rural areas to cities has reached zero.

A total of 220 trillion rials (nearly $5.6 billion) has been approved for the development of villages in the current year (March 2020-March 2021), Omid said.

Some 140 trillion rials (about $3.3 billion) have so far been spent, he noted, adding, the unemployment rate in rural areas has reached 7.4 percent, which has decreased by over one percent compared to last year.

In October 2020, Omid stated that the rural development projects worth 130 trillion rials (nearly $3 billion) inaugurated on the occasion of the National Day of Villagers and Nomads.

He went on to state that 6,750 construction projects will come on stream in various fields such as roads, communications, etc. In addition, a total of 26,512 projects will be launched throughout the country.

Currently, 26 percent of the country's population lives in villages, around 39,000 villages have more than 20 households and 23,000 villages have less than 20 households.

Thus, more than 97 percent of the country's rural population lives in villages with over 20,000 households.

FB/MG