Shocking figures: the number of Ukrainians in deep poverty has increased 7 times
17 December 12:53
In Ukraine, the number of people living in extreme poverty has increased dramatically. Over the past two years, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, this figure has increased sevenfold. This was reported by economist Lyudmyla Cherenko, who studies the standard of living of Ukrainians, on the air of Kyiv24, Komersant ukrainskyi reports
She emphasized that the situation with Ukrainians’ incomes has deteriorated significantly, and poverty has become even deeper. This process was especially acute in 2023, when the poverty rate was significantly higher than in 2021.
“Compared to 2021, we concluded that in 2023 the poverty rate increased by 1.7 times. That is, incomes below the actual subsistence level were 26% in 2021, and 35.5% in 2023. The growth is quite strong, but deep poverty has increased even more,” Cherenko said.
Cherenko pays special attention to the growth of deep poverty, which is a serious problem for the country. According to her, these are the people who are on the verge of physiological survival and consume less than the minimum legal subsistence level.
“That is, those people who are actually on the verge of physiological survival consume less than the legal minimum subsistence level, you know, this is a very small amount, this is the minimum pension set at this level. That is, this deep poverty has increased 7 times,” she adds.
Where in Ukraine are the most people living in extreme poverty?
However, the situation is not the same throughout Ukraine. Among the regions of Ukraine, the lowest poverty rates are recorded in Kyiv, Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi regions. These regions show the smallest increase in poverty compared to the national average.
“As for the city of Kyiv, Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi regions have the lowest poverty rates in Ukraine. Kyiv and Dnipropetrovs’k regions have the lowest poverty growth compared to the national average,” added Liudmyla Cherenko.
According to the expert, the northern regions of the country, in particular Chernihiv and Sumy regions, suffered the most from poverty. These areas have experienced a significant economic decline due to the hostilities that have affected infrastructure and jobs.
The regions with the lowest increase in poverty compared to the national average are Kyiv and Dnipropetrovs’k regions, as well as Cherkasy, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia.
However, as the expert notes, in all other regions of Ukraine, except Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi region, poverty has increased over the past two years.
According to the World Bank, the number of Ukrainians living below the poverty line has increased by 1.8 million people compared to 2020. The main reason for this increase was the massive job cuts. About 20% of adults who worked before the war have now lost their jobs due to economic turmoil and hostilities.
