The poverty level in Ukraine at the end of the first half of 2020 was 51%. This assessment of the Ptoukha Institute for Demography and Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was voiced in an interview with LIGA.net by director of the Institute Ella Libanova.
"This is an estimate based on the latest data from the State Statistics Service on income and consumption, which we are monitoring. Now this figure is probably higher", - Libanova specified.
According to her, the poverty level indicator calculated by the IDSS is based on the "estimated living wage" - it was $137 as of mid-2020.
At the same time, the "official" minimum, which the Ministry of Social Policy operates below, is $72.
Libanova noted that poverty in Ukraine increased in 2020, as many Ukrainians lost income due to quarantine. She clarified that the following features are characteristic of poor people in Ukraine:
- lack of higher education (the level of poverty among citizens with higher education is 11%, among citizens with only secondary education - 29%);
- work part-time;
- salary, which borders on the minimum (from January 1, 2021 - $213);
- large families.
"Two working parents cannot fully provide for two children - even by low Ukrainian standards. That is, the birth of a second child creates a very serious risk of poverty. Almost all large families in Ukraine are in poverty", - Libanova noted.
As previously reported, in May 2020, the Ministry of Social Policy predicted an increase in the poverty rate by 6.5% in 2020.