Almost 40% Of Mahiliou Region's Population Reached Absolute Poverty Level

A new regional "leader" has appeared in Belarus.

The study "Poverty Assessment in Belarus for 2017-2018", conducted by the researcher of the Belarusian Economic Research and Education Center BEROC Aleh Mazol, udf.by reports.

Regional leaders

The author of the study notes that a new "leader" in terms of poverty has appeared - Mahiliou region, where the level of absolute poverty has slightly increased compared to 2016 and reached 35.7% of the population. Thus, the population of Mahiliou region has the highest risk of falling below the poverty line and the greatest depth of absolute poverty - 8.7%.

Child poverty

"The main cause of child poverty is the low income of their parents, which can also affect their poverty, but already at the working age, reducing opportunities for good education and subsequent successful employment. In turn, the risk of absolute poverty for people of working age (18 to 65 years) is significantly lower than for children living in families with incomes below the absolute poverty line. In 2018, it decreased to 27.9% or by 7.9 percentage points compared to 2017," - the study states.

It notes that the economic crisis of 2015-2016 affected less the welfare of people over the working age, living in families with income below the poverty line. The level of absolute poverty for them amounted to 24.4%, having decreased by 6.6 percentage points compared to 2017.

For families with many children, the determining factors during the economic crisis were lower wages and the potential loss of employment for adults, which for single-parent families with many children automatically meant absolute poverty. So far, this group of people is experiencing significant financial difficulties. In particular, in 2018, the absolute poverty rate among this group of households was 62.1% and the depth of poverty was 17.6%.

As stated in the study, one of the further steps in the state's social policy to overcome poverty may include strengthening the role of social transfers for the most vulnerable groups of the population: children, large families and people living in rural areas. For example, a significant increase of benefits for children, as well as for the unemployed.