World Bank: every third Ukrainian lives in poverty
31 May 2024 11:44
The World Bank has released a report on the socio-economic situation in Ukraine. According to experts, almost one in three Ukrainians lives in poverty as Russia’s invasion continues to destroy the country’s economy. This was reported by Reuters, according to "Komersant Ukrainian"
According to the agency, the population of our country is currently estimated at 32 million people. Of these, 29% meet the poverty criteria, or 9 million people. Compared to 2020, this figure has increased by 1.8 million.
According to Arup Banerjee, World Bank Regional Director for Eastern Europe, the situation would have been much worse if Ukraine had not received significant external budget support to pay old-age pensions and salaries to teachers, doctors and others.
“If international partners, especially the United States, had not accumulated resources specifically tailored to these social expenditures, there would be three million more poor people,” he said,
– he said.
The rise in poverty has been driven by a decline in employment, as more than a fifth of adults who were employed before the war lost their jobs.
As of mid-2023, the report claims, one in four Ukrainians had not had enough money to buy food at one time or another. However, the situation improved in the second half of the year.
97 per cent of pension payments and 85 per cent of other social cash transfers are made on time.
Banerjee said that the biggest challenge for Ukraine remains security and ending the war, but that Ukrainian officials have done a great job managing the economy under the circumstances.
“There can be no economic prosperity or economic growth without physical security,” he said,
– he said.
