The subsistence minimum in Kazakhstan reached 26,468 tenge (US$77.8) in May, increasing 14 percent increase within a year, reports finprom.kz. The figure in May 2017 was 23,218 tenge (US$68.26).
The subsistence level corresponds with the population’s minimum consumer basket of goods and services, including food products (55 percent) and non-food products (45 percent), according to the Kazakh law.
The highest subsistence level in Kazakhstan is in the oil rich Mangystau region with 32,300 tenge (US$94.96). Next is the country’s capital Astana, where the figure totals 30,600 tenge (US$89.96), followed by the country’s largest city Almaty with the subsistence minimum reaching 29,900 tenge (US$87.9).
The report indicates the figure increases on average by 9.7 percent each year. Between 2012 and 2017, the subsistence minimum rose 7,000 tenge (US$20.58) from 16,800 (US$49.39) to 23,800 tenge (US$69.97).
The subsistence minimum for children was 21,435 tenge (US$63). The figure reached 31,440 tenge (US$92.43) for men and24,968 tenge (US$73.4) for women.
Basic necessities for retired and elderly people cost 24,753 tenge (US$72.77), said the report.
Within the subsistence minimum structure, spending on meat and fish account for 19.8 percent, dairy and eggs for 15.3 percent, fruits and vegetables for 10.5 percent, bread and grits for 7.3 percent and sugar, tea and spices for 2.1 percent.
Reported by the Astana Times.
