The Institute carries out calculations based on the official cost of living in the country, recorded by the Ministry of Social Policy.
According to Libanova, 4,300 UAH is “very bad.” Before the war, positive dynamics were observed in Ukraine; the number of low-income people was decreasing. The trend changed already in 2021, and in 2022 there was “simply catastrophic impoverishment.” The most vulnerable from this point of view are families with children and families of pensioners who cannot work.
At the same time, Libanova admitted that the real level of income may be higher, because it is difficult to take into account shadow flows. According to her, one of the most uncontrolled is the sphere of consumer services, where the turnover of funds is difficult to calculate.
In the same interview, the sociologist named the real number of the population of Ukraine at the moment – about 34-35 million. According to her, it is almost impossible to conduct a normal census; the last reliable census took place in 2018.
