Poverty
Poverty rates in Kyrgyzstan reduced from 63% in 2004 to 39.9%, or 2.072 million people, in 2006. The Human Development Index for Kyrgyzstan is 0.694, which gives the country a rank of 122 out of 179 countries. The human poverty index fro Kyrgyzstan, or the percentage of people living below the threshold level, is 8.7% (UNDP HDR data).
Sources: National Bank of Kyrgyzstan, Economist Intelligence Unit; UNDP calculation
| Some basic facts | ||
| Kyrgyzstan | CIS average | |
| Population | 5.2 million (UNFPA data) | 23 million |
| Under 5 mortality rate | 41 per 1,000 (UNICEF 2006 data) | 37.3 |
| Maternal mortality | 150 per 100,000 (UNICEF 2005 data) | 29 |
| Life expectancy | 65.6 (UNDP HDR 2007 data) | 67 |
| Gross national income per capita | $ 590 (World Bank 2007 data) | $2,699 |
| % of population living below national poverty line | 39.9% (NDC, 2006 data) | |
| Proportion of population without sustainable access to improved drinking water | 23% (UNDP HDR 2007 data) | 6% |
| 2006 HDI score | 0,696; 122 of 179 (medium development) | 0.750 |
Food insecurity 
The October 2008 WFP Emergency Food Security Assessment revealed that one household in five is at high nutritional and health risk because of poor food consumption. Of the 1.01 million food insecure people, 580,000 are considered severely food insecure. While the proportion of underweight children remain relatively low, the proportion of stunting (delayed growth) among under-fives increased between 2006 - 2007 from 24% to 29.3%. The nutritional survey of 2006 particularly highlighted the deterioration of the nutritional situation in Jalalabat, Naryn and Osh Oblast.
Government collected data since October 2008 indicate that there has been no significant change in the food security situation since last year. Thus around 1.01 million in Kyrgyzstan remain food insecure. This, however, does not reflect a stagnant situation but is rather the result of a complex interplay of various opposing factors: e.g. the impact of global deflation and depreciation of local currency; a sharp decline in remittances inflow and favorable harvest prospects, etc.
Food insecurity map (WFP)
Over the past two years, Kyrgyzstan has experienced a dramatic increase in basic food prices, draining household coping mechanisms. According to official data, between January 2007 and April 2009 prices rose 51 percent. While this can be explained in part by the sharp increase in global food prices during this period, IMF data show global food prices dropping 27 percent between July 2008 and April 2009. During this time food prices in Kyrgyzstan have remained essentially unchanged: the benefits of falling global food prices are not being passed on to Kyrgyz households.
While wheat flour prices in Kyrgyzstan have recently started to decline from their 2008 highs, many vulnerable families are reporting that they have reduced purchase of more expensive foodstuffs. The wider availability and cheaper prices of fresh food over the summer should enable people to improve their food consumption during this period. However, the ‘hungry season’ of February – May, after winter stocks have been depleted and the new harvest not yet come in, will again next winter see many vulnerable families struggling to make ends meet.
Some families are also reporting that they have planted less than usual because income from family members working in cities or abroad is either reduced or cut altogether. A reduction in income from remittances is being widely reported by vulnerable families. Many households, particularly those in the south of the country, also expect smaller than usual fruit harvests, following a colder and wetter spring. Fruit is both consumed at home, and sold for extra income, so reduced harvests will impact on dietary diversity and reduce available cash.
Household coping strategies
The coming together of economic crisis with ongoing food and energy insecurity has forced many vulnerable households to resort to limited, often harmful, coping mechanisms, such as reducing meals, eating less nutritious foods, taking children out of school, selling livestock and other assets or borrowing money and going into debt to feed their families. High prices mean that the poor spend an even larger proportion of their income households buying less food or food that is less nutritious. While such coping mechanisms may alleviate hunger temporarily, they have longer term effects as they lead to malnutrition, deplete resources, harm livelihoods and are especially harmful for the elderly and children. Assessment reports suggest that women are the most likely family members to engage in such coping strategies.
Around ten percent of the population receives retirement, disability and loss of breadwinner pensions in Kyrgyzstan. In 2008, the average monthly pension was raised to $40. This was to take into account a 20 percent rise in electricity costs, but did little to mitigate high food and fuel prices, which constituted a large portion of people’s expenditures. On 1 July 2009, pensions rose again, to an average of 2138 som (approximately $50). However, with food prices remaining high and natural gas prices having doubled from last year, many people living off pensions will find it difficult to cover basic costs. Those elderly or otherwise unable to work who do not receive even this form of support will find this even more difficult.
More about poverty in Kyrgyzstan
