Number of people receiving social aid increased by 7.9%

In 2012, in Azerbaijan, social aid received 130 thousand families, or 585,000 people. For the year, the number of persons who have been established by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of financial aid increased by 7.9% (43 million) people. However, the government argues that the poverty rate has fallen by 1.1%.

According to the State Committee on Statistics, targeted social assistance in 2012 covered 6.2% of the citizens of the country. In this, President Ilham Aliyev said at a Cabinet meeting in January this year, said that the poverty rate has fallen from 7.1 to 6%.

Note that the test needs to appoint the state social assistance to citizens in 2012 has been raised from 75 to 84 manat per family member per month. Besides SSC in determining the level of poverty takes as its basis the per capita income AZN 120 per month. It must be remembered that not all citizens with incomes below the poverty level, for various reasons to apply for the said services. Thus, even from this official statistics it is clear that the country's poor than the government admits.

NGOs noted that the level of the subsistence minimum, the amount of which in 2012 was 108 manats, the basis of which is determined by the criterion needs to set social assistance to citizens, is deliberately understated by the government for political purposes, to show that in Azerbaijan, there are few poor people. -08B-