A recent Tajik government report on living standards indicates that many households are hovering on the edge of the poverty line. The published results reaffirm Tajikistan’s status as Central Asia’s poorest country. 

The data contained in the report, titled Key Indicators of the Household Budget Survey, are based on information provided by 3,000 households across the country, measuring income and spending patterns. Although published in February, the statistics contained in the survey cover 2024. The report includes comparable data going as far back as 2017.

A key finding is household size in Tajikistan continues to shrink. In 2024, the average household had 5.7 members, down from 6.4 in 2017. Almost one out of seven members of each household was living and working abroad at some point in 2024.

Similarly, the data showed that just one out of seven members of the average Tajik household holds an income-earning job in Tajikistan, roughly similar to the ratio in 2017. The average per-member monthly income for Tajik households was set at 1,082 somoni (about $99 at the 2024 exchange rate, or $3.3o per day), amounting to 5,842 somoni (roughly $535 at 2024 rates) per average household. 

Tajikistan’s economy remains heavily dependent on remittances. The survey reported that 36% of monthly household income in 2024 came in the form of funds sent home by migrant workers abroad. In 2017, remittances accounted for about 40% of household income.

The Tajik survey found that average monthly per-person spending in 2024 stood at 1,110 somoni (about $102 at 2024 exchange rates), a slightly higher amount than the per-person monthly income. Over half of monthly expenditures in 2024 by Tajiks went to buying food, the government survey reported.

This article first appeared on Eurasianet here.