The subsistence minimum is that mysterious indicator that usually reflects the utopian ideas of those in power about citizens “fed up” with air, and never meets the real needs of Ukrainians. Since the beginning of the 2000s, it has grown 14 times – from UAH 207 to UAH 2,920. The subsistence minimum behaved most actively at the beginning of 2010: from 01.01.2010 to 03.31.2010 it was cut by 17.7%. Recall what was observed in the political sky at that time? Exactly, Viktor Yushchenko’s presidential term was ending and the infamous Viktor Yanukovych was on his way to power.
The statistics of the Ministry of Finance allow us to see that in certain periods the vital indicator completely “hanged”: there are many, as many as 10, such quarters and six months when growth remained at “0” in the history of Ukrainian finances. It is noteworthy that all of them fall on the period 2014-2024 yr., that is, the period of the war. The longest stagnation of the living wage lasted for a year, throughout 2023. And finally, at the beginning of the current year, he moved. Currently, the subsistence minimum is UAH 2,920.
We will remind you that the indicator we are talking about reflects the cost estimate of the consumer basket, which contains the minimum set of food products, non-food products and services necessary to preserve human health and ensure his vital activities. Relative to different categories of the population, this indicator varies. For children under the age of six, it is less – UAH 2,563. For able-bodied persons, it is higher – UAH 3,028. We use the general indicator offered by the official website of the Ministry of Finance.
Run with all your legs to stay in place
This phrase from the fabulous Alice from Wonderland comes to mind when you observe the dynamics of financial indicators, where the parameters of movement and stability are completely confused. Probably, we have to try very hard to fit our needs into the Procrustean bed of the living wage. How realistic is it?
We decided to follow the path – from the most important, we chose basic food products to calculate the cost of the grocery basket. We took the prices of the products mentioned in this study from numbeo.com. It is clear that we left behind a lot of other necessary things – medicine, clothes, transport, communication. Probably, Abraham Maslow with his famous pyramid of needs would agree with us, because it is the need for food that occupies the first step in the hierarchy of what we need in life.
By mid-2024, the cost of products from the base list looks like this:
- Milk (10 liters) — UAH 389.5
- Bread (10 loaves) — UAH 245.3
- Rice (1.5 kg) – 85.9 UAH
- Eggs (20 pcs.) — 98 UAH
- Cheese (1 kg) — 250 hryvnias
- Meat (6 kg) — 924 hryvnias
- Fruits (6 kg) — UAH 162
- Vegetables (8 kg) — 400 UAH
In total, the grocery basket of a Ukrainian “stretches” by 2,554 UAH. Common sense suggests that fish, nuts, legumes, sugar, honey should be added to this minimalist set. However, elementary mathematics does not allow. If we subtract UAH 2,554.7 from our living wage of UAH 2,929, we get UAH 365.3. The amount, agree, does not imply luxury. on the contrary, it raises the question: how can socially vulnerable categories of the population survive without medicines, funds for utilities, transport, clothing, and everyday life. In other words, the economic situation in which the elementary food basket exhausts 87.22% of the subsistence minimum is critical.
It is sad to state that by the end of the current year no increase in the living wage is expected.
