According to revised figures from Rosstat, Russia’s poverty share dipped below the two-digit mark for the first time in years, settling at 9.8 percent in 2022. The updated assessment shows a notable drop from an earlier Rosstat estimate of 10.5 percent, reflecting a shift in the official view of how many people live with cash incomes below the poverty line.
Rosstat’s revised data indicate that 14.3 million Russians were below the poverty line in 2022, representing 9.8 percent of the population. This figure means about 1 million fewer people, or roughly 0.7 percentage points, than the initial estimate released in March 2023. The revision underscores how adjustments to methodology or data collection can alter the picture of poverty over a given year.
Prior to the latest revision, the last time poverty rates approached this level was in 2012, when 10.7 percent of the population, about 15.4 million people, lived under the poverty line. The new statistic shows that the 2022 level is markedly lower than the 2021 figure, with a decline of about 1.2 percentage points and roughly 1.7 million fewer people in the official poverty count than the previous year.
In the year 2022, the poverty rate stood at 9.8 percent following the updated assessment that placed the number of impoverished citizens at 14.3 million. The situation in the prior year showed a higher burden, with the country counting around 15.3 million people below the poverty line. These adjustments highlight how official poverty metrics can shift as data are revised and new information comes to light, offering a different perspective on living standards within the federation.