The minimal subsistence level for a family of 5 in Georgia is about 130 USD

The Statistics Department of Georgia has released data on subsistence levels for October 2017.

The results indicate that an average person needs 154 lari and 10 tetri (about 60 USD) per month in order to survive. That’s 4.60 GEL (about 1.70 USD) more than that of last year October.

The statistics service further offered the following data on subsistence levels for different types of families:

• For one person – 154.10 GEL (approximately 55 USD)
• For two people – 246.40 GEL (approximately 90 USD)
• For three people – 277.40 GEL (approximately 100 USD)
• For four people – 308.20 GEL (approximately 115 USD)
• For five people – 346.80 GEL (approximately 130 USD)
• For six or more people – 409.90 GEL (approximately 150 USD)

Statistics show that for each member of a family of five, less is needed per month for living expenses than when a person lives alone – 69.36 GEL (approximately 25 USD) per person is enough.

Who establishes the subsistence levels in Georgia and how?

The subsistence minimum was established in Georgia by a law adopted in 1997.

The consumer minimum bracket is calculated based on the daily number of compulsory food products required for a male of working age:

• Wheat bread – 250 grams
• Cornmeal – 40 grams
• Beans – 20 grams
• Rice – 10 grams
• Buckwheat – 10 grams
• Beef – 40 grams
• Pasta – 15 grams
• Pork – 20 grams
• Milk – 150 milliliters
• Cottage cheese – 15 grams
• Cheese 20 grams
• Aubergine – 10 grams
  as well as other products.

Reactions on social media

As always, the published data on the subsistence level caused lively comments on Facebook.

Facebook users recalled the words of the former first lady of Georgia, Nanuli Shervardnadze, during the hungry 1990’s, about how a good housewife could support the entire family for a whole month on just 14 GEL, which was the pension during Eduard Shervardnadze’s presidency. Users wrote things such as:

“Nanula believed better than Gruzstat.”

“Subsistence minimum, or? This is just to not die? A person gets 2 GEL per day. And how does health not suffer with this income?!”

“It’s necessary to disperse Gruzstat in general. Its employees must be tried for falsifying reality.”

“That means if there are two pensioners in the family, then you don’t need to work – the whole family will survive.”

“Five people cannot ‘settle’ on 346GEL… 3 loaves of bread, 1kg of potatoes, a kilogram of pasta, and a packet of oil per day… Total 202 GEL… the remaining money can be given to the zoo, maybe the children can be taken away.”