The absolute poverty rate in the Republic of Moldova has increased over the past year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (BNS). In 2021, at the start of the PAS government’s term, the rate stood at 24.5%. By 2024, it had climbed to 33.6%. The situation is even more severe in rural areas, where poverty has reached 42%.
Alexei Buzu, Minister of Labor, addressed the issue on the “Vocile Puterii” program on Exclusiv TV, emphasizing the importance of interpreting the statistics correctly.
“The NBS releases several indicators on poverty in Moldova. These figures show a rise in absolute poverty but do not fully reflect the effects of government measures like utility compensation or social programs,” Buzu explained. “Paradoxically, these compensations are excluded from household spending data, which creates the appearance of rising poverty, even though actual expenses have gone down.”
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He added that the methods used by the BNS fail to capture the full impact of government support.
“For example, if two children receive free school lunches in September, their family spends less on food. That’s a real reduction in expenses, but the data doesn’t show it. As a result, low spending gets interpreted as a higher poverty rate,” Buzu said.
The minister noted a significant gap between the income and expenses of low-income families: “Their incomes are, on average, 27% higher than their expenses. So, households are saving, but this financial resilience is not reflected in poverty rate statistics.”
Buzu also cited data on multidimensional poverty published by the BNS, which paints a different picture: “Those figures show a decline in poverty in Moldova.”
He acknowledged that poverty remains a serious concern but urged a more nuanced data analysis.
“We can’t define poverty solely by household spending. We must consider income, government assistance, and the full scope of social support programs,” Buzu said.
According to Buzu, poor families save about 26–27% of their income, demonstrating financial stability despite the rise in the official poverty indicator.