In accordance with the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 4, 2024 No. PD-114 "On measures to organize the activities of the Statistics Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan" and the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated August 27, 2021 No. 544 "On the introduction into practice of the procedure for calculating the cost of minimum consumer expenses", the minimum consumer expenses (MCE) were recalculated.
Based on the consumer price index calculated in December 2024 in relation to May, the estimated cost of minimum consumer spending for 2025 was 669 thousand soums per person per month (the cost announced on May 1, 2024 was 648 thousand soums).
According to the procedure for calculating the cost of minimum consumer expenditure, minimum consumer expenditure for the next year is indexed based on the level of prices for food products, non-food goods and services.
In world practice, it is widespread to use the minimum consumption indicator as a poverty line in a country, which looks like this:
- identify the target (targeted) population group in need of material and other social assistance from the state;
- when determining the poverty line, the characteristics of real consumption and the needs of the population of the target group should be taken into account;
- increase the effectiveness, targeting of tasks and activities mentioned in the strategies and programs to combat poverty, as well as their constant monitoring
- use this criterion to determine the minimum amount of pensions and benefits, as well as to provide other types of financial assistance to low-income families.