Poverty - The Times Of Central Asia

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Child Labor

Child Labor in Kyrgyzstan: Poverty and Gaps in Enforcement

Dozens of children have been found working at markets in the southern Kyrgyz city of Manas, formerly Jalal-Abad. Police officers and social workers spoke to the children’s parents and guardians and issued warnings, Turmush reported on November 2. Nationwide, 19.6% of children aged 5–17 were involved in child labor in 2023, according to a survey conducted by Kyrgyzstan’s National Statistical Committee with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund. Yet the country had just 28 labor inspectors in 2025. Manas is in the Jalal-Abad region, where the survey found one of the country’s highest rates of child labor, at 24%. The figure was 31% in the mountainous Naryn region and 5% in Bishkek. Child Labor and Family Income Children working in Kyrgyzstan's markets may spend their days selling produce or carrying goods for traders. In rural areas, they help with livestock and crop cultivation, including cotton and tobacco. The United States Department of Labor also documents child labor in construction, garment workshops, cafes, and car washes. The survey found that child labor affected 26% of children in the poorest households, compared with 8% in the wealthiest. Boys were more likely to be involved than girls, at 23% versus 16%. Of the 7,200 households sampled, 6,639 were interviewed. The assessment used age-specific thresholds for time spent working or doing household chores. Hazardous working conditions were measured separately and affected 15% of children. Carrying heavy loads was the most common risk, affecting 9%, while other risks included exposure to extreme temperatures or dust and the use of dangerous machinery. Inspections and Legal Gaps Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Labor, Social Security, and Migration reported in June 2025 that 50 cases involving children in the worst forms of child labor had been recorded in the first three months of that year. This category includes hazardous work as well as exploitation involving forced labor or trafficking. According to inspection figures published by the ministry in February 2026, labor inspectors conducted 1,173 workplace inspections in 2025, identifying 1,885 violations of labor legislation. The ministry did not specify how many involved child labor. The U.S. Department of Labor's 2024 report recommended increasing staffing to 144 inspectors to cover a labor force of approximately 2.9 million people. Using that workforce estimate, the 2025 staffing level amounts to roughly one inspector for every 100,000 workers. The inspectorate's work was restricted for several years by a moratorium on business inspections. The U.S. report said the moratorium was repealed in February 2025, allowing unannounced inspections to resume. However, a new moratorium was introduced in March 2026 and runs through December 31, with exceptions including inspections prompted by complaints. The Labor Code sets the general minimum employment age at 16, with exceptions for younger adolescents. But the U.S. report found that its minimum-age protections did not extend to children working without formal employment contracts. This gap is particularly relevant to family businesses and agriculture, where formal employment relationships are often absent. International Commitments Kyrgyzstan has benefited since 2016 from the European Union's Generalised...

Household spending

Food Spending in Kazakhstan Tops Half of Consumer Budgets

Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy, ranks among the ten countries with the highest shares of consumer spending devoted to food in an international comparison. National figures show that food purchases continue to consume more than half of household consumer budgets despite rising cash incomes. According to international statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), residents of Kazakhstan spent approximately 42% of their consumer budgets on food in 2025. The USDA measure covers food and nonalcoholic beverages purchased for consumption at home, excluding restaurant meals, alcohol, and tobacco. Higher shares were recorded in Nigeria, Myanmar, and Laos, as well as neighboring Uzbekistan. By comparison, food accounted for roughly a quarter of consumer spending in Russia and 6.4% in the U.S. Investment company Halyk Finance noted in a June 2025 analysis that Kazakhstan ranked sixth in the USDA comparison for 2023. Kazakhstan's Bureau of National Statistics uses a different food category, which also includes alcohol and tobacco. In the first quarter of 2026, this category accounted for 48.6% of household cash expenditures and approximately 54% of consumer spending. Consumer spending covers purchases of goods and services, while total cash expenditures also include debt repayments, taxes, and transfers to other households. Nonfood goods represented 19.9% of cash expenditures, services 21.7%, and another 7.6% went toward repaying loans and other debts. Halyk Finance found that this national food category had accounted for more than half of household cash expenditures for five consecutive years by early 2025. Since January 2026, however, the bureau has classified spending at cafes and restaurants as services rather than food expenditures. A decline in the reported food share compared with previous years therefore cannot automatically be interpreted as an improvement in living standards. The first-quarter share varied sharply by region, reaching 57.5% in the Zhetysu region, 56% in the Mangystau region, and 54.7% in the East Kazakhstan region. The figure was 41.2% in the capital, Astana, and 47.7% in Almaty. These differences reflect household incomes, food prices, the cost of services, and consumption patterns. Annual spending on food and nonalcoholic beverages in Kazakhstan averaged $1,292 per person in 2025, an increase of 13.9% from the previous year. Meat and meat products accounted for the largest share of the food budget in the second quarter of 2026. The bureau's household spending figures show that an average household spent 61,248 tenge, approximately $135, per month on them, about one-third of its food and nonalcoholic beverage expenditures. Bread and cereals accounted for about 14%, while dairy products represented approximately 12.6%. In the first quarter of 2026, average per capita cash income was 399,819 tenge, approximately $880 over three months, or about $294 per month. In local currency, the figure rose 12.9% year over year, but this was a nominal increase that did not account for inflation. In September, annual inflation was 9.3%, while food prices rose 8.5% year over year. For lower-income households, even moderate increases in the prices of basic groceries can significantly reduce the amount available for other needs....

Economic Growth

Kyrgyzstan Records Double-Digit Growth as Inflation Stays Above 11%

Kyrgyzstan’s economy grew by 11.1% in the first seven months of 2026, but households also faced double-digit inflation. Annual price growth reached 11.5% in July. The latest poverty figures show that 24% of the population remained below the national poverty line in 2025. According to the latest macroeconomic review by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), the expansion has been driven primarily by a surge in investment and strong consumer demand. Kyrgyzstan’s growth rate exceeded those reported by several Central Asian neighbors, although the figures cover different periods. Kazakhstan’s economy expanded by 4.1% in January–July. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan grew by 8.5% and 8.2%, respectively, in the first half of the year. The EDB forecasts growth of 10.2% for Kyrgyzstan over 2026 as a whole. Average real wages, adjusted for inflation, rose by 15.3% in January–June. This indicates stronger purchasing power among wage earners on average, but does not establish an improvement across all households. Investment increased by 58.8% over the first seven months. Budget financing for investment increased by about 70%, while bank financing rose to 4.3 times its previous level. Fixed-capital investment financed by foreign direct investment rose to 15.3 times its previous level. Budget revenues also increased by 48.8% in the first half of the year, while the republican budget recorded a surplus equivalent to 6.1% of GDP. Price Growth Remains in Double Digits Annual inflation reached 11.5% in July, up from 11% a month earlier. The pressure is visible in everyday purchases. In July alone, average prices for horsemeat rose by 5.4%, lamb by 4%, and beef by 3.9%, although potatoes became cheaper. Housing and utility costs were also rising rapidly, with annual inflation in that category reaching 11.2%. Fuel prices are another source of pressure. The National Bank says higher global oil prices, amid the conflict in the Middle East and concerns over petroleum supplies, have raised the cost of imported fuel. Those increases then feed into transport and production costs across the economy. By August 24, the National Bank put annual inflation at 11.7%, with prices up 7.3% since the start of the year. On the same day, it kept its policy rate at 12%. The central bank cited persistent inflationary pressure, including higher import costs and production expenses. Its inflation target range is 5%–7%. The EDB expects inflation to end 2026 at about 11.5%, still well above that range. IMF Proposes Changes to Public-Sector Pay The International Monetary Fund has also examined public-sector compensation. In a technical assistance report published on September 2, it notes pay raises of 50% for doctors and 25% for nurses in 2024. The report also records a 63% increase in remuneration for the social sector in 2026. According to the IMF, large, infrequent pay increases can add to inflationary pressures and make government spending more difficult to manage. The IMF recommends moving away from large, episodic increases toward more regular salary adjustments that account for inflation, available fiscal space, and labor market conditions. This would make wage growth and government...

Labor Market

Ashgabat Police Reportedly Crack Down on Non-Resident Workers

In Turkmenistan, police raids targeting non-resident laborers seeking short-term work in the capital are intensifying, according to Turkmen.News, placing additional pressure on citizens from regions that face chronic unemployment at home. Day Laborers Targeted Police in Ashgabat have reportedly been extorting money from non-resident day laborers, threatening them with detention and forced removal from the city. These raids are concentrated near the newly opened transport hub in the Gurtly district, which recently replaced the former central interchange near the Tekin Bazaar, a long-established site for informal employment. For many from Turkmenistan’s regions, Ashgabat offers the only opportunity to earn a daily wage of $2.50 to $3.50. But this marginal lifeline is vanishing as police expel day laborers from Gurtly and threaten to drive non-residents out of the capital entirely. The area has developed its own informal employment system. Several women operate as unofficial coordinators, posing as passengers at the bus stop. They maintain notebooks filled with phone numbers, service prices, and available workers. Locals approach them with tasks, such as moving furniture or doing basic repairs, and are promptly matched with laborers who remain discreetly nearby. Raids and Intimidation Authorities appear intent on dismantling this system. Eyewitnesses say police conduct daily patrols in Gurtly, stopping young men, checking residency documents, and confiscating their earnings. The money is allegedly pocketed by officers, with no official record kept. Victims report being insulted, intimidated, and threatened with deportation to their home provinces before being released following brief “educational conversations.” Such operations are not new. In late October, Ashgabat police issued mass fines to non-resident taxi drivers. During the summer’s UN forum in Avaza, day laborers in Turkmenbashi were reportedly detained en masse, held in temporary facilities, and then forcibly returned to their home region. These actions are part of what appears to be an ongoing, unofficial campaign of pressure against internal migrants. Erasing Poverty from the Capital’s Image Some Ashgabat residents believe the relocation of the main bus hub to the outskirts is part of a broader strategy to conceal poverty behind the capital’s polished facade. “This is an attempt to cleanse the capital of any hints of the real, unsightly side of life,” one resident remarked. Income levels outside the capital remain significantly lower. For many families, irregular work in Ashgabat is their only source of supplemental income. Yet instead of addressing inequality, observers argue that authorities are reinforcing regional discrimination, further marginalizing non-resident workers.

Poverty

Poverty in Central Asia: Who Is Living and Who Is Just Surviving

A new analysis by Ranking.kz reveals that Kazakhstan currently has the most favorable poverty indicators among Central Asian countries, while Tajikistan records the highest levels of deprivation. The findings also reflect significant shifts in global poverty estimates following a revision of the World Bank’s methodology. According to Our World in Data, by 2024, the global number of people living in extreme poverty had risen to 817 million, an increase of 125 million compared to previous figures. However, this jump does not signal worsening global conditions. Instead, it stems from a change in measurement criteria. In June 2024, the World Bank raised the international poverty line from $2.15 to $3 per day in purchasing power parity (PPP), based on 2021 prices. This methodological update expanded the scope of people counted as poor, even as real incomes among the poorest rose by approximately 16%. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to bear the brunt of global poverty. Of the 30 countries with the highest poverty rates, 24 are located on the continent. In Central Asia, Tajikistan ranks as the region’s poorest nation, with 61.3% of its population living on less than $3 per day. In contrast, the poverty rate stands at just 2.74% in Kyrgyzstan, 2.72% in Uzbekistan, and 1.93% in Armenia. Kazakhstan reports the region’s lowest rate of extreme poverty; just 0.04% of the population lives below the international threshold. Data for Turkmenistan is not available. According to Kazakhstan’s National Statistics Bureau, the share of citizens earning less than the cost of the basic food basket declined from 0.2% in 2023 to 0.1% in 2024. For the first time, the gap between urban and rural poverty disappeared; previously, rural areas had higher rates. In absolute terms, 16,500 people lived below the food minimum in the first quarter of 2025. The proportion of the population earning less than the national subsistence minimum also decreased, falling from 5.2% in 2023 to 5% in 2024. The breakdown shows 3.8% in cities and 6.9% in villages. The total number of people below the subsistence minimum dropped to 1 million. As of early 2025, the figure had improved further to 4.5%, with the minimum raised to 52,500 tenge (approximately $98) per capita. In terms of daily consumption, Kazakhstani citizens spent an average of $7 per day in 2024. Based on World Bank data, the international dollar was equivalent to 160.93 tenge, reflecting the amount needed in Kazakhstan to purchase a comparable basket of goods and services to that of $1 in the United States.

Cost of Living

High Praise, Empty Pockets: Turkmenistan May Scrap Benefit Hikes

It seems that average Turkmen citizens will again have to find ways to ration their spending in 2026, and beyond, thanks to a proposal from a member of the country’s Council of Elders. At a session of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) on September 19, Elders’ Council member Yazmyrat Atamyradov, who, in fairness, probably drew the short straw before the session started, said that socio-economic conditions in Turkmenistan have reached such a high level that there is no longer a need for cost-of-living increases for salaries, pensions, stipends, and other benefits. "You are bestowing such blessings upon our people, Hero Arkadag!” Atamyradov said in his address. “Our sons and daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren go to school and work without a care in the world. A peaceful, carefree life itself is a priceless treasure and a great asset.” Most of Turkmenistan’s people likely would not agree with Atamyradov’s suggestion, but his words were meant for only one person, Halk Maslahaty Chairman Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who was in attendance and thanked Atamyradov for the recommendation. Most of the effusive praise for Turkmenistan’s alleged astounding socio-economic achievements was also directed at Berdimuhamedov, who served as Turkmenistan’s president from late 2006 until March 2022, when he stepped down and his son Serdar took the helm. Changes to Turkmenistan’s constitution in early 2023 made the Halk Maslahaty chairman the highest post in the country. A Deteriorating Economy There is no basis for Atamyratov’s assertion that living conditions are improving in Turkmenistan. The suggestion to cut annual payment increases more likely means the authorities can no longer afford to continue funding cost-of-living increases. Turkmenistan has the fourth largest reserves of natural gas in the world, and in the early years after independence, in late 1991, then-President Saparmurat Niyazov forecast the country would soon become a second Kuwait and everyone would be driving Mercedes. It has not worked out like that at all. Turkmenistan has a lot of gas, but only a few customers. The steep drop in gas prices in 2015 devastated Turkmenistan’s economy, which is about 80% dependent on revenue from gas sales, and has never recovered. The first food shortages independent Turkmenistan had ever seen started in 2016. Flour, cooking oil, sugar, eggs, and other basic goods were often not available at state stores where goods are sold at a subsidized price, but have always been available at privately-owned stores and at bazaars, where the price is two or three times more expensive. Eventually, rationing was introduced on bread. Customers were limited to two and sometimes only one churek (flat, round bread) per person. In some areas, police were tasked with monitoring sales to ensure no one bought more than their allotment. Often, there were more customers than bread, and in many places, including the capital, Ashgabat, lines started forming outside state stores before the sun came up. The authorities responded by telling people to line up behind the store so they could not be seen from the street. Fast forward to 2025, where in...