ONE-THIRD OF KAZAKH RESIDENTS HOPE FOR BETTER LIFE THIS YEAR, SURVEY

The poll conducted by the Center for Social and Political Studies (CSPS), has revealed that 34% of Kazakh residents expect their living standard to improve this year.

"28% respondents believe that no changes are in store this year, 34% expect a certain improvement, 25% think that the crisis will be getting worse," CSPS director Gulmira Ileulova said in an interview to the Central Asia Monitor weekly on January 22.

The general disposition of Kazakh people is more optimistic than that of the citizens of other former USSR states. For example, 76% Lithuanians and 25% Ukraine people believe their countries have just entered the crisis stage, while 46% Armenian respondents said the crisis "would last much longer and no quick solution would present itself.”

Ileulova remarked that the predominately optimistic views of the Kazakh society does not come as a surprise to her, “if the entire population lives in poverty, it has no high expectations and, therefore, a lower degree of frustration.”

According to the survey, 42% have a monthly income lower than a living wage (12,000 tenge) per family member, 39% survive on 20,000 thousand tenge per person (one or two living wages) and 15% have 24,000-36,0000 tenge income per family member.

The reports showed that 4.5% of Kazakhstan’s residents have an income above 36,000 tenge per family member.

According to Ileulova, "those who lived beyond the poverty line still live like that." "They always had a low income, did not rise to a high level of consumption and did not afford expensive items," said Ileulova. She noted, however, that “the affluent families did not notice the crisis at all."

A so-called "middle class" has been hit the hardest. "This category of the population had an opportunity to take loans and increase consumption,” said Ileulova.

The residents of Zhambyl, Almaty, Aktobe and Kostanai regions as well as Almaty city were among those who felt the impact of the crisis the most. "I would like especially mention the Zhambyl region, which demonstrated the lowest level of social well-being throughout the year," she said.

Kazakhstan in Focus #4