25.6% of Moldova’s population was affected by multidimensional poverty in 2024. The indicators are down by 0.9 percentage points compared to 2023 and by 1.9 percentage points compared to 2022. At the same time, 33.6% of the population is living in monetary poverty, which refers to the lack of sufficient money, and this is more pronounced in rural areas, IPN reports.
Oleg Cara, director general of the NBS, told a press conference that the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of 2024 assesses poverty in Moldova through four main aspects – health, education, living conditions and employment, using a set of 11 indicators that reflect the significant deprivation of the population, all of which have an equal weight in the final calculation.
The collected data show that the poverty intensity in 2024 was 46.0%, which means that each multidimensionally poor person covers only half of their essential needs.
In the year 2024, the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MDI) value was 0.118, meaning that people in multidimensional poverty face about 11.8% of all possible deprivation. Over the years 2022-2024, the MSI has been on a steady downward trend, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The biggest problems faced by people living in multidimensional poverty were lack of sewerage – 23.3% of people living in multidimensional poverty did not have their home connected to the public network, use of polluting fuels for heating – 21.9% used wood, coal or oil, and lack of health insurance – 21.4% had at least one uninsured family member. The fewest problems were related to unemployment – 3.9% and lack of access to health services – 0.6%.
The data also show that there are big differences between cities and villages in terms of multidimensional poverty. In rural areas, 37.6% of the population live in multidimensional poverty, while in cities only 10% are affected. Poor people in villages also suffer, on average, from deprivation in 46.6% of the aspects analyzed, compared to 43.2% in cities.
The data also show that there are big differences between cities and villages in terms of multidimensional poverty. In rural areas, 37.6% of the population live in multidimensional poverty, while in cities only 10% are affected. Poor people in villages also suffer, on average, from deprivation in 46.6% of the aspects analyzed, compared to 43.2% in cities.
According to the NBS, 54.3% of Moldovans are not poor by either monetary or multidimensional criteria. However, 13.5% of the population experience both types of poverty. In addition, 20.1% are poor only in financial poverty and 12.1% are poor only in terms of living conditions, education, health or work.
