For 27% of the country’s population, 2018 was more difficult than 2017, while about 65% said they consider themselves poor or very poor, shows an opinion poll presented by the Association of Sociologists and Demographers of Moldova on January 29, IPN reports.

According to the study, only 1.8% of those polled identified themselves with the upper social stratum, 9.1% with the average social group, while 24.3% with the social group closer to the average. Eugeniu Știrbu, director of the Chisinau branch of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, said the given results confirm that in the absence of a rich middle class, Moldovan society remains vulnerable and unstable.

Four in ten respondents said the life of the people in their community worsened compared with the situation five years ago, while 13% said it improved. 43% of those polled said they saw no changes. Each third respondent said they expect their family will live better in a year.

Among the problems about which the people are concerned most are the high food prices, expensive public utilities and poverty. For one fourth of the population, the disposable incomes are not enough at least for bare essentials, while four in ten respondents said their revenues are enough only for bare essentials. 22% of those surveyed said their revenues are sufficient for decent living. About 5% of those polled manage to buy particular expensive goods, but economize in other areas and only 1.9% of the respondents afford to but what they want, without limiting themselves.

Some 70% of the respondents consider the events inside the country go wrong, 15% believe things go right, while 15% don’t know. According to sociologists, the distribution of answers to this question shows a negative attitude concerning the development course for which the Moldovan authorities plead.

In another development, approximately 46% of those interviewed said the reforms in the country are not really efficient, 16% said they are not at all efficient, one third of the respondents said they are somehow efficient and only 3% said they are very efficient. 2% could not give an answer.

The poll was carried out in 81 localities, except for the Transnistrian region, during January 4 – 19, 2019 and covered a sample of 1,179 respondents. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3%.