In 2024, **** million people in Russia lived below the poverty line, marking a considerable decrease compared to the previous year. The number of Russian residents that earned an income below the subsistence minimum was nearly ** million higher in 2000. What percentage of Russians live in poverty? Looking at annual figures, Russia’s poverty rate has declined since 2015, when it exceeded ** percent. Over ***** percent of the population of Russia lived below the national poverty line in 2024. Several other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, such as Bulgaria, Romania, and Latvia, reported higher poverty rates. Subsistence minimum in Russia Starting from January 1, 2025, the monthly per capita subsistence minimum in Russia stood at ****** Russian rubles for the working-age population and at ****** Russian rubles on average. That figure includes the cost of essential goods, such as food products, clothing, and medicines, and services, such as utilities and transportation expenses. The subsistence minimum was lower than the average wage in Russia, which was set at ****** Russian rubles from January 1, 2025.

Historical dataset showing Russia poverty rate by year from 1993 to 2021.

Russia: Poverty ratio, percent living on less than 1.90 USD a day: The latest value from 2021 is 0.2 percent, an increase from 0.1 percent in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 5.30 percent, based on data from 71 countries. Historically, the average for Russia from 2014 to 2021 is 0.23 percent. The minimum value, 0.1 percent, was reached in 2018 while the maximum of 0.3 percent was recorded in 2014.

Russia Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data was reported at 15.900 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 14.500 % for 2020. Russia Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 17.350 % from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2021, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.800 % in 2015 and a record low of 14.500 % in 2020. Russia Poverty Headcount Ratio at Societal Poverty Lines: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line is the percentage of a population living in poverty according to the World Bank's Societal Poverty Line. The Societal Poverty Line is expressed in purchasing power adjusted 2017 U.S. dollars and defined as max($2.15, $1.15 + 0.5*Median). This means that when the national median is sufficiently low, the Societal Poverty line is equivalent to the extreme poverty line, $2.15. For countries with a sufficiently high national median, the Societal Poverty Line grows as countries’ median income grows.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Poverty rate at $1.9 a day of Russian Federation rocketed by 100.00% from 0.10 % in 2020 to 0.20 % in 2021. Since the 50.00% drop in 2018, poverty rate at $1.9 a day remained constant by 0.00% in 2021. Population below $1.9 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $1.9 a day at 2005 international prices. As a result of revisions in PPP exchange rates, poverty rates for individual countries cannot be compared with poverty rates reported in earlier editions.

Russia RU: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $6.85 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data was reported at 2.000 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.700 % for 2020. Russia RU: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $6.85 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 2.800 % from Dec 2014 (Median) to 2021, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.500 % in 2016 and a record low of 1.700 % in 2020. Russia RU: Poverty Headcount Ratio at $6.85 a Day: 2017 PPP: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. Poverty headcount ratio at $6.85 a day is the percentage of the population living on less than $6.85 a day at 2017 international prices.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

Nearly 11.3 thousand people in Russia were homeless, based on the population census data from 2021. The number of homeless residents decreased by 82 percent compared to 2010. The largest share of homeless people in the country lived in urban areas, at around 95 percent in 2021.

The monthly minimum wage in Russia as of January 1, 2025, amounted to ****** Russian rubles, or approximately *** U.S. dollars using the exchange rate as of February 28, 2025. In the capital Moscow, it was set at ****** Russian rubles, or around *** U.S. dollars. In the country's second-largest city, Saint Petersburg, it was lower, at ****** Russian rubles. Since 2021, the minimum wage in Russia has been calculated as 42 percent of the median wage. Between 2018 and 2020, it equaled to the minimum cost of living that was set in the country. The poor and the rich in Russia Around ** million residents lived under the poverty line in Russia. Those earning the highest 20 percent of income accounted for approximately ** percent of the total composite monetary income in 2023, while the group with the lowest income had a ***-percent share. Regional disparities The economic disparity was also observed across Russian federal subjects. The median monthly wage ranged from ****** Russian rubles in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic to ****** Russian rubles in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug between September 2018 and August 2019. Minimum wage thresholds can be regulated by regional authorities, as long as they are not lower than the federal minimum wage.

One third of Russians named poverty and having no or not enough money the most common reason for people to get divorced, according to a survey from July 2021. The second most popular ground was the lack of mutual understanding between spouses, as per 14 percent of respondents.