Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The minimum consumer spending (MCS) in Uzbekistan has been raised to 669,000 soums per month.

The Statistics Agency under the President of Uzbekistan announced the updated MCS figures, which are used to determine the poverty line. Following the revision, the indicator increased by 3.2%—from 648,000 to 669,000 soums per month per person (from 21,300 to 22,000 soums per day).

By law, the agency must announce the MCS level annually no later than 20 January.

The previous increase occurred on April 30, when it was raised by 4.3% ahead of planned hikes in gas and electricity tariffs. Before that, on January 20 last year, the figure had been increased by 9.3%.

The MCS for the following year is indexed based on inflation levels, considering price increases for food, non-food goods, and services.

Since 2022, the per capita income criterion used to determine low-income families in the Unified Social Protection Registry has been equated to the minimum consumer spending level.

Several social benefits cannot be lower than the MCS. In particular, in September, allowances and minimum pensions were increased for:

Elderly citizens without the required work experience;

Minimum old-age pensions for those with incomplete work records;

Allowances for the legal guardians of children with disabilities under 18 who require constant care.

The MCS calculation method is based on determining a person’s basic expenses necessary to meet daily needs for food, non-food items, and services.