Dynamics of child poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic

The Kyrgyz Republic is one of the smallest and least developed of the newly created independent states of the former Soviet Union. It ranks 110 out of the 177 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). In the late 1990s, 88 percent of the population were living on less than US$ 4 per day. Children make up nearly two-fifths of its population but child poverty has received little attention.

Research from the University of Southampton in the UK analysed the 1998-2001 Household Budget Survey carried out by the National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. In the period immediately following the Russian financial crisis in 1998, the proportion of children living in poverty peaked at 80 percent. Although poverty levels have improved, in 2002 two out of three Kyrgyz children still lived in poor households.

The research focused on children's movements in and out of poverty over time using panel data. It found that large numbers of children are trapped in poverty for a long time:

• Between 1998 and 2001, three-quarters of children experienced poverty and almost 40 percent of children remained in poverty throughout the four years (see figure above).
• A comparison of all children under 18 years with poor children in the same age group shows more poor children lived in rural areas and in households with access to land. More poor children were in households where the head of household had no or little education.
• Urban children were more likely to be chronically poor than rural children. Poor urban households have no access to land and cannot produce food for their own consumption, which makes them more dependent on the local economy and cash income. Poor urban children are more vulnerable to sudden changes in income.

Although the period a child has been in poverty may vary, even a relatively short time such as one year could have a critical impact. A baby's nutritional intake may be limited or a child may have to work rather than go to school. Little movement out of poverty for a large group has serious implications - four years of a child's life encompasses almost an entire primary education for a 7 to11 year old and a critical survival and development period for a 1 to 5 year old.

Chronic childhood poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic can be tackled. It is essential to track the experience of poverty over time by collecting information on a regular basis. A one-off analysis of child poverty will fail to capture such complexities. Measures that would help include:

• enhancing the educational status of children to alleviate poverty in the long term as higher educational attainment among heads of households is associated with less poverty
• targeting children living in households with many children and those in single parent households to tackle poverty in the short term, as chronic poverty is highest in these groups
• paying particular attention to urban children in poverty reduction programmes.

Jane Falkingham
School of Social Sciences
University of Southampton
Southampton
UK
T + 44 (0)23 8059 3192
F + 44 (0)23 8059 3846
j.c.falkingham@soton.ac.uk

Shamsia Ibragimova
Consultant on Poverty Analysis and Measurement
Formerly with the National Statistical Committee
Kyrgyz Republic
T +996 (0)312 631 379
shamsia@list.ru, sh_ibragimova@yahoo.com

Views expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of DFID, IDS, id21 or other contributing institutions. Copyright remains with the original authors but (unless stated otherwise) any article may be copied or quoted without restriction, provided both source (id21, insights) and authors are properly acknowledged and informed. Copyright © 2004 id21. All rights reserved.