Belarus comes in second from bottom compared to neighbours on Salary Levels

The country's rich are paid six times more than the poor.

Last year the average salary in Belarus reached USD 326 per month. Compared to other CIS citizens, only Russians (USD 529) and Kazakhs (USD 434) beat our country, however if one compares our salaries with those of our nearest neighbours, our country ends up almost at the bottom of the table. For instance, the wallets of Lithuanians grow by USD 900 per month on average and for Latvians USD 630 constitutes an average net salary.

Meanwhile our officials congratulate themselves that the gap between the rich and poor is not that large. Thus, according to Ministry of Statistics, the wallets of the top 10 % Belarusian earners are 5.9 times thicker than those of the bottom 10%. In Lithuania and Estonia this ratio is 10, in Ukraine 9, in Russia 16.8 and 20 in Moldova!

However this figure depends on whose salaries are compared. The Minister of Statistics and Analysis, Vladimir Zinovsky admitted to earning 2.5 mln BYR a month. Those who make less than 200,080 BYR are considered poor in our country (minimal living standard budget). Therefore the difference between those who live on the poverty line and the Minister constitutes almost 12.5 times.