Published
08/28/2026, 18:02If migrant workers’ remittances were excluded from the calculation of household consumption, the poverty rate in Kyrgyzstan would rise from 24 per cent to 34.9 per cent. These calculations demonstrate the significance of remittances from migrants for the population’s financial well-being.
The most significant impact would be felt in the Osh region, where the poverty rate would rise from 26.5 per cent to 48.5 per cent. In the Batken region, the rate would rise from 38.5 per cent to 54.8 per cent, and in the Jalal-Abad region from 27 per cent to 43.4 per cent. In the Talas region, the poverty rate would rise from 23.6 per cent to 30 per cent, and in the Chui region from 21 per cent to 26.9 per cent.
In the city of Osh, the rate would rise from 3.3 per cent to 12.4 per cent. Meanwhile, in the other regions, the change in the poverty rate would be less significant. Thus, the incomes of labour migrants remain one of the key factors underpinning consumption and the material well-being of the population of Kyrgyzstan.
