Syrian Center for Policy Research:
The bulletin provides an independent assessment of consumer prices and the rate of inflation in all Syrian regions, based on a monthly survey of consumer prices carried out by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research (SCPR) since October 2020. The SCPR had developed a methodology for building a price index based on the contents of consumption baskets, weights, and market choices. (See SCPR’s Consumer Price Index in Syria)
This bulletin presents the findings of the monthly consumer price survey and the changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in 2022 (with 2021 as the base year) broken down by region and types of main goods and services. Based on the CPI changes, the bulletin provides an estimate of the cost of living and poverty lines across every region of Syria.
The following results are highlighted:
- The rate of annual inflation (Y-o-Y) in 2022 reached 84.9 per cent compared to 2021, 289 per cent compared to 2020, and 729 per cent compared to 2019 – a set of figures which reflect a state of hyperinflation.
- The year 2022 saw a continuing increase in prices, with the CPI surging from 138 in January to 243 by December. The annual average rose to 185, compared to 100 in 2021 (the base year).
- The abject poverty line for a family of 5 members in Syria was about SYP 736 thousand per month, and the extreme poverty line was SYP 1.16 million, and the overall poverty line was SYP 1.6 million in 2022.
- Comparing wages in Syria with the national poverty line in 2022 reveals that wages are lower than all the poverty lines (overall, extreme, and abject). Wages for a public-sector graduate worker are 89 per cent lower than the maximum poverty line, 84 per cent lower for a private sector worker, and 58 per cent lower for a civil society employee.
- After adjusting the value of wages to the average exchange rate against the dollar in the same year, the monthly salary of a public sector graduate worker is worth approximately USD 40, while the monthly salary of a private sector worker is worth USD 58, and the salary of a civil society employee is worth USD 154.
To read the bulletin in English:
SCPR’S Annual Bulletin for CPI and INF 2022 (En)
To read the bulletin in Arabic:
SCPR’S Annual Bulletin for CPI and INF 2022 (Ar)
