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 Center for Policy Research (SCPR) since October 2020. The SCPR had developed a methodology for building a price index based on components of consumer basket, weighting, and market selection (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) for May 2023 (with 2021 as the base year) broken down by region and the major consumption groups. Based on the CPI changes, the bulletin provides an estimate of the cost of living and poverty lines at the local level in all Syrian regions.
The following results are highlighted:
- In May 2023, the general price index exhibited an annual inflation (Y-o-Y) of 81.34 per cent and a monthly inflation (M-o-M) of 5.6 per cent.
- In May 2023, the governorates of Deir-Ezzor, Aleppo and Dara’a marked the highest monthly inflation rates, standing at 9.3 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively, while the governorates of Idleb, Homs and Damascus recorded the lowest inflation rates, ranging between 2.3 and 3.8 per cent.
- In May 2023, the Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel oils group contributed significantly to the monthly inflation (M-o-M) with 5.6 per cent, making up 32.8 per cent of the total, followed by Food & non-alcoholic beverages group with a contribution of 31.3 per cent, and trailed by the Communications group at 8.8 per cent.
- The monthly inflation in May 2023 had a significant impact, leading to a decrease in the real wages of public sector workers in GoS areas by 5.7 per cent compared to April 2023. Similarly, the worker wages in AA areas decreased by 8 per cent, while wages for the workers in SSG and SIG areas witnessed a slight increase of 0.8 per cent during the month.
- In May 2023, the abject poverty line for families, rose to SYP 1.25 million per month, marking an increase of SYP 63 thousand from April 2023. The lower poverty line increased by SYP 99 thousand from the previous month to reach 1.97 million, while the upper poverty line saw an SYP 136 thousand increase, reaching 2.72 million.
- In May 2023, the wage gap from the upper poverty line reached 89.3 per cent for university-educated employees in the public sector, 54 per cent for private sector workers, and 53.5 per cent for civil society workers. In all three instances.
To read the bulletin in English:
Monthly Bulletin – Issue (5), 2023 (En)
To read the bulletin in Arabic:
Monthly Bulletin – Issue (5), 2023 (Ar)
