MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. The poverty rate in Russia will decline from 12.1% in 2020 to 11.4% in 2021, the World Bank (WB) says in its report on the Russian economy.
According to the report, the evolution of the pandemic poses the main risk for the forecast. In a pessimistic scenario, new pandemic outbreaks in the world and the spread of new strains of the virus may lead to the need for more long-term preservation of restrictive measures in a larger number of countries. In this case, Russia may return to recession in 2022, the World Bank says.
The cumulative effect of economic growth and changes in social support measures (assuming full and targeted implementation of the newly announced measures) can lead to poverty reduction in Russia, the World Bank believes.
"These measures will have a particularly strong impact on poverty rates for families with three or more children and single-parent families, as well as households in rural areas and small towns. While these measures ensure adequate targeting of the poorest members of society, they have little impact to reduce poverty throughout the country, since many other families are not covered by social protection measures," the report says.