Serbia's 'Social Map' Reveals Extent of Poverty

Serbia's government has released its first "social" map of the country, which shows that 10 per cent of the population of 7 million live below the poverty line. The number of unemployed also stands at about 10 per cent.

The poverty line, which in Serbia stands at about 80 euros a month, represents the minimum income or expenditure required to meet basic needs.

According to the map, around 50,000 people in the country eat regularly in soup kitchens, whereas 70,000 families are on welfare.

The new law on social protection, which is due to be implemented, expands the number of material support beneficiaries to 80,000.

Presenting the map, Rasim Ljajic, Minister of Labour and Social Policy, said that most people who were not rich in Serbia today were in some way poor. "The entire middle class category is gone," the minister lamented.

The biggest number of poor and unemployed people is located in southern and eastern Serbia. Paradoxically, the biggest number of income support recipients is in the Vojvodina region, which has the lowest rate of unemployment and poverty in Serbia.

Ljajic explained this by saying that people in Vojvodina possibly had better information on obtaining access to welfare benefits.

Sasa Djogovic, from the the Institute for Market Research, IZIT, put much of the blame for the uneven social situation on badly conducted privatisations.

"Many people lost their jobs since failed privatizations, or have stayed in companies that are now on the verge of collapse," Djogovic said. It was sad that no national strategy had been drawn up with a view to changing things, he added.

The data for the social map were collected over three years and will be updated with new data. The map is designed to facilitate realisation of the right to social assistance and provide better access to information for potential users of social services.