Russians’ spending capacity plummeted in 2015.
MOSCOW, December 28, 2015. Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) presents the results of the survey devoted to the Russian financial self-assessment.
Over the recent decade the financial situation of Russians has considerably increased; per capita income (according to the VCIOM data) has gown fourfold. The percentage of the households with per capita income below 5000 rub. has decreased from 96% in December 2005 to 11% in December 2013 (13%, according to the data obtained by mid-December 2015). This share is higher than the sample average among those who live in the million cities (except for Moscow and St. Petersburg) – 34%, and respondents with secondary level of education – 20%. At the same time, the share of Russians whose income exceeds 10000 rub. was smaller in December 2005 than today (54%).
Over the recent ten years, the financial self-assessments of Russians have improved: the share of those who have “bad” and “very bad” financial situation has dropped from 32% (December 2005) to 16% in December 2013 and 2014. The situation started to change in December 2014; today the share of Russians who have “bad” and “very bad” financial situation has increased to 22%. Simultaneously, the percentage of those who assess their financial situation as “good” or “very good” is the same as it was a year ago (14%). The share of “average” assessments has increased from 57% in December 2005 to 72% in December 2013; however, it has declined to 64% by December 2015.
Up to 2014, the purchasing capacity was growing: the share of “poor” families (those who are lacking money to buy food and those who have enough money to buy food but cannot afford clothes) has decreased twofold – from 49% (in the end of 2005) to 22% in December 2014. However, later the situation started to deteriorate, and today this share has jumped to 39% which is the 2009 level. Most of them are elderly respondents (55%). At the same time, the share of those who can afford buying food and clothes but cannot buy domestic appliances and furniture has decreased from 47% to 40%; the share of those who do not have enough money to buy a car has dropped from 27% to 16%.
The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted December 12-13, 2015; 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 settlements in 46 regions of Russia. The margin of error does not exceed 3.5%.
Per capita income (%) | |||||||||||
XII.05 | XII.06 | XII.07 | XII.08 | XII.09 | XII.10 | XII.11 | XII.12 | XII.13 | XII.14 | 21.XI-13.XII.15 | |
Up to 5000 rub. | 96 | 95 | 59 | 43 | 38 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 13 |
5001 - 8000 rub. | 2 | 3 | 22 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 27 | 25 | 22 | 16 | 15 |
8001 - 10000 rub. | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
10001 - 15000 rub. | 0 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 26 |
15001 rub. and over | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 25 | 27 | 28 |
Per capita average income growth by December 2015, % | 2 | 99 | 151 | 162 | 212 | 245 | 273 | 316 | 324 | 333 | |
How would you assess the current financial situation in your family? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||||||||
| XII.05 | XII.06 | XII.07 | XII.08 | XII.09 | XII.10 | XII.11 | XII.12 | XII.13 | XII.14 | 21.XI-13.XII.15 |
Very good | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Good | 9 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
Average | 57 | 59 | 61 | 60 | 65 | 65 | 67 | 71 | 72 | 70 | 64 |
Bad | 28 | 25 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 19 |
Very bad | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Don’t know | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
In your opinion, which of the below-mentioned categories do you belong to? (closed-ended question, one answer, %) | |||||||||||
| XII.05 | XII.06 | XII.07 | XII.08 | XII.09 | XII.10 | XII.11 | XII.12 | XII.13 | XII.14 | 21.XI-13.XII.15 |
We are barely making ends meet; we do not have enough money even to buy food | 13 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
We have money to buy food but buying clothes is a problem | 36 | 34 | 28 | 28 | 31 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 18 | 30 |
We have enough money to buy food, clothes but we cannot afford buying refrigerator, TV-set or furniture | 39 | 44 | 46 | 43 | 49 | 51 | 52 | 54 | 56 | 47 | 40 |
We can afford refrigerator, TV-set and furniture but we do not have enough money to buy a car | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 27 | 16 |
We can afford almost anything (apartment, dacha, and many more) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Don’t know | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
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