The findings of a survey conducted by Numbeo, the world’s largest cost of living database, show that Tajikistanis spend 24.7 percent of their monthly wages for payment of utility bills – electricity, water, and garbage removal.
If we take into account communications, the Internet and transport, then the costs will increase by a few percent and can amounting to half the money earned during a month.
The online cost of living database, Numbeo, has updated information for 2021. According to this information, residents of Tajikistan pay on average 375.23 somonis for utility bills (equivalent to US$33.2). In reality, this figure fluctuates between 225-600 somonis(US$20-US$53).
The price includes payment for electricity, heating, water supply and garbage collection.
At the same time, an official average monthly wage in Tajikistan amounts to 1,520.60 somonis (equivalent to US$134.62).
Thus, residents of Tajikistan spend almost a quarter of their monthly wages to pay for utilities – 24.7 percent. This is the highest figure in the post-Soviet space.
Residents of other former Soviet republics reportedly spent 10 to 15% of their monthly wages to pay for utilities salary.
Numbeo is the world’s largest cost of living database. Numbeo is also a crowd-sourced global database of quality of life information including housing indicators, perceived crime rates, and quality of healthcare, among many other statistics.
