# Absolute poverty in 2025: two in five rural residents are poor *Wages in euro terms have risen 3.7-fold in a decade, but the gains are not reaching rural areas equally, where poverty is almost twice the urban rate.* - **Published:** 2026-09-26 - **Publisher:** Socium — Foundation for the Study of Society (Chișinău, Republic of Moldova) - **Topic:** Moldova - **URL:** https://socium.md/en/analyses/2026-09-26-absolute-poverty-in-2025-two-in-five-rural-residents-are-poor/ - **Data sources:** National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova (NBS), statistical database; World Bank, World Development Indicators **Key figure:** 40.0% — absolute poverty rate in rural Moldova (2025) ## Summary The absolute poverty rate was 31.1% in 2025: 21.1% in towns and 40.0% in villages. Meanwhile, the average gross wage rose to EUR 796. ## Key findings - The absolute poverty rate in Moldova was 31.1% in 2025, according to NBS: almost a third of the population. - In rural areas the rate reaches 40.0%, 1.9 times higher than in urban areas (21.1%). - The average gross monthly wage reached MDL 15,594.5 (EUR 796) in 2025, 3.7 times higher in euro terms than in 2015 (EUR 217.2). - Remittances fell from 25.1% of GDP in 2010 to 9.4% in 2025 (World Bank), shrinking a traditional source of income for rural households. ## A third of the population below the absolute poverty line National Bureau of Statistics data for 2025 show an absolute poverty rate of 31.1%. The indicator measures the share of people whose consumption expenditure falls below the threshold needed to cover a minimum basket of goods and services. The poverty gap (how far, on average, poor people fall below the line) was 6.65%, and poverty severity, which gives more weight to the poorest of the poor, was 2.12%. ## The urban–rural divide: 18.9 percentage points The territorial divide is the sharpest fault line: 40.0% of village residents live in absolute poverty, compared with 21.1% in towns, a gap of 18.9 percentage points. Poverty is also deeper in rural areas. The rural poverty gap (8.93%) is more than twice the urban figure (4.05%), meaning that poor rural households are not only more numerous but also further below the line. The practical implication: uniform social transfers have less impact in rural areas, where larger amounts are needed to lift a household out of poverty. **Absolute poverty indicators by area, 2025 (%) (%)** | Label | Absolute poverty rate | Poverty gap | |---|---|---| | National total | 31.1 | 6.65 | | Urban | 21.1 | 4.05 | | Rural | 40 | 8.93 | *Source: National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova, table NIV070100* ## Wages are rising fast, but for whom? The average gross monthly wage reached MDL 15,594.5 in 2025, equivalent to EUR 796. In 2015 it was EUR 217.2; in euro terms it has grown 3.7-fold in a decade, and by 9.6% compared with 2024 (EUR 726.6). Wage growth does not automatically translate into lower poverty. The average wage reflects only formal employees, concentrated in the main cities, and the labour market remains narrow: the employment rate of the population aged 15 and over was 40.2% in 2025, practically unchanged from 2019 (40.1%). The ILO unemployment rate fell from 5.1% in 2019 to 3.8% in 2025, but the inactivity rate rose to 58.2%. The fall in unemployment reflects withdrawal from the labour market more than job creation. **Average gross monthly wage, 2015–2025 (EUR) (EUR)** | Label | Average gross wage | |---|---| | 2015 | 217.2 | | 2016 | 226.6 | | 2017 | 268.3 | | 2018 | 315.9 | | 2019 | 367.7 | | 2020 | 402.3 | | 2021 | 429.1 | | 2022 | 525 | | 2023 | 621.6 | | 2024 | 726.6 | | 2025 | 796 | *Source: National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova, table SAL010220* ## Remittances no longer compensate For two decades, money sent home by migrants was the safety net of the Moldovan village. Their share of GDP, however, fell from 25.1% in 2010 to 9.4% in 2025, according to the World Bank. The decline mainly reflects faster GDP growth, but it may also point to migrants settling for the long term in destination countries, a hypothesis that requires dedicated survey data. For rural households that depend on these transfers, the effect is direct. **Personal remittances received, % of GDP (% of GDP)** | Label | Moldova | Georgia | |---|---|---| | 2010 | 25.1 | 9.5 | | 2011 | 21.5 | 10 | | 2012 | 22.8 | 10.5 | | 2013 | 23.1 | 11.1 | | 2014 | 22.1 | 11.1 | | 2015 | 19.8 | 9.6 | | 2016 | 18.4 | 9.8 | | 2017 | 17.2 | 10.9 | | 2018 | 16.3 | 11.4 | | 2019 | 16.3 | 12.8 | | 2020 | 16.3 | 13.2 | | 2021 | 15.5 | 14 | | 2022 | 14 | 15.4 | | 2023 | 12 | 13.7 | | 2024 | 10.5 | 11.9 | | 2025 | 9.4 | 11.2 | *Source: World Bank (BX.TRF.PWKR.DT.GD.ZS)* ## Implications Targeting social assistance territorially, according to the depth of poverty and not only its rate, would increase the effectiveness of every leu spent. Employment policies for rural areas, including for the inactive population, matter more than raising the average wage, which mainly benefits urban employees. Annual monitoring of poverty by region and household type, linked to remittance data, is needed to anticipate the effects of declining transfers from abroad. ## Methodology Absolute poverty is estimated by NBS from the Household Budget Survey by comparing consumption expenditure per adult equivalent with the absolute poverty line. Labour market data come from the Labour Force Survey (population aged 15 and over, revised series from 2019). The average wage covers units with 1+ employees. Remittances are World Bank estimates. Chart values are copied directly from the source and rounded to one decimal place. ## Sources - [National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova (NBS), statistical database](https://statbank.statistica.md) - [World Bank, World Development Indicators](https://data.worldbank.org) ## How to cite Socium. (2026, September 26). Absolute poverty in 2025: two in five rural residents are poor. Foundation for the Study of Society. https://socium.md/en/analyses/2026-09-26-absolute-poverty-in-2025-two-in-five-rural-residents-are-poor/ Licence: [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — reuse with attribution to Socium.