Sofia, July 28 (BTA) - A four-member household (two adults and
two children) needs 2,504 leva a month for a normal life,
according to a June study conducted by the Confederation of
Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), whose results were
 presented here on Tuesday by CITUB President Plamen Dimitrov,
expert Violeta Ivanova and Lyuben Tomev, who heads CITUB's
social and trade union research institute, which conducted the
study.

The average monthly cost of living per household member is 626
leva, which is needed to cover expenses for food, home
maintenance, healthcare, education, transport and holiday, based
 on the average Bulgarian standards for a four-member household.
 

A total of 67 per cent of households have a combined income
under the calculated cost of living, compared to 71 per cent in
the like period of 2019 and 71.5 per cent in 2018.

A total of 28.5 per cent of households have a combined monthly
income of less than 363 leva per household member, which is the
official poverty line for 2020. This adds up to close to
2,065,000 people. This is a slight decrease compared to the same
 period of 2019, when the share of households living under the
poverty line was 30 per cent.
  
A total of 38.5 per cent of households have a combined income
per household member between the poverty line and the cost of
living, which is around 2,778,000 people. This percentage stood
at 41 last June.

Thirty-three per cent of households have a combined monthly
income of over 626 leva per household member. This share has
increased to surpass the share of households living in poverty.
NV/MY