Income Distribution and Poverty 47

5.1.1 Definitions The basic income indicators in Kazakhstan are the subsistence level and the poverty line. The subsistence level is the value of goods and services at prevailing prices necessary to meet the basic requirements for survival. It is proportional to the value of goods and services included in the consumer basket. The consumer basket consists of a food basket, while 30 percent is added for essential non-food items and services that comprise a minimum requirement, such as clothes, housing and essential services. The food basket reflects the World Health Organization standard and also considers national food habits and the availability of goods in the market. The consumer basket does not fully reflect the expenditure on utilities and transportation that comprise a considerable proportion of the budget of low-income households. The subsistence level is centrally determined and used for determining the poverty line but the definition of the poverty line does not correspond to that used in international practice where the poverty line is equal to subsistence level. In 2001, the poverty line, established through legislation, constituted 38 percent of subsistence level. In 2002, it amounted to 40 percent of the latter.