Rich’s income 7.6 times that of poor: survey

The richest group, defined as the 20% of the population with the highest income, had an average income of VND10.23 million ($436) a month last year, according to the Citizen Living Standard Survey recently released by the General Statistics Office.

It was 7.6 times higher than the poorest group, the 20% of the population with the lowest income.

The survey polled nearly 47,000 households across the country.

The survey found that average income was VND4.67 million per person per month, up 11.1% from 2021, with rises seen in both urban and rural areas, showing a recovery from Covid-19.

This was the first increase after three years of decline.

Urban area recorded an average income of VND5.95 million, and rural area VND3.85 million.

The southeastern part of the country recorded the highest average income of VND6.33 million, while the northern mountainous area posted the lowest at VND3.17 million.

An average person spent VND2.8 million a month last year, down 3.3% from 2020 (there was no data for 2021).

The decline in expenses is attributed to people tightened spending due to concerns of rising prices.

The richest group spent 3.2 times more than the poorest group, at VND4.1 million versus VND1.3 million.

A Vietnamese household had an average of 3.6 persons last year, and 2.1 persons are in the working age.

The GSO said its survey pointed out that inequality in society still exists between urban and rural areas, regions, and between low- and high-income groups.

Therefore, post-pandemic recovery policies need to focus on the more vulnerable groups in society,