The cost of living has significantly increased in Syria reaching levels exceeded the ability of current salaries and income to cover.
Salaries of employees in Syria range between SP25,000 and SP42,000 according to the grade (from grade 5 to grade 1 respectively) and years of services. In the same time, if we considered the needs of a-5-member-family in a regime-controlled area that is not under any blockade, we found that the salary cannot cover half of the family's needs for food and other essential materials. For example, the family would need each day 3 bags of bread, SP65 each making SP200 daily, almost SP6000 monthly, nearly a quarter of the salary of grade-5 employees who receive a salary of SP25,000.
For preparing food, a family’s monthly needs would be about SP4500 for gas, SP3000 for cooking oil and SP6500 for ghee, a total of SP14,000.
A standard family would need 4 kg of sugar a week at SP410 per kilo, making about SP6400 a month. Added to that, SP2000 for a one kilo of tea monthly.
The above materials are the essential and minimum requirement for a family of five, making a total of SP28,400 monthly, which exceed the salary of grade 5 employee, and more than a half of the salary of grade-1 employee (SP42,000).
for lunch, a family would need monthly: SP6400 for rice, SP3600 for bulgur, SP1000 for tomato paste, SP5600 for yogurt, added to daily needs for vegetables like potatoes, marrow, tomatoes, aubergine, beans and others.
About breakfast, a family would need at least eggs, strained yogurt and olive. A family would need two boxes of eggs monthly at SP1900 each, making about SP3800 a month. Besides that, 3 kg of strained yogurt at cost of SP1800 a week, SP7200 monthly, and olive cost about SP3200 a month, as the family needs one kilo per week at SP800.
Families of children and babies would need to tolerate other expenses, like milk and nappies. A baby would need 3-4 cans of milk powder, at SP3000 each, making a total of SP12,000 monthly. If the family decided to give their children cow milk, they would need one kilo each day, at SP200 per a kilo, almost SP6000 a month.
Cost of living for families with children in schools and in universities is much higher and cannot be covered without help or support from relatives and other source of income.
The cost of essential living needs and food a for a standard Syria family live in regime-controlled area without any blockade would reach to SP150,000, then how they can manage with a salaries less than SP50,000.
