Moscow, 17 February: The number of Russians living on a per capita income below the official subsistence level fell to 23.1m people in October-December 2003 from 31.2m people in July-September, according to data released by the State Statistics Committee on Tuesday [17 February].
Of the total Russian population, 16.2 per cent had per capita incomes below the subsistence level in the fourth quarter of the year, down from 21.9 per cent in the third quarter.
Russia's government set the average official subsistence level at R2,143 per capita [per month] in the fourth quarter of 2003, up from R2,121 in the third quarter.
The official subsistence level was set at R2,341 for working people, R1,625 for pensioners and R2,113 for minors.
The government sets the national subsistence level based on data from the State Statistics Committee and the Labour and Social Development Ministry. (R28.4949 1 dollar)