Measures of poverty in the Caucasus and Central Asia: International approaches and specificities of Southern countries of the former Soviet Union

International audienceThe Caucasus and Central Asia are rarely covered in studies regarding development. The principal international indicators for comparison (such as the HDI, Human Development Index, or absolute poverty measures of $1.25 or $2 per day) classify them as medium developed countries and their characteristics are difficult to interpret. Use of composite indicators (including HDI) ‘raises’ the country level due to high literacy and school attendance rates. The reality is that poverty concerns the majority of the population in these countries, still affected by the significant economic crises that followed the division of the USSR and struggling to find an appropriate development model. Inequalities have deepened, social spending remains low, access to social services, prioritised under soviet rule, is now being debated.This article will consider the different means and concepts for measuring poverty (relative/absolute, monetary/living conditions, spending or resource based) and study how countries use these concepts, in particular with regard to international comparisons, recommendations of international organisations and the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). It contributes to works on the sociology of measure and quantification (Desrosières, 2000). Focus will thus be on the measure of poverty and its uses and not on how populations perceive poverty and vulnerability