Ahmed Awad of the Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies said that the poverty rates announced by the Minister of Planning weeks ago indicated that a quarter of the population in Jordan suffers from poverty.

Awad added in statements to Roya that since the results of the poverty survey were released in 2017-2018, he has demanded the government to issue the exact figures for poverty, but the government has continued to announce only an aggregate.

To him, these numbers are not enough, as they do not indicate the types of poverty, such as transitional poverty and poor workers. 

He said, according to Social Security figures, that 70 percent of those registered with social security in Jordan receive a salary of less than 500 dinars.

He continued that the rise in poverty is caused by weak policy, not poor resources. He claimed that many of these policies are financial, such as the increase in imposing indirect taxes on citizens. 

Awad expects that poverty rates will continue to rise during the next five years if the situation remains as it is and the insistence on implementing economic policies remains.