📊 This repository contains a data analysis report examining the affordability of essential food items in Syria and their relationship to the minimum wage between 2020 and 2025.
The study focuses on food security, inflation, currency depreciation, and household affordability, providing insights into how economic pressures shape daily life in Syria.
The Syrian economy has faced severe challenges over the past decade. Currency depreciation, rising food prices, and widespread poverty have pushed millions into food insecurity.
This project analyzes:
- 📉 The depreciation of the Syrian pound against the US dollar.
- 🥖 The cost of an essential food basket (~2,100 kcal/day per person).
- 💰 Comparison of food costs vs. the statutory minimum wage.
- ⛽ The impact of rising household gas cylinder and transport costs.
- 👨👩👧 Implications for individuals and households.
The report combines price datasets with official data from WFP, UNDP, and ILO to provide a realistic picture of affordability and food security in Syria.
Food Security and Wages in Syria.pdf→ Full analysis (currency trends, food basket, wage comparison, socio-economic implications).Data/→ Processed dataset used in the analysis.
- The Syrian pound lost nearly 97% of its value against the USD between 2011 and 2025.
- From 2020 to 2024, the cost of essential food exceeded the minimum monthly wage.
- In 2025, wages increased by 200%, but rising gas cylinder (+226%) and transport costs (+185%) erased much of the gain.
- For families, food alone often consumes more than one worker’s income → reliance on multiple jobs or humanitarian aid.
- Python → Data cleaning & preprocessing & visualization.
- Report writing → Structured analysis with socio-economic context.
Food security is one of the most pressing challenges in Syria.
According to UNDP and WFP reports:
- 90% of Syrians live under the poverty line.
- Minimum wages rarely cover even the most basic nutritional needs.
This report contributes to understanding the gap between income and essential costs — a key issue in humanitarian aid, and economic recovery.
Prepared by Ali Ratel
- Email: aliratel01@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: Ali Ratel
Syria, Data Analysis, Food Security, Minimum Wage, Inflation, Poverty,
Syrian Pound, Economic Crisis, Humanitarian Aid, Business Intelligence, Data Visualization