The Central Bureau of Statistics predicts a gradual lowering of inflation during the first quarter of 2014 due to the stability of markets and prices, in addition to the development in Syrian Pound exchange rates.
The Bureau has issued an index of consumer prices for the month of October 2013, when inflation reached 491%, achieving an increase of 4 percentage points on September of the same year. This means a monthly inflation rate of 1% and annual inflation for the month of October from 2012 at 117% .
The director of trade and prices statistics in the office told al-Watan that the reason for the slight increase of inflation by 1% for the month of September was due to the balance made in the food and beverage group, which rose at a rate of 2%. Bread and cereals dropped at a rate of 2%, the oils and fat group at a rate of 4%, while fruits and vegetables rose at a rate of 12%, and dairy and eggs at a rate of 7%.
The Bureau provides an integral survey to report the status of the population in cooperation with the Syrian Commission for Family Affairs. The aim of this survey is to gauge the conditions for the population and their main challenges. The report also seeks to stud the effects of the crisis on the population and their interactions during the period from 2011 and 2013, including the geographical distribution of the population, the demographic characteristics, the economic situation and living conditions, as well as social relations.
The report aims to identify the status of services and infrastructure in general, and the effectiveness of the related institutions, in order to propose population policies in an integrated development framework to overcome the effects of the crisis.
The Bureau clarified that as a result of the current situation, it was impossible to make a census for the population and housing, despite a plan to cinduct such a census every ten years. The implementation of this census will be delayed until conditions improve and become suitable for such activities.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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