Forty-five percent of internally displaced persons in Ukraine can afford only food, according to a survey conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Twenty-three percent of households of internally displaced persons have had to cut their spending on food, 29% have enough money to buy food and to accommodate their essential needs, 1% has enough money for food and essentials and also has savings, and 2% have declined to answer, speakers said at the presentation of the IOM survey in Kyiv on Friday.

Some 26% of households of internally displaced persons have a monthly income of UAH 3,000 to UAH 5,000, an income of UAH 1,500 to UAH 3,000 and from UAH 5,000 to UAH 7,000 has been reported by 21%, 8% have an income from UAH 7,000 to UAH 11,000, 5% have an income of UAH 11,000 or more, 4% have an income of less than UAH 1,500, and 15% are undecided, the survey said.

The average monthly income stands at UAH 1,991 per internally displaced person, which is a increase of 40% compared to UAH 1,420 in March-June 2016, the survey said.

Some 41.5% of internally displaced persons are employed, 27.5% are unemployed, and 30.9% are pensioners, persons with disability benefits and mothers on childcare leave.

Before the conflict, 60.1% of the polled persons were employed.

The survey was carried out in March 2017. A total of 1,025 internally displaced persons were interviewed in 24 regions of Ukraine and Kyiv.