The disturbances that are faced by the global economy during the last years, the on-going economic crisis influenced the social standings of the population. In various European countries we can observe a decrease in funds, which are allocated for social programs, and a decrease in real income of the population.

The author of this article believes that the increase of monetary income of the population has a direct relationship with the level of economic development. At the same time, the level of growth of the GDP can be higher or lower than increase of monetary income of the population.

We have analyzed the relationship between GDP and the income of the population of the country for the last 10 years. The results show that an increase of GDP in 3.4 times was accompanied by a 6 times decrease of poverty.

Lately a just thought prevails in economic literature – when we talk about the quality of life, we take into account not only the income of the population, consumption of material and cultural values, education, healthcare, but also the organization of the social life and leisure time, the working and living conditions, the demographic situation, and the influence of the environment on the quality of life.

However, the primary and key factor that influences the quality of life is the income of the population. The rate of income, its differentiation, as among various social groups, as within one group, is regulated by the laws of the market economy and the rate of government interference.

After Azerbaijan restored its independence in 1991, the government undertook various reforms, which were directed to stimulate the growth of the population’s income and to decrease the rate of poverty. Thus, many strategic reforms were implemented, the realization of which led to a well-thought-out social policy in the country.

The realization of vast social programs and the implementation of various economic tools that regulate income helped to reduce the differences between the level of inequality among different social groups. This is proved by the calculations of the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient.

In modern statistics, the income structure of households, being the main factor that influences the quality of life, is classified as of following: - work income; - income, which is generated by the sale of agricultural products; - social transfers; - other income [1, pg. 84].

Income structure also includes perquisites – lottery prizes, gifts, and illegal income, tax evasion, illegal currency transactions, sale of prohibited goods and other income. The precise calculation of such income is a very complicated process. It should be mentioned that the level of income of households is an important source in evaluation of quality of life of various social groups. Miscalculations and unaccounted income can influence the results of the well-being of the population.

At the present time there are more than two million households in the country, which consist of 9.5 million people. In accordance with the latest census of population the share of 56-57% of the households were consisted of urbanites. Households with 4-5 members are constituted of 44-45% of the total number of households. In addition, 57% of the total number of households included 3-4-5 members.

When the households are grouped in accordance with number of members, we notice that on average there are no major regional differences in the country. The statistical analysis conducted by us shows that there is a tendency of an improving demographical situation in the country. The absolute population growth is by 100 – 120 thousand people annually. This forces us to take into account the tendencies of the demographic increase in the decision making process regarding the development of households.

The analysis shows that during 2005-2014 the monetary income of households in terms of each member have increase by 3.6 times. There have also been quality changes in the structure of the monetary income. The main change is that there is a tendency of grows of the proportion of work income in the structure of monetary income. The expansion of the field of labor contracts and measures that are undertaken to increase salaries give basis to assume that this source of income will continue to grow in the future.

The rate of unemployment in the country is stable. At the same time the rate of registered unemployment is considerably lower than the rate of unemployment calculated by I.L.O. The reason behind the discrepancy between these figures and government statistics is the result of people deciding to look for job opportunities independently, without official registration in specialized government bodies. The other reason is that other job seekers (students, retired people and etc.) are not applicable for registration as unemployed in relevant authorities.

During October-November 2015 the State Statistical Committee of the Azerbaijan Republic has conducted a survey on the following subject: Research of Industrial Activity of Households. The survey has covered 9 579 households, from which 58% were located in the cities and 42% in the countryside. In accordance with the results of the survey, households produce 420 thousand tons of milk, 102 thousand tons of dairy products, about 400 thousand tons of bread and 137 thousand tons of meat in a year. These figures also prove the strengthening of economic potential of the households.

In scientific literature and statistical practice the income is usually separated in accordance with the following sources of income: - salary; - various earnings and additional payments; - pensions, grants, scholarships and other insurance payments; income generated from entrepreneurial activities; income and money savings, that are generated from personal possessions.

During the last years 11-12% of income of the households are accounted for other income, which include income generated from various assets, other families, and monetary receivables sent from abroad.

If we pay attention to the structure of income we can notice the following correlations: 59.1% was acquired by the means of employment and self-employment of the population; 13.3% was acquired from agricultural activity; 16% constituted of pensions and social benefits. During the last years the income generated from agricultural activity has significantly increased.

At the present time in order to increase the rates of agricultural development the following actions are taken in the country: agriculture is liberated from all tax, except for the tax on land; entrepreneurs receive loans at concessional rate from the Fund For Entrepreneurship Support; large-scale projects are carried to develop the infrastructure in agricultural regions. However, there is an urgent necessity to intensify the reforms in the agricultural sector of the economy. Namely, it is necessary to eliminate the obstacles regarding the delivery of finished goods to the market, to improve the quality of the provided marketing services, to correct the accountability of the expenditures, to perfect the mechanism of regulation of the prices of agricultural equipment and etc.

Generally, the comprehensive analysis allows to make a conclusion that the measures taken by the state of Azerbaijan in the direction of the development of the economy of the country during the time of shocks in the world economy, will ensure the quality development of the society, the increase of the employment rate, the effective use of the production potential and the improvement of the social and economic indicators of households.

The studies have proved once again that the measures taken, which were specified in the concept “Azerbaijan 2020: A look into the future” will create strong foundations for the development of the relationship between economic growths and the income of the population and the assurance of consumer patterns.