The economy in Armenia has been growing at a steady rate.  The economy is primarily dependent on agriculture, manufacturing and services.

Gross Domestic Product

The Gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices remains unstable from Q1 2008 to Q2 2010. In Q2 2010, GDP increased by 30.49%, compared to the previous quarter. The real growth rate corresponding quarter of the previous year registered at 106.7%.

(Source:cba.am)

The country’s GDP at constant prices amounted to AMD 805.27 billion in Q4 2009 compared to AMD 846.10 billion in Q3 2009.

(Source:cba.am)

The nation’s GDP per capita for 2009 registered at USD 2,826, a decrease of 27.03% from the year 2008.

(Source: worldbank)

GNI per capita at PPP (USD)

The nation’s gross national income (GNI) per capita PPP is USD 5,495 for 2010, an annual increase of 3.81% as compared to USD 4,557 for 2005.

(Source: UNDP)

In 2009, the balance of trade was at a deficit of USD 2,610,976.4. Exports and imports in 2009 amounted to USD 710,157.5 and USD 3,321,133.9 respectively.

(Source:armstat.am)

Income tax

The income tax in the country varies from 10% to 20%.

 

Income Tax Rates
Amount of Monthly	Taxable Amount
Up to 80,000 AMD	10 % of taxable income
Over 80,000 AMD	8,000 AMD plus 20 % of the amount exceeding 80,000 AMD

(Source:parliament.am)

Corporate tax

The corporate tax levied in Armenia is 20% and Value Added Tax is also 20%.

(Source: doingbusiness.org)

Inflation Rate

The inflation rate in Armenia reached its highest of 3.2% in April 2009. At the end of December 2010, the inflation rate registered at 1.8%, compared to the same month of the previous year.

(Source:cba.am)

FDI Inflow

FDI inflow in Armenia witnessed a growth in all four quarters in 2009 and declined sharply in Q1 2010 and Q2 2010.

 

(Source: cba.am)

Portfolio investment

The portfolio investment for Q2 2010 amounted to USD 3.2 million, a decrease of USD 2.9 million compared to USD 6.1 million in Q1 2010.

(Source:cba.am)

Banking sector assets

The banking sector assets of the Central Bank of Armenia are

Assets of Central Bank of Armenia (AMD million)
	2009 (December)
Foreign assets	761,232
Convertible currency and gold	757,208
Claims on Government	25,937
Claims on resident banks	66,184
Claims on economy	866
Other financial assets	105,080
Accounts receivable	2,040
Non-financial assets	17,104
Total assets	978,442

(Source:cba.am)

Consumer Price Index

From 2000 to 2010, the Consumer Price Index witnessed fluctuations. The Consumer Price Index for 2010 registered at 108.2, an increase from 103.4 in 2009.

(Base 2005=100)

(Source:armstat.am)

Interest rates

 

Interest rate on deposits (%)
	Average deposit rate  (15 days up to 1 year )	up to 15 days	16-30 days	31-60 days	61-90 days	91-180 days	181 days – 1 year	Over 1 year
Jan - 2011	8.74	5.72	5.20	6.64	8.95	9.36	10.95	11.03
Jan - 2010	7.79	4.02	4.57	6.53	8.24	9.59	10.26	10.39
Jan - 2009	8.26	5.60	4.71	5.63	8.19	10.20	9.84	9.72

(Source:cba.am)

Money supply (Currency in Circulation)

According to the Central bank of Armenia, money in circulation in January 2011 is registered at AMD 252,619 million.

(Source:cba.am)

External national debt

The external debt showed about a 50% increase in 2009. In 2010, the external national debt is registered at AMD 3,299 million, increasing by 11.20% over the previous year.

(Source: armstat.am)

Government Expenditure

Government expenditures in Armenia for 2010 registered at AMD 950,539.4 million, an increase of 0.31% over the previous year. The CAGR of total expenditure reported at 14.09% from 2000 to 2010.

(Source: armstat.am)

Official exchange rate

USD per AMD for 2010 is registered at 373.7, which increased by 2.86% over the previous year.

(Source:armstat.am)

 

Government finances

Fiscal balance

The country’s fiscal balance for 2010 reported a deficit of AMD 170,848.7 million compared to a deficit of AMD 235,889.1 million in 2009.

(Source:armstat.am)

Total Revenue (2009)

The country's revenue in 2009 amounted to AMD 755,833 million, an increase of about 9.54% from AMD 689.995.1 million in 2008. The CAGR of total revenue registered at 15.95% for 2000 to 2010.

 

(Source: armstat.am)

Tax revenue

In 2009, taxes, duties and compulsory social insurance contributions registered at AMD 642,824.3 million, a decrease of 12.70% compared to the previous year.

Taxes, duties and compulsory social insurance contributions (AMD million)
	2009	2008
Tax incomes	518,544.1	610,422.3
value added tax	254,158.1	318,313.0
profit tax	81,820.8	86,212.2
income tax	60,204.7	53,748.6
excise tax	42,767.1	45,878.5
property tax	10,263.4	7,928.8
land tax	4,974.3	3,717.6
customs duty	25,111.3	37,289.9
fixed payments	22,795.2	20,341.2
payments for the utilization of natural resources and environment protection	6,120.5	9,966.3
simplified tax	330.4	6,724.1
other tax incomes	9,998.3	20,302.1
Duties	21,377.1	24,053.1
Compulsory social insurance contributions	102,903.1	101,900.5
Total	642,824.3	736,375.9

(Source:armstat.am)

Current Account Balance

The current account balance in Armenia registered a deficit of USD 246.3 million in Q2 2010, a marginal improvement over the Q1 2010 deficit of USD 349.2 million.

(Source: cba.am)

Balance of Payments

Balance of Payments (USD million)
	2010 Q2	2010 Q1	2009 Q4	2009 Q3	2009 Q2	2009 Q1
Current Account	-346.3	-349.2	-548.6	-283.9	-268.7	-267.6
Capital Account	26.8	21.3	28.6	24.6	19.4	16.5
Financial account	309.8	309.8	513.6	260.1	246.5	240.3
Net errors and omissions	9.7	18.2	6.5	-0.9	2.9	10.9

(Source: cba.am)

Labour Force

From 2003 to 2009, the labour force in Armenia showed a continuous increase. In 2009, it increased by 1.58% over 2008.

(Source:armstat.am)

Unemployment Rate

The unemployment rate in the country continuously declined from 2002 to 2008. In 2009 and 2010, the unemployment rate improved reaching about 7%.

(Source:armstat.am)

Minimum wage

In Armenia, average wages continuously increased from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, the average real wage increased by 15.80% compared to the previous year.

(Source:armstat.am)

The political system in Armenia is based on a multi-party structure. The government is based on mainly legislative power, executive power and judicial power. The Legislative power is headed by the National Assembly and Executive power is headed by the government i.e. Prime Minister and the Ministers.

The president of Republic of Armenia is elected for a term of five years and the government related decision must be signed by the Prime Minister and sanctioned by the President.

The current President is Serge Sarkisian since 2008 and the Prime Minister is Tigran Sargsyan.

The major political parties in Armenia are:

• Ruling party -  (Republican Party, Rule of Law, Prosperous Armenia)
• Parliamentary opposition - (Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaks), Heritage Party)
• Extra-parliamentary opposition – (Armenian National Congress)
  

Regulatory Environment in Armenia

The country’s economic freedom score is 69.7, making its economy the 36^th freest in the 2010 Index. Armenia ranks 20^th out of 43 countries in the Europe region. Armenia’s overall score is above the world and regional averages, making it the least free in terms of business.

(Source:Heritage.org)

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Armenia is ranked 123^rd on this list which indicates that the corruption levels in the public departments in the country is fairly high.

Armenia grew on the CPI rankings since 2009 – it was ranked 120^th with a score of 2.7 which indicates the perceived levels of corruption have increased in the country.

(Source:transparency.org)

Freedom of Information

World Press Freedom Index 2010 ranks Armenia at 101^st rank with a score of 27.50, indicating the freedom for media in Armenia is relatively low.

(Source: rsf.org)

Television Media in Armenia is relatively restricted. Journalists in the country may be fined for a false and malicious publication. In television media, mostly Russian TV channels are used.

(Source: BBC)

The important newspapers in the country are:

• Aravot
• Ayastani Anrapetutyun
• Aykakan Zhanamak
• Azg
• Golos Armenii
• Iravunk
• Respublika Armenia
• Yerkir
  

Judicial system

The judiciary in Armenia consists of

• Court of Cassation
• Courts of appeal
• Courts of first instance (Juzgados de Letras)
  

The Supreme Court is the highest court of justice. Supreme Court includes criminal Chamber, Civil and Administrative Chambers headed by the Chairman of the Court. The Chamber Chairman and five judges deal with the Criminal Chamber. The Civil and Administrative Chambers are headed by the Chamber Chairman and nine judges.

 

(Source: court.am)

The total population of Armenia for the year 2010 is 32,622,000, increasing at a rate of about 0.40% over the previous year.

(Source: armstat.am)

In 2010, males accounted for 48.55% of the total population and females formed 51.45%. The gender ration in the country is not balanced i.e. there are about 87.3 males for every 100 females in the country.

(Source: armstat.am, armstat.am, UN)

The mortality rate of infants (per 1,000 live births) is registered at 11.3 in 2010. The mortality rate of a country (per 1,000 populations) is registered at 8.6 in 2010. In 2010, the country’s birth rate is 13.8 (per 1,000 populations).

The average life expectancy in Armenia for men is 70.6 years and for females it is 77 years in 2009.

(Source:armstat.am, armstat.am, armstat.am, armstat.am, armstat.am)

At the beginning of 2010, the majority of the population, about 68.3%, is in the age group of 15 to 59 years. 18.33% of the population is below 14 years of age and 3.5% is aged 65 years and above.

(Source:armstat.am)

International migrant till mid 2010 was recorded at 3.2 million people. This was approximately 10.5% of the entire population.

In 2009, immigrants were recorded at 900 people and emigrants 4,800 of the entire population.

(Source:armstat.am, UN)

Ethnic groups in Armenia are:

• Armenian
• Yezidi
• Russian, Greek, and other

(Source:state.gov)

The urban population in the country declined at an annual rate of 0.3% from 2005 to 2010.

(Source: UN)

The country ranks 76^th out of 182 countries on the Human Development index 2010 conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income). 

(Source: Undp)

Education

The country’s literacy rate for the year 2003 to 2009 is estimated at 100%.

(Source: UNICEF)

Education system in Armenia includes

• Pre-school education
• General secondary education
• Preliminary vocational, middle level vocational and higher professional education
• Post-graduate education

The compulsory education for children in Armenia is 7 to 14 years.

(Source:armenic.am, UNESCO)

Health care

In Armenia, there are 127 hospitals and 12,068 hospital beds.

The leading causes of death in Armenia are cardiovascular diseases, malignant neoplasm, traumas and poisonings, diabetes mellitus, digestive system diseases, respiratory system diseases.

 (Source:armstat.am, WHO)

The mass public transport in the country is roadways (mainly buses and cabs) and air. Railways are operated by Armenian Railways.  

Airports

(Source: Air charter world)

Telecommunications networks

In 2009, about 630,000 people were users of fixed telephone lines. This has registered an increase of 1.46% from 2005 to 2009.

The number of mobile subscriptions increased at a CAGR of 70.50% from 0.31 million people in 2005 to 2.62 million 2009.

(Source: ITU)

In 2010, about 1.3 million people i.e. 47.1% of the total population using internet services increased from 6.4% in 2009.

(Source:internetworldstats)