Resource information
This report reviews poverty in Armenia
in 2001, and examines the most recent trends covering the
1998/99 to 2001 period. It looks at the determinants of
poverty, and analyzes linkages between economic growth,
sector policies and poverty. The findings are based on two
rounds of the Armenia Integrated Living Conditions Survey
(ILCS), one carried out in 1998/99, and the other in 2001.
The report has contributed to the development of
Armenia's national strategy for growth and poverty
reduction. Poverty is high in Armenia, with an estimated 48
percent of the population below the poverty line in 2001.
Despite some 20 percent still living in extreme poverty,
there has been nonetheless, a significant decline in
poverty, as poverty incidence dropped by 12 percent, and
extreme poverty incidence by 25 percent from their
respective levels in 1998/99. There is a strong correlation
between poverty and low educational attainment, while the
unemployed and non-participants in the labor market, face
the highest poverty risk, depth and severity of poverty. In
rural areas, poverty is positively correlated with the size
of landholdings. The drop in poverty reflects a decline in
urban poverty since 1998/99. Rural poverty has increased
slightly. Yerevan, the capital and largest urban area in
Armenia, registered the most significant reduction in
poverty, as poverty incidence there dropped by 23 percent
and extreme poverty by over a third, to 45 percent and 20
percent, respectively. While poverty in other urban areas
also decreased, their poverty incidence still remains above
the national rate, at 52 percent. Poverty incidence is now
roughly the same in urban and rural areas, 48.5 percent and
47.9 percent, respectively. Government policies aimed at
macroeconomic stability and diversification of the economy
should be pursued, and, recommendations further include
increasing the level and quality of education, and ensuring
better health for all, critical to reduce poverty.
Concerning social protection, consideration should be given
to expanding it to cover most of the extremely poor, as well
as refining targeting mechanisms.
