Armenia/Economy

Economy - overview: Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-99. Armenia also managed to slash inflation and to privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in recent years have been largely offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Continued Russian financial difficulties have hurt the trade sector especially, but have been offset by international aid, domestic restructuring, and foreign direct investment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.9 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,900 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 40%
industry: 25%
services: 35% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: 45% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (1999)

Labor force: 1.5 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 55%, services 25%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 20% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1998 est.)
note: official rate is 9.3% for 1998

Budget:
revenues: $360 million
expenditures: $566 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, washing machines, chemicals, trucks, watches, instruments, microelectronics

Industrial production growth rate: -2% (1998)

Electricity - production: 5.764 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 48.92%
hydro: 26.44%
nuclear: 24.64%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 5.361 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock

Exports: $240 million (1999 est.)

Exports - commodities: diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and equipment, cognac, copper ore

Exports - partners: Belgium, Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan, US, Georgia (1998)

Imports: $782 million (1999 est.)

Imports - commodities: natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds

Imports - partners: Russia, US, UK, Iran, Turkey, Belgium (1998)

Debt - external: $862.7 million (1999)

Economic aid - recipient: $245.5 million (1995)

Currency: 1 dram = 100 luma

Exchange rates: dram per US$1 - 527.02 (January 2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998), 490.85 (1997), 414.04 (1996), 405.91 (1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year