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.
Agriculture Products
fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock
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)
Labor Force
1.5 million (1999)
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)
Currency
1 dram = 100 luma
Unemployment Rate
Note: official rate is 9.3% for 1998
Population Below Poverty Line
45% (1999 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: NA%
Highest 10%: NA%
Budget
Revenues: $360 million
Expenditures: $566 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
Debt External
$862.7 million (1999)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
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)
