"Which community in your province is the poorest and according to what criteria?"

This simple query Hetq sent to all ten provincial administrations in Armenia. We also wrote to the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure and the Statistical Committee to see what they had to say.

Only the Ararat Provincial Administration could provide any information on the matter, information they compiled using their own guidelines.

This has been the case for years, even though rumors abound that the government has adopted a balanced development policy throughout the country.

How can provincial authorities ensure equitable development when they do not know which is the neediest community in their region? How can they guide businesses to invest in targeted communities? How can they keep people from emigrating?

The response we received from by Hamlet Batikyan, Staff Secretary General at the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, states that the ministry does not keep statistics on poverty assessments in provincial communities.

“At the same time, we affirm that the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure is currently completing work on compiling an administrative database of communities. Only after completing the process and summarizing the results will the socio-economic poverty assessment of the communities be carried out,” the ministry replies reads.

Some provincial administrations (there are ten in Armenia), lacking common standards, have independently determined their poorest communities.

For example, the Ararat Provincial Administration reports that a poor community is considered to be one with a small population, located far from the regional center and Yerevan, and located high above sea level. According to these criteria, the poorest communities in the province are the Lanjar and Urtsalanj.

According to the Ararat Provincial Administration, the population of Lanjar is 228. It is 55 km from the regional center, 83 km from Yerevan, and 1,800 meters above sea level.

The community has 431 hectares of fifth category arable land and the people are mainly engaged in animal husbandry. Feed crops and cereals are grown, and the land isn’t irrigated.  

The population of Urtsalanj is 144. It is 59 km from the regional center, 88 km from Yerevan, and is located 1,850 meters above sea level. The community has 84 hectares of fifth category arable land and the people are mainly engaged in animal husbandry. Feed crops and cereals are grown, and the land isn’t irrigated.  

The Armavir Provincial Administration responded by suggesting that we check out their website, look at the data available, and decide for ourselves which is the poorest community.

The Kotayk Provincial Administration responded that it had no such analysis at its disposal. It did provide some data on two communities – Jrarat and Geghard – it considered poor.

The response from Tavush was also an approximation. It noted Beraber, with a population of 357, as one of the province’s poorest communities. 826 out of the 927 arable hectares of land aren’t cultivated. Beraber is near the border with Azerbaijan and is under constant threat of gunfire. The community also lacks natural gas.

"We cannot provide data on the poorest community in the province because there are no criteria set for such a classification, and such a study has never been conducted," read the response from the Vayots Dzor Provincial Administration.

The other provincial administrations gave similar responses or said they are awaiting the completion of their community administrative database.

There are eight enlarged communities in Syunik Province, five of which include both urban and rural areas, and three - only rural areas.

“A classification of communities/settlements according to the poverty index, as far as we are aware, hasn’t been done in Syunik. If we take GDP per capita as a criterion, such a figure is calculated by the Statistical Committee for the republic and the regions. While we understand the type of information you expect, we must inform you that the Syunik Provincial Administration does not have information on the issues you are interested in,” reads the response from the Syunik Provincial Administration

Armenia’s Statistical Committee also didn’t have a straight answer. T

All they could say is that an annual survey of 5,184 households is taken, which provides a representative sample of poverty across the republic and a less representative one at the provincial level.

"Unfortunately, the information you request cannot be provided," the Statistical Committee responded.