Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan jumped the gun yesterday when he boasted that the country’s poverty rate dropped two percentage points in 2024 and that Armenia has achieved the lowest poverty and extreme poverty rates since gaining independence.

Torosyan based his claim, appearing on his FB page, on an brief summary report published by the country’s Statistical Committee (SC), comparing the poverty numbers to prior years.

The problem, however, is that yesterday’s SC report includes a footnote stating that methodological changes were made to the calculations for 2024. Therefore, the data for 2024 are not currently comparable with those published in earlier years.

Thus, we cannot yet say whether poverty in 2024 has increased or decreased compared to the previous year.

The SC says it will publish revised indicators for 2022-2023 in a more extensive poverty report for 2024, which will be published by the end of November this year.

While it cannot be ruled out that the revised data will also show a decrease in the poverty rate, Torosyan hastened to conclude that the Republic of Armenia saw the lowest poverty and extreme poverty in its history last year.

The poverty rate in Armenia in 2024 was 21.7%, and the extreme poverty rate was 0.6%. A citizen whose monthly consumption did not exceed AMD 53,420 was considered poor.

Poverty levels higher in villages

According to the SC’s preliminary report, poverty levels differ in Armenia’s urban and rural areas. The urban poverty rate in 2024 averaged 19.3%, while the rural poverty rate was 26%.

Extreme poverty in cities is 0.6%, in villages - 0.7%.

28% of children live below the poverty line

According to 2024 data, 28% of children living in Armenia are poor and 0.9% live in extreme poverty.