Private money transfers from overseas to Armenia continue to decline.

In January of this year, private money transfers (those for non-commercial purposes) to Armenia amounted to US$48.8 million, a drop of 13.8% when compared to January 2015.

Armenia’s Central Bank also reports that $17.4 million in private transfers left Armenia for overseas.

Russia remains the main source of private money transfers to Armenia - $29.8 million last month. This is 20% less than in January 2015 and the fall can be credited to, among other factors, a struggling Russian economy.

In addition, private transfers from Armenia to Russia amounted to $12.5 million last month – an increase of 10% over January 2015.

This might suggest that those who left Armenia for work in Russia not only were unable to make money to send back to their families, but needed money themselves.

The U.S.A. comes in second place as a source of transfers to Armenia.

Last month, $7.2 million was transferred to Armenia, with $860,000 travelling the other way.