Serzh Sargsyan: By 2040 the population of Armenia should reach 4 million

ArmInfo. The population of Armenia  in 2040 should reach 4 million people, said President Serzh Sargsyan,  speaking at the first session of the sixth convocation of parliament.

According to the Armenian leader, the demographic situation of the  previous 25 years was conditioned by a number of objective and  subjective factors, and the results are very disturbing and  unacceptable. "Our major task for the coming decades should be a  significant improvement in the demographic situation in Armenia," he  said. Work in this direction, according to the president, can be  divided into three planes: 1) the termination of emigration, 2) the  increase in the birth rate and the increase in the period of life,  and 3) the creation of conditions for the return of emigrants. For  each direction, based on the analysis, Sargsyan called for the  development of measures that, unlike the previous 25 years, for the  next 25 years and will subsequently ensure the greatest possible  increase in the population. "As a result of a significant and  dramatic improvement in the demographic situation in 2040, it is  necessary to reach a minimum number of 4 million inhabitants," the  president said.

"Our goal is to have an intelligent Armenia. "The educated generation  is the key to the success of our country and the foundation of  well-being," the president said. To this end, he called for ensuring  the availability of first-class education, while constantly improving  the quality of education. It is also extremely important to ensure  the link between science and education and the economy. Science and  education, according to the head of the republic, first of all should  give a solution to the problems facing the economy and business  executives. "It is necessary to supplement the current system of  financing science and education with such elements that the private  sector has been obliged to participate in. This will indicate that  the financing of this program is in demand and the results will be  concrete and measurable, aiming to increase the competitiveness of  the Armenian economy in a short time, both And for the medium and  long period," said Serge Sargsyan.

According to official statistics, the population of the republic as  of April 1, 2017 was 2 981.5 thousand people. Thus, since the  proclamation of Armenia's independence in 1991, the population has  declined by almost 640,000 people.