ArmInfo.During the years of independence, from 1.1 to 2018, about 1.1 million people left Armenia. A similar opinion was expressed by ArmInfo, the head of the demography department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia Artak Markosyan.
"Only in the period from 2008 to 2017 the country left 200,000 mostly able-bodied, thinking, and accordingly well-off citizens. This suggests that the problems that prompt people to think about migration did not come down to social problems. People simply did not connect own future with Armenia. And today, when the situation in this regard is beginning to change, it is imperative to strengthen such trends by implementing reforms, creating jobs and prerequisites for a continued increase in wages, "he said.
According to the demographer, the programs launched in 2020 aimed at resolving demographic problems, among other things, will contribute to economic growth. The latter, in turn, should help create the conditions necessary for improving the demographic situation in the country in the future.
As an example of the effective interaction of the links of such a chain, Markosyan noted the prospect of increasing financial assistance from the state to families wishing to have a third child. In his opinion, today it is necessary to think about introducing state programs that stimulate the appearance of a third child in Armenian families. And Markosyan considers economic growth to be the best help in this process, which will allow the state to allocate sufficient funds for this.
The demographer is convinced that it is possible to solve the demographic problems of Armenia by comparing the increase in the birth rate, economic growth and a significant decrease in the level of migration. In this direction, according to him, an impressive amount of work is already underway. In particular, in the direction of solving the problem of increasing fertility.
"For example, state assistance to working mothers in villages was reduced to a one-time allowance of 50 thousand drams dedicated to the birth of the first child. Today this amount has increased by 6 times. Plus, rural residents will receive more than 900 thousand drams per child for 2 years. This is a very serious help and the implementation of such work in the direction of assistance, stimulation of increasing the birth rate must be steadily deepened, "concluded Markosyan.
As of January 1, 2019, the population of Armenia was 2 million 965 thousand 100 people. In 2018, the population was 2 million 972 thousand 700 people. According to UN forecasts, in the presence of existing demographic and migration trends, the population of Armenia will decrease to 2 million people by 2100.