Economic Overview

For the latest updates on the key economic responses from governments to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, please consult the IMF's policy tracking platform Policy Responses to COVID-19.

Armenia has been growing at a fast pace in recent years. Expatriate remittances, an increase in international copper prices, and a business-friendly monetary policy aided the country's economic development. Other strengths include major mining resources (molybdenum, zinc, copper, gold), financial support from international organizations, considerable foreign exchange reserves, and membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EARU) as well as a partnership with the EU. However, the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the armed conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave severely affected growth, which turned negative in 2020. Despite that, Armenia’s economy has shown resilience to recent shocks – including the Russian invasion of Ukraine – and grew by an estimated 7% in 2022), driven by large inflows of external income, capital, and labour into the country. Amid tighter global financial conditions and weaker external demand, the IMF expects growth to decelerate to 3.5% this year and 4.4% in 2024.

According to IMF data, public debt represented 52.3% of GDP in 2022, returning around the pre-pandemic level, and should remain stable over the forecast horizon. External debt decreased both in dollar and dram terms, as the national currency appreciated 22% over the year, becoming the world's top-performing currency. The state budget for 2023 forecasts a deficit of 3.1% of GDP: expenses for the year are planned at AMD 2 trillion 590 billion (27.8% of GDP), or 18.3% more than in the approved budget for 2022, while revenues should also grow to AMD 2 trillion 204 billion. Inflation has increased to 8.5% in 2022 on the back of supply and demand shocks and the Central Bank has raised the policy rate by 625 basis points aiming to steer inflation toward its medium-term target of 4%. According to the IMF forecast, the inflation rate should gradually decrease to 7% in 2023 and 5% in the following year. Armenia’s economy continues to face structural challenges, such as the need for further improvement in the business and investment environment, high unemployment, lingering labour skills mismatches, and weak firm competitiveness. Significant structural reforms have taken place in the areas of public financial management, revenue administration, the financial sector, and governance (IMF).
The unemployment rate was estimated at 15.2% in 2022 by the IMF and should remain relatively stable over the forecast horizon. The latest governmental figures show that the national poverty rate is estimated at 26.5%, while the GDP per capita (PPP) stood at USD 16,798 as of 2022.

Foreign Trade

Foreign trade in Armenia represents 70.1% of GDP (World Bank, latest data available), and the country follows an open and liberal policy in regard to international commerce. Overall, minerals represent more than half of total exports. Main export commodities include copper ores, undenatured ethyl alcohol, cigars, ferroalloys, and gold. Armenia mainly imports petroleum gases and oils, medicaments, diamonds, and motor cars.

Armenia's main export destinations are Russia (26.8%), China (13.3%), Switzerland (12.1%), Bulgaria (6.7%), and the Netherlands (6.4%). The Russian Federation is also the main import partner (33.5%), followed by China (16.2%), Iran (8.2%), Italy (4.2%) and Germany (3.9% - data Comtrade). The country has been searching for new energy sources, especially after the Russian-Georgian conflict, which temporarily disrupted its hydrocarbon supply and revealed the country's energy vulnerabilities. Tensions remain with a couple of its neighbouring countries, such as Azerbaijan and Turkey, and have an impact on trade. Armenia's closeness with Russia and its adhesion to the Eurasian Economic Union limit the country's ability to further integrate with the EU (that considered as a whole is the country’s main export destination).

Armenia has a structural trade deficit, which was estimated at 8.5% of GDP in 2021 (World Bank). According to figures by WTO, in 2021, Armenia exported goods with a total value of USD 3 billion (+18.8% year-on-year), while it imported goods with a total value of USD 5.3 billion (recording an increase of 17.5%). With regards to services, the country exported USD 1.6 billion and imported USD 1.2 billion (+56.2% and +32.8% vis-à-vis one year earlier, respectively). According to the latest figures by the National Statistics Committee (NSC), Armenia's exports in the first ten months of 2022 rose by 71.2% against January-October 2021, to about USD 4.2 billion, whereas imports reached USD 6.8 billion, an increase of 63.5% compared to the same period one year earlier. The bulk of Armenian exports were mining industry products (slightly above 20%) and precious and semi-precious stones and metals (18.5%).

COVID-19 Country Response

COVID-19 epidemic evolution

To find out about the latest status of the COVID-19 pandemic evolution and the most up-to-date statistics on the COVID-19 disease in Armenia, please visit official portal of the National Center for Disease Control dedicated to the epidemic (in Armenian). Daily updates in English can be found on the website of the Ministry of Health.
For the international outlook you can consult the latest situation reports published by the World Health Organisation as well as the global daily statistics on the coronavirus pandemic evolution including data on confirmed cases and deaths by country.

Sanitary measures

On March 16, 2020, Armenia declared a state of emergency, which was extended until May 14, 2020. Measures include school and university closures, travel bans on foreign citizens from high risk countries, strict quarantine measures and restrictions on movement and public transport.
For a list of the temporary restrictions on the different types of economic activities, click here (in Armenian), whereas the official portal of the National Center for Disease Control provides information on the sanitary measures to take in order to avoid infections.

Travel restrictions

The COVID-19 situation, including the spread of new variants, evolves rapidly and differs from country to country. All travelers need to pay close attention to the conditions at their destination before traveling. Regularly updated information for all countries with regards to Covid-19 related travel restrictions in place including entry regulations, flight bans, test requirements and quarantine is available on TravelDoc Infopage.
It is also highly recommended to consult COVID-19 Travel Regulations Map provided and updated on the daily basis by IATA.
The US government website of Centers of Disease Control and Prevention provides COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination.
The UK Foreign travel advice also provides travelling abroad advice for all countries, including the latest information on coronavirus, safety and security, entry requirements and travel warnings.

Import & export restrictions

For the information on all the measures applicable to movement of goods during the period of sanitary emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak (including eventual restrictions on imports and exports, if applicable), please consult the portal of the Armenian Customs Authority. The country implemented restrictions for medical supplies and equipment.
For a general overview of trade restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic, please consult the section dedicated to Armenia on the International Trade Centre's COVID-19 Temporary Trade Measures webpage.

Economic recovery plan

To know about the economic measures taken by the Armenian government to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy, please visit the dedicated page on the official governmental portal. Furthermore, the government released a set of measures to address the social impact of COVID-19.
For the general overview of the key economic policy responses to the COVID-19 outbreak (fiscal, monetary and macroeconomic) taken by the Armenian government to limit the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, please consult the section dedicated to Armenia in the IMF’s Policy Tracker platform.

Support plan for businesses

For the information on the local business support scheme and taxation measures established by the Armenian government to help businesses to deal with the economic impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on their activity, please refer to the dedicated page on the government’s portal. Specific measures to help SMEs can be consulted here.
For a general overview of international SME support policy responses to the COVID-19 outbreak refer to the World Bank's Map of SME-Support Measures in Response to COVID-19.

Support plan for exporters

At the moment the official government sources do not provide any information on the specific programs for Armenian exporting companies put in place by the national government following the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak. For updated information please consult the official governmental portal.