Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Armenia > Map Economy History |
| Economy - overview: Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had
developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other
manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the
implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture
away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector
has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. The privatization of
industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current
administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are
small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of
Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former
Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994,
however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program
that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-99. Armenia also managed to slash
inflation and to privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy
shortages Armenia suffered in recent years have been largely offset by the energy supplied
by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Continued Russian financial difficulties
have hurt the trade sector especially, but have been offset by international aid, domestic
restructuring, and foreign direct investment. GDP: purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2000 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 40% industry: 25% services: 35% (1999 est.) Population below poverty line: 45% (1999 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (1999) Labor force: 1.5 million (1999) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 55%, services 25%, manufacturing, mining, and construction 20% (1999 est.) Unemployment rate: 20% (1998 est.) note: official rate is 9.3% for 1998 Budget: revenues: $360 million expenditures: $566 million (1999 est.) Industries: metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, washing machines, chemicals, trucks, watches, instruments, microelectronics Industrial production growth rate: 5% (2000 est.) Electricity - production: 6.668 billion kWh (1999) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 45.56% hydro: 23.25% nuclear: 31.19% other: 0% (1999) Electricity - consumption: 6.201 billion kWh (1999) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999) Agriculture - products: fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock Exports: $284 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) Exports - commodities: diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and equipment, cognac, copper ore Exports - partners: Belgium 36%, Iran 15%, Russia 14%, US 7%, Turkmenistan, Georgia (1999) Imports: $913 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) Imports - commodities: natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds Imports - partners: Russia 17%, US 11%, Belgium 11%, Iran 10%, UK, Turkey (1999) Debt - external: $836 million (January 2001) Economic aid - recipient: $245.5 million (1995) Currency: 1 dram = 100 luma SOURCE: The World Factbook |
Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Armenia > Map Economy History