Armenian State Debt Increased in Recent Months, Minister Says

The state debt of Armenia has increased by 5.8 percent in dollar terms since the beginning of the year, announced Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan at a press conference today.

“As of March 31, the state debt amounts to 5 trillion 318 billion drams, which is a 4.4% increase compared to December 31 of the previous year. In dollar terms, the increase is 5.8%. The debt is currently 13 billion 581 million dollars,” Hovhannisyan stated.

He noted that the ratio of national debt to GDP has decreased by 0.1 percentage points in 2024. According to the minister, the inclusion and volume of the entire debt is planned in the state budget and the medium-term debt strategy of Armenia.

Hovhannisyan informed that the volume of domestic debt, according to the currency involved and residency, has increased in recent years, reaching the level of 50%. “This is a positive indicator, and even in our recent communications with international partners, when we discussed the size of the debt and the domestic market, they requested that we share our experience on how we have been able to improve our internal debt so significantly,” said the Armenian Finance Minister.

He added that the reason for this is that in countries like Armenia, domestic debt usually accounts for 20-30%, whereas in recent years, the Armenian authorities have managed to increase the domestic debt, which means protection against foreign exchange risks.