The Social Failures of This Government Over Seven Years: Tadevos Avetisyan

Social: the social failures of this government over the past seven years. This was noted by Tadevos Avetisyan, a member of the Armenian National Assembly from the "Hayastan" faction.

"Throughout the past seven years, this government has repeatedly promised in its electoral and operational programs: an annual economic growth of at least 7 percent, a halving of the poverty rate, the eradication of extreme poverty, improvement of the economic structure, aligning the minimum pension amount with the cost of the food basket, and the average pension amount with the cost of the minimum consumption basket, raising the minimum wage to 85,000 drams, ultimately bringing widespread happiness.

During these seven years, the following official indicators have been recorded: in 2017, economic growth was 7.5 percent, while from 2018 to 2024, the average annual economic growth rate was 5.4 percent, 2 percentage points lower. In 2018, the poverty rate was 23.5 percent, with extreme poverty at 1 percent. As per the latest data published in 2023, instead of a halving and eradication of these figures, they have increased to 23.7 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2018, the monthly cost of the minimum consumption basket per person was 61,355 drams, while in the first half of 2025, it rose to 81,681 drams, an increase of 33.1 percent. The average monthly pension amount reached 49,000 drams, representing a 21 percent increase, while the average monthly family benefit rose only by 2,000 drams or 6.4 percent. The increase in the minimum wage for working poor is close to the average inflation rate.

Incidentally, the average amount of newly assigned pensions is gradually decreasing along with the reduction in work experience. In 2024, it is expected to be around 43,000 drams. Moreover, approximately 35 percent of pensioners are poor or extremely poor and receive welfare benefits. Around 100,000 citizens with up to 10 years of work experience are receiving elderly or disability benefits, which average 36,500 drams.

This means that to fulfill their programmatic promise, this government will need to raise the average pension amount by 67 percent or at least by 33,000 drams next year because the cost of the minimum consumption basket has increased approximately by 6,000 drams since the beginning of this year, reaching 81,681 drams. The minimum pension amount should also be raised by 21 percent or around 8,000 drams since the cost of the food basket has increased by approximately 4,000 drams compared to the start of this year, becoming 44,152 drams.

In reality, to conceal unfulfilled social promises, next year it is planned to increase the maximum amount of pension arrears from cashless payments by only 4,000 drams instead of 33,000 drams, additionally noting that no arrears on significant expenses such as utility payments are being made. Furthermore, close to half of the beneficiaries and pensioners do not actually benefit from this arrear payment.

Additionally, the poverty rate remains almost unchanged, and in 2024, the number of families receiving welfare benefits has decreased by 7,271 or about 11 percent, with the majority being truly poor.

The total number of families receiving welfare benefits has decreased by approximately 40 percent under this government, totaling 60,752 families, of which 65 percent have children living in them. This is despite the average poverty rate remaining nearly the same.

The average amount of family welfare benefits is 36,600 drams, which is about 2.5 times less than even the cost of the minimum consumption basket for one person.

In fact, the targeting of social assistance is decreasing. Those on the minimum wage are working poor, as its amount is about 7,000 drams less than even the cost of the minimum consumption basket for one person. Thus, according to the promise, the minimum wage should also be increased by 14 percent or 10,000 drams next year. However, this increase is not even foreseen in the draft state budget for 2026," he stated.