Armenia Economy 2007

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 (copper, 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 liberalization program that resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-2006. Armenia has managed to slash inflation, stabilize its currency, and privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. Despite strong economic growth, Armenia's unemployment rate remains high. Nuclear power plants built at Metsamor eliminated the chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in the early and mid-1990s, but those plants are under international pressure to close. Armenia is now a net energy exporter, although it does not have sufficient generating capacity to replace Metsamor. Construction of a natural gas pipeline between Iran and Armenia has been completed and it is scheduled to be commissioned by April 2007. Economic ties with Russia remain close, especially in the energy sector. The electricity distribution system was privatized in 2002 and bought by Russia's RAO-UES in 2005. Armenia's severe trade imbalance has been offset somewhat by international aid, remittances from Armenians working abroad, and foreign direct investment. Armenia joined the WTO in January 2003. The government made some improvements in tax and customs administration in 2005, but anti-corruption measures will be more difficult to implement. Investment in the construction and industrial sectors is expected to continue in 2007 and will help to ensure annual average real GDP growth of more than 10%.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$16.94 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$6.6 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
13.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$5,700 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 18.2%
industry: 38.6%
services: 43.2% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
1.2 million (November 2006)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 45%
industry: 25%
services: 30% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
7.4% (November 2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
34.6% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 41.3% (2004)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
41 (2004)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.9% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
33.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.057 billion
expenditures: $1.153 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock

Industries:
diamond-processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry manufacturing, software development, food processing, brandy

Industrial production growth rate:
-1.2% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
5.975 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
4.194 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
1.011 billion kWh; note - exports an unknown quantity to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan (2005)

Electricity - imports:
231 million kWh; note - imports an unknown quantity from Iran (2005)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - consumption:
41,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
1.63 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
1.63 billion cu m (2005)

Current account balance:
$-87.3 million (2006 est.)

Exports:
$1.019 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:
diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy

Exports - partners:
Germany 18.1%, Netherlands 14.1%, Belgium 13.4%, Russia 13.1%, Israel 7.1%, US 6.1%, Georgia 5.1%, Iran 4.9% (2006)

Imports:
$1.921 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:
natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds

Imports - partners:
Russia 21.8%, Ukraine 7.8%, Belgium 7.6%, Turkmenistan 7.1%, Italy 6.1%, Germany 5.7%, Iran 5.7%, Israel 4.8%, US 4.5%, Georgia 4.1% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA, $193.3 million (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.072 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external:
$1.16 billion (30 September 2006)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$42.8 million (2005)

Currency (code):
dram (AMD)

Exchange rates:
drams per US dollar - 414.69 (2006), 457.69 (2005), 533.45 (2004), 578.76 (2003), 573.35 (2002)