Armenians leave country for better life

By Rashid Shirinov
Long lines of people waiting outside foreign embassies in Yerevan to file their papers to leave can be seen daily.
The Armenian authorities would like to create the impression that the “rumors” of thousands leaving Armenia were just a figment of popular myth and a collective nightmarish dream. However, the statistics show that the migration issue in Armenia is indeed a real nightmare.
The permanent population of Armenia by October 1, 2016 did not even reach 3 million – it made up just 2,993,900 people, according to the data provided by the National Statistical Service of Armenia. Meanwhile, this figure equaled to 2,998,600 in early 2016.
Thus, for past 9 months the population of the country decreased by 4,700 people.
Moreover, the population as of January 1, 2016 decreased by 12,000 people compared to the same period of 2015.
Desperate Armenian government tries to fill this gap with ethnic Armenians, who have fled the war in Syria. However, majority of Syrian Armenians refuse this proposal – maybe they would agree to live in the capital Yerevan, but the authorities try to place them in undeveloped regions, where living conditions is getting worse daily.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the country made up 18.4 percent in the second quarter of 2016. Thousands of Armenians hold protest because they cannot find any job to feed their families.
In this regard, the fact that Armenia has lost over12,000 people during the last year seems quite logical. Thus, Armenia, one of the poorest countries in the world, can literally turn into an abandoned desert soon.
---
Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!