Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – Armenia is the second worst economy in the world, Forbes magazine has concluded.

According to the Forbes list of the World’s Worst Economies in 2011, the South Caucasus republic’s economy shrank by 15% in 2009 as an expatriate-financed construction boom fizzled along with the world economy.

"With a mediocre growth forecast for the next few years, this landlocked former Soviet republic, dependent upon Russia and Iran for virtually all of its energy supplies, is struggling to keep up with the rest of the world."

According to Forbes, Armenia’s per-capita GDP of $3,000 is less than a third of neighboring Turkey, and inflation is running at 7%. On top of that, Russia cut back on supplies of diamonds, hurting the country’s once-thriving diamond-processing industry, the report said.

Madagascar topped the list of the lowest-ranked countries. Forbes said that a history of military coups, economic mismanagement and steady population growth has left Madagascar "in the dust" as other emerging-market countries like South Africa, India and Brazil surge ahead. 77% of the country’s population now lives in poverty, the report said.

Madagascar and Armenia are followed by Guinea, Ukraine, Jamaica, Venezuela, Kyrgyzstan, Swaziland, Nicaragua and Iran.

Forbes ranked 177 countries according to three-year average statistics for gross domestic product growth and inflation, plus GDP per capita and the current account balance, a measure of whether the country is importing more than it exports.