In the first half of the current year, Armenia’s permanent population has dropped by 6,200 people. As of July 1, the number of permanent population in Armenia makes 2 million 979 thousand 900 people, and, according to the National Statistics Service on January 1 the number of permanent population in Armenia was 2 million 986 thousand 100 people.
Karine Kuyumjyan, head of Census and Demography Division of the National Statistical Service talked about this. According to her, as of July 1, 2017, the number of permanent population of Armenia has decreased by 15,200 people compared with as of July 1, 2016.
Mrs. Kuyumjyan said that migration had a great impact on the negative index of population number. According to the data of the first half of this year as compared with the same period last year, 8700 people left Armenia and did not return.
Low rates of birth and high rates of mortality also have had a negative impact on the population decline. According to the NSS, the number of births in January-June amounted to 17,169: 7 percent decrease compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the deaths, according to figures presented by Mrs. Kuyumjyan, have increased by 2.1 percent: 14 thousand 709 cases, last year deaths were 14,403. “As a result, a natural increase was formed, 2460 people, compared to 3990 of 2016, that is there is about 38,3 percent of decrease here as well”.
In response to our question, whether which regions people left mostly, Mrs. Kuyumjyan said, that Shirak and Lori are on the top.
According to the NSS, the number of permanent population as of July 1 this year amounted to 238 thousand 300 people in Shirak, while as of July 1, 2016, the population of this region totalled 242 thousand 400. That is, it has dropped by 4100 people. As of July 1, the number of permanent population of Lori region amounted to 220 thousand, compared to 223 thousand 900 as of the same period in 2016. The population of Lori has dropped by 3900 people.
Nelly BABAYAN
