YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan tasked the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs to analyze the poverty situation and develop a strategy to eradicate it.

During the Cabinet meeting today, the PM presented the poverty rate in 2021 as presented by the Statistical Committee.

“I want to note that in 2021 poverty in Armenia was 26.5%. Moreover, if we compare the figure with that of 2020, we have some decline in poverty rate, and if we compare it with 2019, there is an increase by 0.1%. I also want to state that since 2019 poverty rate is calculated by a new methodology. In other words, we cannot compare the data before 2019 with the data after 2019”, the PM stated.

Pashinyan said that there are no more operational data about poverty rate. The Chairman of the Statistical Committee has assured the Prime Minister that it is an international standard and no country has operational data for the given year.

“But, in any case, I have instructed the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs to deeply analyze our poverty composition and develop poverty eradication strategy within the frames of ideology. My ideology, belief are the following: poverty could be eradicated only through work. There is no other way to overcome poverty. Especially now we need to seriously study our social policy strategy because we have a problem of workforce deficit in the labor market”, Pashinyan said.