Armenia's labour minister says poverty level rising in country

Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan stated that the number of poor people in the country will increase.

He assured that the government is taking all necessary measures to alleviate social problems, Sputnik Armenia reports.

"Given that we are at the stage of overcoming the post-crisis situation, we may see an increase in poverty, but this is not the final picture," the minister said.

At the same time, he stressed that if not for the increase in pensions, benefits, and social payments, poverty could have increased by up to 50 per cent of the population.

The last time the level of poverty in Armenia was calculated in 2020. According to this data, almost half, or 47.6 per cent of Armenia's population is poor, while 0.7 per cent of the country's population is starving. Data for 2021 will be available at the end of this year.