Kerobyan: some 50-70 thousand people arrived in Armenia from Russia

YEREVAN, April 18. /ARKA/. According to various estimates, some 50-70 thousand people have arrived in Armenia from Russia, Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan said in an interview with Russian business daily 'Kommersant'.

He said half of them are people with Armenian roots, who lived in Russia and have now returned home, while the other half are Russian citizens.

"It is difficult to say how many of them have arrived as tourists and how many plan to stay here. Altogether, the newcomers make about 2% of Armenia's overall population," he explained. A few days earlier, Kerobyan said in an interview with Russian RBC that about 75,000 people came to Armenia from Russia.

Kerobyan said the cumulative effect of the new wave of immigration on the country's GDP and budget, will be available some time later. In his words, the figures will contain interesting facts on how Armenian companies are hiring Russian citizens and how they are opening new companies.

He said Armenian tax authorities collected more revenue in the first quarter than projected. As for domestic trade, he said it grew by about 25% in March 2022 compared to the same month of 2021.

According to Armenia's National Statistical Committee, in January-February 2022, the country's domestic trade turnover totaled about 489.5 billion drams (in current prices), an increase of 8.2% in comparison with the same period of 2021.

According to the State Revenue Committee, tax and state duty collections in the first quarter of 2022 totaled 400.6 bln drams, which was up 5.2bln drams or 1.3% from the projected number, and up 67.7bln drams or 20.3% from the same period last year. ($1 - 471.44 drams) -0-