Poverty rate in Armenia by the end of 2024 was 21.7%

YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. According to a report from the Statistical Committee of Armenia, the poverty rate in Armenia, determined using the median line, was 21.7% at the end of 2024. This represents a decrease of 2 percentage points from the previous year's rate of 23.7%.

Additionally, the extreme poverty rate for the prior year was recorded at 0.6%, which is a reduction of 0.5 percentage points from 2023's figure of 1.1%.

The report indicates that extreme/food poverty in 2024 was 0.6% (down from 1.1% in 2023), with the lower poverty line at 8.3% (compared to 9.7% in 2023) and the upper poverty line at 40.2% (decreasing from 42.6% in 2023).

In 2024, the extreme/food poverty line was set at 29,196 drams per month, while the lower poverty line was 42,680 drams per month, the middle line was 53,420 drams per month, and the upper line was 64,162 drams per month.

The urban poverty rate for 2024 was 19.3% (down from 21.5% in 2023), with an extreme poverty rate of 0.6% (compared to 0.5% in 2022). The rural poverty rate during this period was 26% (down from 27% in 2022), with an extreme poverty rate of 0.7% (decreasing from 2% in 2022). The Gini coefficient, which measures social inequality based on consumption, rose from 0.230 in 2023 to 0.232 in 2024, while the income Gini coefficient fell from 0.348 to 0.339.

The report also provides insights into child poverty. Extreme poverty among children was 0.9% (down from 1.8% in 2023), low poverty was at 28% (compared to 31.7% in 2023), and those not living in poverty accounted for 72% (up from 68.3% in 2022).

Since 1996, the poverty rate in Armenia has been evaluated. Since 2019, this metric has been calculated using the World Bank's updated methodology, which defines the poverty line in monetary terms as the cost of essential goods and services, reflecting the minimum living standards in the country. ($1 – 382.52 drams).-0-