Armenian government determined to improve demographic situation, deputy minister says
11.10.2019,
16:06
The Armenian government is determined to improve the demographic situation in the country by implementing a set of programs it has designed to assist young families, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Smbat Saiyan told a press conference on Friday.
YEREVAN, October 11. /ARKA/. The Armenian government is determined to improve the demographic situation in the country by implementing a set of programs it has designed to assist young families, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Smbat Saiyan told a press conference on Friday.
"The birth rate in rural communities is the most important factor in the demographic situation in any country. Unfortunately, in recent years, this indicator has decreased in Armenia. In cities, more children are born than in villages, which may adversely affect the overall demographic picture," he said.
He said the decline in the rate of natural population growth in villages is associated not only with urbanization or the socio-economic situation, but also with a drop in the number of people of reproductive age.
“Those citizens who were born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the birth rate was low, have entered the stage of reproductive age. Among the new generation there are fewer women who are able to give birth than among other age groups,” he said.
Starting 2020, the government will increase the size of the lump-sum allowance for the birth of the first child six times - from 50 thousand drams to 300 thousand drams. The size of the lump-sum allowance for the birth of a second child will be doubled (from 150 thousand drams to 300 thousand drams). Also, the monthly allowance for working mothers will be increased by about 41% - from 18 thousand drams to 25 thousand drams.
A new type of childcare allowance will be introduced in rural areas: until the child is two years old, mothers will be paid 25.5 thousand drams a month. The government will also build new kindergartens, which will work from 08:30 to 19:00.
According to the National Statistics Committee, in the first half of 2019, 16,111 babies were born in the country, which was 0.9% less than in the same period in 2018. At the same time, the number of deaths increased by 4.3% to 13,790. The largest number of babies were born in the capital Yerevan in the first half of the year - 6,378, and the least in the province of Vayots Dzor - 238. -0-
