Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 14
By Azer Ahmadbayli – Trend:
In September 1991, Armenia became an independent state. By that time, the country had already brought territorial claims against Azerbaijan - the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had been set on fire, and in 1991 full-scale hostilities and occupation of Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent territories began.
Twenty-seven years have passed since then.
Can anybody recall any outstanding achievements that Armenia has attained during the years of independence, except for the seizure of foreign lands? How is life of people in Armenia today? Has their country been successful at anything so far?
The table below may answer these questions. Perhaps, this does not fully show the exact state of affairs in the Armenian economy, however, it’s close to reality.
For comparison, I pointed to the same economic indicators of the Azerbaijani economy.
This table is based on data taken from World Bank, Asian Development Bank, WHO, CIA World Factbook.
|
Armenia |
Azerbaijan |
|||
|
1990-91 |
2017 |
1990-91 |
2017 |
|
|
Population, total (millions) |
3.5 |
2.93 |
7.27 |
9.86 |
|
Average annual population growth rate, 2012-2017, (%) |
0.0 |
- 0.3 |
0.4 |
1.2 |
|
Share of Population Below the National Poverty Line (%) |
.. |
29.4 |
.. |
5.9 |
|
Unemployment rate, total (%) |
2 |
18.2 |
8.9 |
5 |
|
GNI, PPP (current international $) (billions) |
8.24 |
29.49 |
25.18 |
164.18 |
|
External debt stocks (% of GNI) (year 2016) |
.. |
92.43 |
.. |
39.82 |
|
GDP (current US$) (billions) |
2.26 |
11.54 |
8.86 |
40.75 |
|
Military expenditure (% of GDP) |
2.1 |
3.8 |
2.5 |
3.8 |
|
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) (millions) |
.. |
245.72 |
.. |
2,867.49 |
|
Net migration rate (migrant(s)/1,000 population) |
.. |
-5.7 |
.. |
0 |
If you look at the past years’ indicators, especially those of poverty and migration, you’ll, almost without exception, find a stable decline within the whole period of independence or, to be more direct, from the beginning of Armenia’s aggressive policy towards the neighboring country.
The head of Armenia's National Committee of Statistics Stepan Mnatsakanyan said in August that in 2017, some 36,000 citizens of Armenia left and never returned. According to the data for January-June 2018, the migration balance in Armenia also continued to be negative.
Twenty-seven years of independence without any tangible outcome in the country’s progress, all down the drain, and for what?
It’s crystal clear what the root cause of the nation’s trouble is, but the people of Armenia are still turning a blind eye on it, finding excuses in internal corruption, global economic crisis etc.
Do they take pleasure from enduring hardships? Do they fear to voice the real reason publicly and reject their Government’s aggressive policy? Time will tell.