The first half of 2011 registered a decline of living standards, News.am reported.
"The prices increase dramatically but the wages stay the same. This is the primary reason for decline of living standards," said the coordinator of Gyumri-based New Generation NGO Arman Sahakyan.
According to him, living standards are particularly low in Shirak and Lori regions of Armenia.
"If AMD 100 thousand is considered an average wage in Yerevan, many families in Shirak live, or, to be correct, survive, on AMD 32 thousand monthly," said Sahakyan.
According to him, decline in living standards does not account so much for financial crisis than for local issues. He highlighted the tax administration policies, which result in bankruptcy of many entrepreneurs and companies, leaving huge numbers of people unemployed.