Armenia birthrate to drop by 7-8% in 2018, demographer predicts
Armenia’s migration flows are assuming mass character, as more than 35% of the country’s households had a certain relation to migration processes, demographer Ruben Yeganyan stated today at a press conference, adding the number is 2% increase against the data of the previous year.
As Yeganyan noted, Armenia’s membership to the EAEU served a major factor prompting the migration outflow, as the prospect of legal employment abroad drew thousands of people to leave the country.
“The economic potential of migration continues declining despite the money transfers are increasingly growing. Migration has no more a mean to escape poverty with many documented cases when families get even poorer after settling in other countries. If previously migration was a way to survive, today it contains certain risks,” the speaker explained, informing Russia receives the greatest share of Armenian migrants.
Speaking of the demographic data, Yeganyan noted the upcoming 2018 will be marked with decrease in birthrate. According to the predictions, 7-8% fewer children will born in the coming year, while the mortality rate will rise and the number of marriages will drop.
“The low number of people born in mid-90s enter their reproductive age. Consecutively, they will have fewer babies. Armenia had the highest reported fertility rate in 1986, when 81 thousand children were born, while the lowest birth rate was recorded in 2002 with 32 thousand newborns,” the expert noted.