ArmInfo. The problem of an aging population is also relevant for Armenia. At least, as the head of the Social Security Service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development Hovhannes Sahakyan stated at a press conference on March 16, Armenia is rapidly moving in this direction.
According to the Service, as of March 1, 2018, 446 thousand 249 pensioners were registered in Armenia, plus those receiving benefits - 62 thousand 915 people.
At the same time, the number of pensioners in Armenia tends to grow. "Demographic data suggests that over the next 7 years, the annual growth of pensioners will average 2500 people," he said.
A month earlier, the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, Smbat Sahyan, said that in Armenia, 1.1 pensioners account for one working citizen. "This is a very bad indicator," he said, adding that the demographic development is hampered by the pension system. "The Gosregister of the country's population shows that the generation born in 1955 will receive the right to receive a pension in 2018, which is 43,000 people, while the number of citizens born in 1960 is 60,000, which means an increase in the number of pensioners in Armenia in 1.5 times, "said Sayyan. Already today, their growth has been registered since last year's 307,068 to 312,798 people. Within the next 5 years the number of pensioners in Armenia will grow by about 10%.
According to the Deputy Minister, this means that if the current trends continue, by 2023, instead of the current state budget, more than 210 billion drams (223 billion drams in 2017) from the state budget will be directed to 19 billion drams more.
According to official statistics, the number of all employees in the republic is about 600 thousand people.
