ArmInfo.The state debt of Armenia began to decline - by 2.1% in May 2018 to $ 6.7 billion (3.2 trillion drams), which was triggered by a 5.5% decline in domestic debt and external debt by 0.7%. According to the preliminary data of the RA Ministry of Finance, provided by the ArmInfo National Statistical Service, in January-May 2018, the national debt decreased only by 0.3% due to the decline in domestic debt by 1.6% and external debt by 0.02%. On an annual basis in May 2018, by May 2017, the national debt increased by 9.8% due to an increase in external debt by 12.2% and domestic debt by 4.9%.
By way of comparison, in May 2017, by May 2016, the growth of the external debt by 11.4% and domestic debt - by 50%, increased the total state debt of Armenia by 15.1%. Only for January-May, 2017, external debt grew by 2.1%, domestic debt - by 9.1%, which increased the total national debt by 3.4%.
It should be noted that according to the World Bank's economic growth forecasts updated in June, the forecast for 2018 has been improved from the previous 3.8% to the current 4.1%, and by 2019 the growth expectations have been kept at 4%. According to the share of Armenia's national debt in GDP, the World Bank predicts 58.6% for 2018, with a slight decrease to 58.3% in 2019.
To note, Armenia's state debt increased by 15.3% to $ 6.8 billion (3.3 trillion drams) in 2017 due to the growth of external debt by 14.6% to $ 5.5 billion (2.7 trillion drams) and the growth of domestic debt by 18.2% to $ 1.3 billion (619.5 billion drams). By way of comparison, we note that for 2016, the growth of the external debt by 11.6% and domestic debt by 49% increased the total state debt of Armenia by 17%. The growing national debt and continuing migration in Armenia have already deepened the specific debt load per capita to $ 2.3 thousand by January 1, 2018, of which over $ 1.8 thousand comes from external debt, against $ 2 thousand and $ 1.6 thousand, respectively, by January 1, 2017. Taking into account the real scale of migration, the burden of public debt per capita would be much higher (according to statistical data as of January 1, 2018, the population of the RA was 2.973 million, against 2.986 million a year earlier and 3.274 million five years earlier). In 2017, the degree of coverage of external debt with gold and foreign exchange reserves decreased from 45.9% to 39.6% amid a significant increase in external debt, with a meager decline in reserves. The share of national debt in Armenia's GDP reached 58.8% by the end of 2017, against 56.6% in 2016.
