ArmInfo.The public debt of Armenia continues to decline - by 3% or $ 164 million in May-June 2018, amounting to $ 6.7 billion (3.2 trillion drams), which was caused by a 6% decline in domestic debt and 1.5% of external debt. According to the preliminary data of the RA Ministry of Finance, provided to ArmInfo by the National Statistical Service, in January-June 2018, the public debt fell only by 1.1%, and after growth in January-April by 1.4%, there has been a decline since May.
Domestic debt for the first half of the year decreased by 2%, and the external one - by 0.8%. In year-over- year terms (June 2018 versus June 2017), the public debt increased by 9.2% due to an increase in external debt by 10.3% and domestic debt by 4.7%.
The y-o-y growth of the national debt and migration deepened the specific debt load per capita to $ 2.3 thousand by July 1, 2018, of which $ 1.8 thousand comes from external debt, against $ 2.1 thousand and $ 1.7 thousand by July 1, 2017 respectively. According to statistics on July 1, 2018, the population of Armenia was 2.970 million, compared to 2.980 million a year earlier and 3.012 million five years earlier.
The degree of coverage of foreign debt with gold and foreign exchange reserves declined during the first half of 2018 from 39.6% to 36.8% amid an insignificant drop in external debt, with a relatively substantial decline in reserves. A year earlier, by July 1, 2017, the degree of coverage of external debt with gold and foreign exchange reserves was 40.8%.
To note for comparison that in June 2017 versus June 2016, the growth of the external debt by 9% and domestic debt by 33% increased Armenia's total public debt by 15%. In January-June 2017 alone, external debt grew by 2.8%, domestic debt - by 5.5%, which increased the total national debt by 3.3%. To note according to the World Bank's economic growth forecast update 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 remained 4%. Related 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.
