ArmInfo. The expenditures of the state budget of Armenia in 2022, in comparison with the indicator projected in the state budget for 2021, will grow by 18.2% - up to 2 trillion 188.4 billion drams, RA Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan said at a government meeting on September 30, presenting the draft law on budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2022 ".
So, according to the document, by the end of 2022, GDP growth will be 7% (from 6.5% expected by the end of 2021), nominal GDP, compared with the program indicator for 2021, will grow by 635.9 billion - to 7.869.4 billion drams (from the expected 7,031.2 billion drams at the end of the current year). The GDP deflator will grow by 4.6% (6.8% at the end of 2021), 12-month inflation - 5.2% (7.4% is expected by the end of this year), and average inflation will reach 5.6% in 2022 (7% expected in 2021).
According to forecasts, real GDP growth by industry will have the following picture: industry will grow by 8% (from 4.3% expected by the end of this year), agriculture by 3.9% (from 5.6% expected, incl. year), construction - by 18% (against 1.5% in 2021), services - by 5.9% (instead of 8.1% in the current year), and other taxes - by 6.8% (from the expected 7.1% this year). At the same time, consumption will grow by 4.8% from 7.7% expected by the end of 2021.
According to the draft budget for next year, state treasury revenues and official transfers in 2022 will amount to 1 trillion 946.2 billion drams (24.7% of GDP), against 1 trillion 656.9 billion drams (23.6% of GDP) expected by the end of this year and actual 1 trillion 560.7 billion drams for 2020 (25.2% of GDP). At the same time, tax collections and state duty to GDP will grow by 0.9 percentage points - up to 23.4% and will amount to 1 trillion 843.8 billion drams, instead of 1 trillion 581.0 billion drams expected at the end of 2021 (22.5%) and actual 1 trillion 385.2 billion drams for 2020 (22.4% of GDP).
State treasury expenditures will amount to 2 trillion 188.4 billion drams (27.8% of GDP), instead of 1 trillion 986.0 billion drams (28.2% of GDP) expected by the end of 2021 and 1 trillion 894.6 billion drams (30.6% of GDP) in 2020. ). Of these, 1 trillion 841.9 billion drams or 23.4% of GDP will be directed to cover current expenditures, against the expected 1 trillion 762.2 billion drams or 25.1% of GDP by the end of this year and actual 1 trillion 668.5 billion drams or 27% of GDP for 2020.
At the same time, as the head of the Ministry of Finance pointed out, the expenses allocated for the improvement of economic and social infrastructures will record an unprecedented growth - 4.4% of GDP, and capital expenditures will amount to 350 billion drams or 27.8% of GDP. To note, transactions with non-financial assets in January-August 2021 amounted to 103.6 billion drams, of which expenditures on non-financial assets (capital expenditures) amounted to 104.5 billion drams, which is 29.8% more than in the same period last year, mainly due to an increase in defense spending, which, in turn, is the result of quarterly reallocations.
According to Khachatryan, 278.6 billion drams will be allocated for infrastructure projects, as well as projects for the development of regions, or 31.6% more than the indicator set in the state budget for the current year. In 2022, allocations to education, science, culture and sports will amount to 223.3 billion drams, or 27.4% more than the target for 2021. So, for financing projects in the field of science in 2022, 83% more will be allocated than in 2021 - in the amount of 25.1 billion drams (about 50 million dollars). About 580 billion drams will be allocated for social security programs, or 15% more than the indicator set in the state budget for 2021.
The deficit of the state treasury in 2022 will reach 242.2 billion drams or 3.1% of GDP, against 329.1 billion drams or 4.7%, expected at the end of this year and 334 billion drams or 5.4% of GDP for 2020. Government debt will be reduced from AMD 4 trillion 727.8 billion or 60.1% of GDP, against AMD 4 trillion 273.9 billion (60.8% of GDP) expected by the end of 2021 and AMD 3 trillion 923.9 billion or 63.5% of GDP in 2020. In general, according to the forecasts projected in the state budget for 2022, as of December 31, 2021, Armenia's public debt will amount to AMD 4 trillion 509 billion or 64.1% of GDP, and by the end of 2022 the indicator will reach AMD 5 trillion 029 billion or 63.9% GDP.
