ArmInfo.The IT sector accounts for approximately 5.5% of Armenia's GDP, which is a relatively high indicator, comparable to that of developed countries. This assessment of the local IT industry was provided by Hovik Musaelyan, the director of Synopsys Armenia, in an interview with the Shant TV channel. Additionally, he characterized the industry with indicators such as the number of employees, which is approximately 40,000 people, and an annual growth rate of 25-30%.
Musaelyan mentioned another significant fact: "The average assessment of various international indicators shows that each employee in the IT sector in Armenia, considering the multiplier effect, generates an additional 6-8 jobs in the service sector." He used Synopsys Armenia as an example, which currently has 1,300 employees, but had even more in the past, stating that the company, "indirectly" contributed to the creation of 15,000 additional jobs in the service sector during its operations in Armenia
Regarding the "brain drain" from Armenia, Musaelyan stated that in the industry breakdown, if we consider the IT sector, and specifically in the case of Synopsys Armenia in the field of design and microcircuit development, such a phenomenon is almost nonexistent. However, in the realm of programmers, it is more likely to occur. This can be attributed to two factors. The first is the difficulty to finding a suitable job in Armenia within your field of expertise or, if found, it may be low paying. The second factor is the geopolitical situation, which plays a significant role in influencing the decision of highly qualified specialists to either stay or leave the country, regardless of their field. Regarding the relocators who arrived in Armenia two years ago, he said that 70,000 of them (according to various estimates) were IT specialists. Today, at best, less than half remain in Armenia. noted Musaelyan. He explained the reason for the departure of some of these specialists from Armenia as follows: "I think that those who have been successful during these two years are not thinking about leaving. At the same time, I will note that being successful in the IT sphere is a rather difficult task. I will give an example of startups - only one out of 10 succeeds." In terms of creating a favorable environment for the IT sphere, he emphasized the necessity of creating tax breaks (as they did in Georgia), which is already being discussed within the government and is expected to produce positive results.
