ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan acknowledges that poverty exists in Armenia. "But we are close to eradicating extreme poverty," he stated in parliament during the final discussion of the 2026 budget draft.
"Poverty indicators were recently published, which we consider quite good. Although methodological issues need to be clarified. But it is already clear that extreme poverty is 0.6%, meaning we are, in fact, very close to eradicating it. This is our campaign promise, made in 2021," Pashinyan said.
According to him, the poverty rate could not have remained unchanged given the economic indicators. "Yes, Armenia has a poverty problem. But the time has come for us to recognize that poverty in Armenia is no longer caused by a lack of jobs. This problem was solved long ago." "The cause of poverty in Armenia is solely the absence or deficit of the skills needed to escape it," Pashinyan said.
He reiterated that the only way to escape poverty is through work. But there are those who work but remain poor. The reason for this is the lack of sufficient qualifications.
"If work doesn't ensure a person's well-being, they need to return to education and improve their skills. If that doesn't help, they need to get additional education," Nikol Pashinyan said.
