YEREVAN. – The birth rate in Armenia has dropped in the current year, as compared to the year past.

Head of the Census and Demography Division at the National Statistical Service, Karine Kuyumjyan, noted the above-said at a press conference on Friday.

“A drop in natural growth was recorded in several provinces if the republic,” said Kuyumjyan. “Births were fewer than the cases of deaths.”

According to official data, the number of births in Armenia was 18,719 in the first six months 2015, and this is a 2.8-percent drop, as compared to the same period last year.