YEREVAN. – There is one domain by which all developments can be assessed; it's demography. Former governor of the Central Bank of Armenia, economist Bagrat Asatryan, said this during a press conference today.

"From a demographic point of view, though a small but positive change was recorded in 2019," Asatryan said. "Of course, the situation here gets complicated by the fact that we are entering the next demographic pit when the generation that was born in 2000-2001 will enter the active reproductive age in the next 2-3 years [in Armenia], and we have had the least births in that period—30 to 32 thousand births—in the history of the newly independent republic."

Asatryan added that there will also be an increase in mortality in Armenia as the post-war baby boom generation is entering the age of mortality.

Bagrat Asatryan emphasized that in 2017-2018, Armenia was already dealing with depopulation in some provinces, when the number of deaths was higher than the births. "In Lori Province, every second marriage was ending in divorce," he added. "But positive changes were recorded in 2019."