Agarak, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia

Following on from a previous post regarding poverty in Armenia, I also picked up the Social Snapshot and Poverty in Armenia Household Suvey from ASTP-PADCO today. The survey by the National Statistics Service of the Republic of Armenia is produced with PADCO’s support and contains lots of interesting information about the situation in Armenia.

For example, the number of people occupying one room is 1.4 persons and only 13.9 percent of families in rural areas have proper kitchen facilities, running water, sewage system and a bath whereas this rises to 55.3 percent of households in rural areas. Over 97 percent of urban households have access to safe drinking water whereas 71.3 percent have access in rural areas.

Of those that have water running into their homes, 19.9 percent of households have water for three hours a day, 22.2 have water from three to four hours a day, 12.7 percent have water from five to six hours a day and 27.8 percent water from seven to twenty-two hours a day. It would appear from this 2003 survey of 5,000 households in Armenia that none have a 24-hour water supply.

Regarding poverty, it gets a little more interesting. According to the survey, 42.9 percent of the population live below the national poverty line set at 12,629 drams (about $30 a month) which leads many to suggest that benchmarks are set too low. In fact, according to the survey, if the poverty line was raised by 10 percent, poverty in Armenia would increase to 48.8 percent. However, raise it by 20 percent and poverty would stand at 56.8 percent or by 25 percent, 59.8 percent.

Using the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of the dollar which equates to 140.96 drams (about 30 cents), 9.9 percent of the population had per capita expenditures of 60 cents per day and 66.4 percent, 90 cents.

Then comes the paradox. From what I gather from the household survey, using World Bank methodology for poverty in Armenia, the actual percentage of people who can be considered poor by that benchmark stands at just 32 percent which might explain the recent comments by the Deputy Managing Director of the IMF. Interestingly, unless I’ve misunderstood something, it is this methodology that will determine the results of the 2004 Household Survey to be released in November.

Of course, defining poverty levels in any country, including developed ones, is a difficult task and one that is constantly open to much debate. For example, in 2003 only one in three Armenians could afford to seek medical treatment and the average colorie intake in Armenia consists of 66 percent grains and bread, 11 percent oils and fat, 5 percent potato, and 5 percent meat and fish.

When it comes to durable consumer goods, however, the picture becomes even more interesting. According to the survey, 92 percent of households owned a TV, 83 percent a refrigerator and 74 percent a washing machine. Of course, these goods are not necessarily the latest items sold in the electrical stores in central Yerevan and which most families have in the West. More often than not, they are leftovers from the soviet era, perhaps with the exception of TVs.

Get to other types of goods and the numbers plummet. Despite the common misconception among the Diaspora that “everyone has a mobile phone in Armenia,” only 2.2 percent of households did although 24 percent owned video cameras. Mainly, the low use of mobile phones is down to the dreaded ArmenTel. There might be as many as 350,000 cellphone subscribers in Armenia now whereas in Azerbaijan there are 1.7 million and in Georgia, over 1 million.

However, only 2.4 percent of households surveyed owned a computer and 1.7 percent a satellite dish. What’s also interesting is to note that there is probably more than just a cultural reason for what many perceive to be negative population growth in Armenia. According to the survey, 64.7 percent of households with only one child were not poor whereas 44.1 percent of households with three children were. Only 27.4 percent of households with four children were living above the poverty line.

Basically, it’s hard to measure poverty in any country and anyway, there’s a difference between living in poverty and living in a poor country. Still, whichever way you look at it, the trend of poverty in Armenia is downwards.