Tag: Georgia

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Economy Region

Armenia to surpass Azerbaijan and Georgia by GDP per capita. IMF

Map of South Caucasus

Armenian GDP per capita has surpassed that of Georgia and is projected to surpass Azerbaijan for the first time since 2005, according to IMF data. More importantly, the growth is projected to continue for the next 4-5 years according to IMF.

In 2019 GDP per capita in Armenia was equal to $ 4527.592 (current prices, USD), while that of Georgia was worth $4289.322 and Azerbaijan — $4689.378. The projection for 2020 says Armenian GDP per capita will grow to $4759.2, overtaking Azerbaijan.

GPD (current prices) in USD in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia

Meanwhile, Armenia’s GDP still is still lagging behind Azerbaijan and even Georgia, according to IMF data. At $13.4 billion USD Armenia’s GDP is 3.5 times smaller than that of Azerbaijan’s $47.1 billion and about $2.4 billion USD less than that of Georgia’s $15.9 billion.

As far as I’m concerned, the good news is that GDP in Armenia will continue to grow according to IMF. And if Pashinia’s full year in power (2019) is any indicator, this growth will actually translate into good roads and infrastructure, better medicaid and higher pensions for Armenian citizens, instead of going into the pockets of a bunch of corrupt officials, as was the habit during the previous regimes.

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Armenia Politics

Armenia's Press Freedom Score Highest in The Past Decade


Armenia’s rank has improved by 3 points in this year’s Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, but we’re still ranked in the “noticeable problems” category.

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Armenia Economy Region

Average Monthly Wage in Armenia Lowest among Caucasus States

Average Monthly Wages in Caucasus Countries vst Global Average, based on ILO data

Average monthly wage in Armenia is more than 3 times less than the global average, which is estimated to be equal to $1,480 a month according to the study published last year by the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO). Furthermore, the average wage in Armenia is the lowest among the three Caucasian states.

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Armenia Region

Villagers Trapped on Georgian – Armenian Border after Demarcation


Villagers in Djiliza, Chanakhchi, Akhkyorpi and about 7 other Armenian villages have found themselves cut from relatives and vital roads following the reckless demarcation of the Armenian-Georgian border.

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Armenia Tech

Home Internet Access in Armenia Higher than Global Average


In Armenia, 33% of adults in 2011 reported having home internet access, according to Gallup surveys conducted in 148 countries. This is by 1 percentage point more than the global average, which stands at 32% according to the same source.

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Armenia Politics Region

Saakashvili."If you hate Armenians – I am an Armenian"

Georgia — Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, July 2012: Photo of the Day, Photo from the official website: www.president.gov.ge

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili gave an interview to Kanal PIK last week, speaking about a range of topics, including the Russia-Georgia 2008 war, Georgia’s reforms and answered to a personal question about his nationality.

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Armenia Tech

Tuning Show 2012 was held in Yerevan

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Around fifty cars and motorcycles from Armenia and Georgia took part in the “Tunining Show 2012” held in Yerevan’s Victory park on Sunday.

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Armenia Region

The Significance of the Caucasus


Here’s a rather simplistic video dispatch by STRATFOR, a US based company which provides “analysis and insights into political, economic, and military developments”.

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Armenia

Georgian FM: I don't see why we should speak Russian in friendly Yerevan

Georgia’s Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze met with President Serzh Sarkisian and his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian during a two-day official visit to Yerevan than began on Friday.
RFE/RL reports that Vashadze and Nalbandian discussed “a number of issues preoccupying Georgia’s Armenian community.” That included the tense situation in Georgia’s Armenian-populated Javakheti region.
“There is no problem of Javakheti, there is a socioeconomic problem in Javakheti, as well as other regions of Georgia,” Vashadze said at an ensuing news conference with Nalbandian. He insisted that the administration of President Mikheil Saakashvili has done a lot to alleviate the plight of the impoverished region’s population in recent years.
“If somebody in Armenia thinks that people are better off in [Georgia’s second largest city of] Kutaisi than in Samtskhe-Javakheti, then they are deeply deluded,” Vashadze said. “I am ready to pay for your trip and take you [to Georgia] and show that.”
Vashadze denied in that regard any political motives behind the recent controversial arrest of two Armenian activists in the regional capital Akhaltsikhe on espionage charges. “Their rights are protected,” he said. “Lawyers are working for them.”
Nalbandian said the Armenian government is monitoring the high-profile case and has already received relevant explanations from the Georgian side. “The matter is being investigated and as Mr. Vashadze said, things will probably clear up after the investigation is over,” he said.
Regnum news agency reports Vashadze saying: “I have no allergy to Russian language, but I don’t see why should I speak Russian in friendly Yerevan.” The Georgian FM, who is a Georgian citizen as well as Russian, persisted in holding the press conference in Georgian.

Categories
Armenia

Armenian army ranks 68 in Global Military Rating

Military Parade Dedicated to 15th Anniversary Armenia's Independence

Armenia ranks 68th in rating of armies of the world according to the Press.ge news portal. According to the same source Georgia ranks 94th, Azerbaijan 83-rd.
The Georgian news source has extracted the data using the Strategypage. I tried quite hard to find this information at the source, but was unable to. However, the information is interesting, although – not very reliable.
If this is too, it would be just incredible, that Armenia is so far ahead from both its Caucasian ex-Soviet neighbors, despite the fact, that last year its military budget – around $400 million, was half that of Georgia and 6 times less than that of it’s main rival – Azerbaijan, which announced $ 2 billion in defense spending for 2008.
Coming back to the Georgian news report cited above, it says the rating is based on data of land troops and air forces. The rating contains two basic indicators: COMBAT POWER LAND and Total Quality Index. The Combat Power Land includes such parameters as number of soldiers and weaponry, technical characteristics and so on.
The Total Quality Index includes the quality of commandment, effectiveness of weapon and the level of weapon adequacy, battle experience, the level of logistics and communications, as well as historic military-culture traditions.
Top 20 mighty armies are as follows – the USA (9300), Israel (1280), China (882), the UK (819), India (801), Russia (714), Germany (393), Japan (382), South Korea (359), France (351), Taiwan (184), Pakistan (168), Saudi Arabia (140), Egypt (138), Italy (134), North Korea (131), Iran (113), Switzerland (108) and Spain (108).
Below are links to a couple of other information sources on defense budgets and armies of the region: Moscow Defense briefing, The Armenian Economist, Wikipedia.