Pashinyan says people in Armenia live better than in 2018 – they disagree
“Today, people in Armenia live approximately 50% better than they did in 2018, even taking inflation into account,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated during a discussion of last year’s state budget execution report.
According to him, in April 2018 the average salary in the country was 173,596 drams (around $454), while as of April 2025 it had risen to 304,992 drams ($798). That means the average salary increased by roughly 130,000 drams ($340), or 75%. He added that cumulative inflation over the same period was 25%, meaning salary growth has outpaced inflation.
At the same time, the prime minister acknowledged that this doesn’t mean everyone is satisfied with their lives. But he argued there is a “simple, understandable, and entirely legitimate reason” why people might be unhappy: they “want to live even better, because in today’s Armenia, that is possible.”
Pashinyan’s remarks sparked intense debate on social media, with many people sharing how difficult it is to cope with rising prices on goods and services. Users questioned how “life could have improved” amid unemployment and inflation.
“Over 242,000 new jobs created” – Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan stated that as of April 2025, Armenia had 783,547 registered jobs—an increase of 242,119, or 44.7%, compared to April 2018. He called this figure a “new historic record,” noting that the previous record had been set in 2024:
“In November last year, Armenia recorded the highest number of paid jobs in its history. The number of registered jobs reached 782,832—an increase of 192,613, or 32%, compared to November 2018.”
According to the prime minister, the wage fund has grown 2.5 times since 2018. In April 2025, the total payroll for registered employees amounted to 238.975 billion drams (approximately $625.6 million).
“This figure is hard to even comment on. The difference here isn’t just ‘more or less’—it’s the difference between a state and a non-state,” he said.
Pashinyan explained that the payroll fund includes a wide range of salaries—from the minimum wage to 3–4 million drams ($7,850–$10,470).
He also claimed that higher salaries—by 80–90%—are paid to those with a “competitive education.”
“Why do I say 80–90% and not 100%? Because there’s a strong likelihood that 10–20% earn higher salaries not due to education, but due to other factors—including unfair ones,” he added.
“In December 2024, 12-month inflation stood at 1.5%, and average inflation was 0.3%. This reflects a situation where inflation neared the lower end of the Central Bank’s target range amid an accommodative monetary policy,” said Finance Minister Vahé Hovhannisyan.
According to him, these figures prove that claims of unprecedented inflation in Armenia are “complete nonsense.” To illustrate his point, the minister cited inflation rates in countries comparable to Armenia:
- Georgia – 1.1%
- Albania – 2.2%
- Azerbaijan – 2.2%
- Moldova – 4.7%
- Kyrgyzstan – 5%
- Belarus – 5.8%
- Russia – 8.4%
- Kazakhstan – 8.7%
Social media reaction
“Go on talking about inflation. You’ve tripled prices for everything compared to the former robbers [referring to the previous authorities]. You’ve turned half the country into fine-paying subjects, and the other half into raw material for paying interest to banks. Are you calculating people’s wages based on your own salaries?”
“If prices for everything have gone up – property taxes, utility bills, transport – and unemployment is at 30%, how can it be that people are living 50% better? And yet they don’t feel it. Use basic logic. You have the paper and the pen – you just write whatever you want.”
“Many people have several degrees, work multiple jobs, but still earn next to nothing. Stop fooling yourselves. It’s you and your team who have become wealthy. Just like under the previous government – they lived well while the poor stayed poor – it’s the same now.”
“Living in Armenia is very hard. Everything has become more expensive. People earn just enough for a piece of bread. They can’t take care of their health, they don’t take holidays. Everyone is angry, crushed by these living conditions. If everything was going to stay the same, why did we reject Serzh? [‘Reject Serzh’ was the slogan of the 2018 revolution led by Pashinyan.] And of course, you live very well. We’ve heard, we know, we can imagine.”
