Living standards in Armenia plummeted in the first half of 2011, the leader of a non-governmental organization has said.
“Prices are increasing dramatically but wages stay the same. This is the primary reason for the fall in living standards,” Arman Sahakyan, coordinator of the Gyumri-based New Generation NGO.
He said that living standards were particularly low in Shirak and Lori provinces in northern Armenia.
“If 100,000 drams [$272] is considered an average wage in Yerevan, many families in Shirak live, or, to be correct, survive, on 32,000 [$87] a month,” Sahakyan said.
He said that local issues more than the financial crisis were to blame for the fall in living standards. Sahakyan pointed the finger of blame at tax administration policies, which result in the bankruptcy of many entrepreneurs and companies, leaving huge numbers of people unemployed.
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