Strong Armenia party warns of demographic crisis

The Strong Armenia party has sounded the alarm over a looming demographic collapse, as the country heads into parliamentary elections on 7 June.

In a social media post on Friday, party member Lilia Shushanyan described Armenia as a “dying state” due to declining birth rates and the long-term impact of war casualties. She noted that while the South Caucasus population has grown to 17.2 million over the past 35 years, Armenia and Georgia are shrinking, with Azerbaijan projected to surpass 11 million people in the coming decades.

Citing forecasts from the World Bank and the UN, Shushanyan warned that Armenia’s population could fall to around 2 million by the end of the century. “By demographic indicators, we are already a defeated state,” she said.

The party’s programme proposes financial incentives to boost birth rates: families would receive 2 million drams for a fourth child, and a free home for the fifth and subsequent children. Strong Armenia also pledges to prioritise poverty reduction among families with children.