Armenia’s Rural Population Grows

Friday, 30 June, 2023

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Gayane Markosyan

Yerevan-based journalist

Armenia’s rural population has risen sharply over the last year, reversing a downwards trend which previously saw numbers living in the countryside steadily decrease.

The growth was especially noticeable in 2022, when the rural population increased by 9,700 people compared to an increase of 1,300 in 2021. This is a sharp contrast to previous years; in 2019 the rural population decreased by 2,800 people, in 2018 by 6,500 and in 2017 by 7,800.

Experts attribute the rural population growth to reasons including the displacement of people from Nagorny Karabakh, known as Artsakh in Armenian, after the 44-day war in 2020. Another factor has been the sharp increase in house and rental prices in the capital Yerevan as a result of massive influx of Russians and Ukrainians due to ongoing conflict, as well as the impact of government programmes initiated in recent years to support rural areas.

As of April 1, 2023, the rural population constituted 36.3 per cent of the population of Armenia.

According to the Statistical Committee of Armenia, rates of natural growth and migration have increased sharply over the past year. In 2022, natural growth amounted to 9,500 people and migration increased by 5,900 people, resulting in a total increase of 15,400 people. Armenia had a similar rate of natural increase in 2019 with 9,800 people, while the migration rate was negative over the last seven years, with the exception of 3,300 people in 2020.

Mher Manukyan, public relations coordinator at UNFPA Armenia, confirmed “a significant growth” in the rural population since 2022.

“In the case of a constant and continuous growth of this indicator, the organisation can conduct a separate study to determine the root causes of the increase,” Manukyan said, adding that so far no formal research had been carried out.

Demographer Artak Markosyan said that the Karabakh war had had a clear impact.

“Obviously, in addition to natural growth, the increase in rural population happened due to mechanical growth,” he explained. “In this regard, a significant role was played by the return of Armenians from different rural communities of Artsakh who were relocated there in the early 2000s; also, many evacuated to Armenia from the territories of Artsakh that came under control of Azerbaijan. These people were mainly farmers, so they all settled in the rural communities of Armenia.”

About 75 per cent of those displaced from Karabakh settled in the provinces of Armenia and the rest in the capital Yerevan. Currently, about 20,500 former residents live in Armenia.

When Armen Chomoyan had to leave his village of Haykazyan in the Kashatagh region of Karabakh in 2020 because of the war, he took his family to a rural area near Yerevan.

“We did not have many options,” said the farmer and former village head. “We stayed where we could continue to live. We chose to live in the village because, frankly speaking, we know nothing but farming. For over 20 years we have been engaged in farming in Artsakh and now it is very difficult for us to learn something else, if not impossible.”

Chomoyan said that the soaring prices of real estate in Yerevan meant that many people he knew in the same situation also opted to live in rural areas.

“I know that almost everyone from my community settled in the countryside, they chose villages because of farming. Rent prices in Yerevan are very high, living in the village is much more affordable.”

Markosyan said that legislative reforms and various programmes implemented by the government could have also stimulated the growth of the rural population.

A June 2020 amendment to the law on state benefits allowed an unemployed parent who has lived in a rural area for at least one year to receive a monthly child care allowance for under-twos. This benefit did not apply to parents living in cities until a further January 2023 amendment extended the scheme.  

“In 2020, when the state began to allocate money for childcare to unemployed mothers living in rural areas, many families who earlier moved from villages to cities began to return,” Markosyan said. “This programme covered the rural population for about two-and-a-half years, which I think had also contributed to the growth of the rural population.”

According to Markosyan, the 2022-2024 government programme to support affordable housing in borderline rural communities had also contributed to rural population growth. Under this scheme, the Armenian government covers mortgage costs for families wishing to purchase real estate in borderline villages.

Others have made the move simply to improve their quality of life. Karin Grigoryan, who grew upin Yerevan, said she had long dreamed of moving to the countryside. When she got married and had a daughter, she and her husband Garegin found themselves even more dissatisfied with life in the capital.

“We have always rented houses, but we are tired of moving from one house to another,” she said. “We realised that no matter how hard we tried to find any green area in Yerevan, pollution was everywhere. For us, the environmental degradation of Yerevan was obvious.”

The couple decided to move to the village of Karashamb in Kotayk region. They have opened a guest house and Grigoryan, an editor for the Zangak Publishing House in Yerevan, has been able to work remotely, which she said was a decisive factor in their move.

“For women like me, it is very important to able to work remotely while taking care of my child," she said. “It is wonderful to live in the countryside and raise a child in a healthy environment, and at the same time work remotely.”

Some of their friends have also bought land plots and homes in Karashamb and the neighbouring villages, with several having already moved to the countryside and are planning to work remotely.

“It is so peaceful here; you wake up without stress and stay calm all day. We raise our child in a healthy and clean environment,” Grigoryan said. “As they say, the best things in life are free, here we have everything we need.”