Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian addresses parliament on May 18, 2017 in Yerevan (Photo: National Assembly of Armenia)
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)—Raising Armenia’s population to 4 million by 2040 is a formidable challenge, an expert of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Armenia said concerning President Serzh Sarkisian’s recent speech in which he formulated the task.
In his address to the newly elected National Assembly on May 18, the Armenian leader among the priorities also pointed out the need for a considerable improvement of Armenia’s demographic situation in the coming decades.
UNFPA Assistant Representative Garik Hayrapetian said that Armenia, whose current population is estimated at about 3 million, will do a great job even if it can raise its population number by 500,000 during the next 20 years.
Garik Hayrapetian, UNFPA representative in Armenia (Photo: RFE/RL)
“Theoretically, everything is possible. But if we try to really estimate our abilities, then, I think, it will be rather difficult to achieve the announced figures. But even if we can achieve half of that, I think this will be a very big step forward for us in terms of improving and stabilizing the country’s demographic situation,â€
