Armenia’s Resident Population Dropped by 12.3 Thousand in Past Year: Press

According to official data published by Armenia's National Statistical Service (NSS) on Tuesday, the country's resident population has declined by 4200 persons through the first three months of 2016: at the beginning of this year, Armenia's population stood at 2 998 600 people, and on April 1 – at 2 994 400, local Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper reports, stressing that the thousands of Armenians who have long been living abroad but continue to be registered in Armenia have also been counted as “resident population” by the NSS. 

“The latest figures are based on the 2011 census data, plus live births, minus deaths and de-registrations from permanent residence over the past five years. And although this number does not reflect the actual situation in the country, it does give some idea of the population's decline rate.

“Over the last 5 years, Armenia's resident population dropped from 3 mln 18.8 thousand to 2 mln 994.4 thousand – a decrease of 24.4 thousand. More than half of the reduction accounts for the last year alone, during which the resident population of the country decreased by 12.3 thousand,” the paper writes.