Armenia’s Ministry of Finance forecasts that by the end of 2024, the country’s public debt will amount to approximately 50% of GDP, with expected economic growth at 5.5%.
During a year-end press conference on December 25, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan stated that public debt is projected to reach 49.8–50% of GDP by year-end. However, he clarified that the exact figure will depend on final gross domestic product (GDP) data, which the ministry estimates will grow by 5.5%.
Earlier, BMG reported that Armenia’s financial authorities had already revised their expectations for key 2024 indicators. Initially, the budget was based on a GDP growth forecast of 7%, but this figure has since been lowered to 5.5%. As a result of this revision, the state treasury is expected to fall short by approximately $330 million in revenues, with tax and customs duties accounting for roughly $400 million of the shortfall.
To address this, the government plans to reduce budget expenditures by $331.2 million. Specifically, current expenses will be cut by $187.8 million, and spending on non-financial assets will decrease by $142.1 million, bringing the total to $1.62 billion. Nevertheless, the planned budget deficit will remain unchanged at $1.22 billion, or 4.6% of GDP.
It is worth noting that the original 2024 state budget law anticipated revenues of $6.91 billion (25.9% of GDP) and expenditures of $8.14 billion (30.5% of GDP), including $6.63 billion (24.9% of GDP) in tax and customs revenue.
