ARMENIA FACES DEMOGRAPHIC DEFEAT

Lragir/am
23 March 06

Statistics shows that Armenia falls behind Azerbaijan by demographic
indices. According to Samvel Farmanyan, member of the council of the
Orinats Yerkir Youth Society, the population growth in Azerbaijan
totaled 4.4 per cent, whereas in Armenia, according to the same
statistical source, this rate is almost zero. The members of the
Orinats Yerkir Youth Society believe that this fact in particular and
the problems of youth in general must make the government think of
ways of improving the life of young people.

Young Orinats Yerkir members think the primary step is to solve the
problem of housing of young people. With regard to this the young
members of the Orinats Yerkir Party advise the government to take
practical steps to make the hypothec market available for young
people. `The government must take measures to achieve a youth-oriented
hypothec market, direct investment funds and institutions at the
hypothec market, spend budget means growing thanks to economic growth
on the solution of these problems,’ think the representatives of the
youth wing of the Orinats Yerkir Party. For instance, they offer to
grant soft loans to young families, cut their loan burden by certain
percentage on the birth of their first child, and the second child,
etc. They think such similar steps will help to improve the
demographic indices, which is a strategic issue for Armenia.