YEREVAN, August 14. /ARKA/. According to preliminary estimates, Armenia's GDP is expected to shrink by 5% or even more in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis, Economy Minister Tigran Khachatryan said at a press conference on Friday.

The minister said approximately 40% of the country's GDP is generated in the first half of the year, and 60% in the second. He said according to the latest statistical data, in the first half of the year the GDP dropped by 2%.

"In general, these are preliminary estimates and it is possible that GDP will decrease by 5% or a little more compared to 2019. This indicator is in line with global trends. It is expected that 2021 will be the main year for recovery," Khachatryan said.

According to the National Statistical Committee, Armenia's economic activity in the first six months of 2020 dropped by 4.7% compared to the same period in 2019. In June 2020 the index dropped by 7.5% from the same month in 2019, but compared to May 2020, the indicator increased by 14.8%.

On April 29, the parliament of Armenia approved a revision of budget indicators to offset the consequences of the COVID-19. The originally projected GDP growth of 4.9% was reduced to 2% Also, the original GDP volume of 7.095 trillion drams was reduced to 6.485 trillion drams and the earlier projected deficit budget of 160.7 billion drams was raised to 324 billion drams. –0-