The economic indicators of Azerbaijan and Armenia were compared in the article entitled "The "side" reality of the party chairman" written by journalist Mubariz Abdullayev in Yeni Azərbaycan (New Azerbaijan) newspaper. In order to make a comparison, the author mentioned that he referred to the figures presented by the national statistical committees of both countries. The author claims in the article that the minimum wage is 345 manats in Azerbaijan and 68 thousand drams (296 AZN) in Armenia, the average monthly pension is 456 manats in Azerbaijan and 36 thousand drams (229 AZN) in Armenia, the minimum pension is 280 manats in Azerbaijan and 20 thousand drams (87 AZN) in Armenia, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is 13,292 manats in Azerbaijan and 2.3 million drams (8,062 AZN) in Armenia, budget expenditures per capita are 3,345 manats in Azerbaijan and 663,000 drams (2,688 AZN) in Armenia, foreign debt per capita is 1,115 manats in Azerbaijan and 1 million 482 thousand drams (5,146 AZN) in Armenia.
Fakt Yoxla examined whether the figures given regarding the economic indicators of Azerbaijan and Armenia were true.
It should be noted that in order to make the text understandable, the figures related to Armenia were converted to Azerbaijani manat, and the date of publication of the article was taken as April 17, 2023. The website xe.com was used for the conversion. According to that date, 100 Armenian drams were equal to 0.44 Azerbaijani manats.
Wages and pensions
The minimum wage in Azerbaijan has been set at 345 manats since January 1, 2023. In Armenia, the minimum wage is not equal to 296 manats as claimed in the article, but equal to 330 manats from January 1 of this year. Thus, at present, the minimum wage in Armenia is 34 manats or 11% higher than indicated in the article.
Although the mentioned article compares the pension amounts according to both the minimum and the average monthly amount, only the minimum amounts are compared in relation to the salary. Average monthly wages are not touched upon. It is clear from the official figures that the average monthly salary in Armenia is higher than in Azerbaijan. So, according to the last announced indicator, the average monthly salary in Azerbaijan is equal to 854.5 manats. The average monthly salary in Armenia is equal to 1,100 manats. In other words, the average monthly salary in Armenia is 28% higher than in Azerbaijan.
As for the comparison of pension amounts, the minimum pension amount in Azerbaijan is currently equal to 280 manats. The minimum pension amount in Armenia is equal to 136 manats, not 87 manats as indicated in the article. This is 56% higher than the claimed figure.
The article claims that the average monthly pension in Azerbaijan is 456 manats. However, 456 manats is the amount of the average monthly pension according to age. The average monthly pension in Azerbaijan is equal to 423 manats. In Armenia, the average monthly pension is equal to 204 manats, not 158 manats (36 thousand drams) as claimed in the article. From this point of view, it is clear that the average monthly pension amount of Armenia in manat is lower in the article.
It should be noted that although 36 thousand drams are shown as 229 manats in the article, it is actually equal to 158 manats.
Macroeconomic indicators
The article published in Yeni Azərbaycan newspaper compares macroeconomic indicators along with salary and pension indicators. For example, it is reported that the GDP per capita is 13 thousand 292 manats in Azerbaijan and 8 thousand 62 manats in Armenia. The figures showing the GDP per capita in Azerbaijan in 2022 are true. As for Armenia, the GDP indicator per capita in 2022 was approximately equal to 12 thousand 591 manats. This is 4,529 manats higher than the figure claimed by Yeni Azərbaycan newspaper.
As for the budget expenditures, according to official figures, the budget expenditures of Azerbaijan in 2022 were equal to 32 billion 8 million manats, and the population was equal to 10 million 127 thousand people. From this point of view, the amount of budget expenditures per person is close to the amount mentioned in the claim: 3,160 manats. In Armenia, the amount of budget expenditures in 2022 was equal to 2 trillion 188 billion drams, and the population was equal to 2 million 996 thousand people. That is, the amount of budget expenditures per capita in the country was approximately equal to 3,212 manats. This is about 500 manats or 18% higher than the 2,688 manats claimed by the newspaper. At the same time, this indicator also means that the amount of expenditure per capita in Azerbaijan and Armenia is approximately equal.
As for the claim regarding foreign debt, according to the Ministry of Finance, as of January 1, 2023, the amount of foreign public debt per capita in Azerbaijan is equal to 1,115 manats, as indicated in the article. In Armenia, by the end of 2022, the amount of foreign public debt was not equal to 5,146 manats as mentioned in the article, but equal to 3,687 manats. This is 1,459 manat or 28% lower than the amount mentioned in the article.
Table: Economic indicators of Azerbaijan and Armenia (in manats)
Fakt Yoxla concludes that although it is true that Azerbaijan has a better result than Armenia in all six areas mentioned in the article of Yeni Azərbaycan newspaper about the comparison of the economic indicators of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the indicators related to Armenia are shown to be lower. From this point of view, the claims of Yeni Azərbaycan newspaper about the economic indicators of Armenia are False.
