President Ilham Aliyev told BBC News on November 6 that Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh will receive high salaries and pensions after the liberation of the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by the Armenian armed forces.
"They will have higher salaries because salaries in Azerbaijan are higher," he said.
Fakt Yoxla examined whether the President's claim was true.
Ilham Aliyev compared the salaries paid to the population in the “NKR” with those in Azerbaijan. The average monthly salary in Azerbaijan was $ 373.6 (635.1 AZN), the average monthly pension was $ 130.2 (221.4 AZN). This is higher than the corresponding indicators of the “NKR”.
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The State Statistics Committee Salaries and pensions by economic regions 2019 |
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| Region |
The average monthly salary |
The average monthly pension |
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| manats | dollars | manats | dollars | |
| Azerbaijan | 635.1 | 373.58 | 263.59 | 155 |
| Baku | 868.8 | 511 | 366.03 | 215.31 |
| 1. Absheron | 503 | 295.88 | 236.76 | 139.27 |
| 2. Ganja-Gazakh | 408.7 | 240.41 | 219.62 | 129.18 |
| 3. Shaki-Zagatala | 361.1 | 212.41 | 215.54 | 126.78 |
| 4. Lankaran | 379.1 | 223 | 209.65 | 123.32 |
| 5. Guba-Khachmaz | 414.3 | 243.7 | 219.28 | 128.98 |
| 6. Aran | 390.3 | 229.58 | 216.84 | 127.55 |
| 7. Upper Karabakh | 351.6 | 206.82 | 219.69 | 129.22 |
| 8. Kalbajar-Lachin | 416.1 | 244.76 | 203.84 | 119.90 |
| 9. Mountainous Shirvan | 396 | 232.94 | 217.86 | 128.15 |
| 10. Nakhchivan | 484.2 | 284.82 | 256.87 | 151.1 |
However, the amount of salaries and pensions varies in the economic regions of Azerbaijan. The occupied territories of Karabakh fall into the territory of the Upper Karabakh and Kalbajar-Lachin economic regions. The Upper Karabakh economic region covers Tartar, Aghdam, Khojaly, Shusha, Khojavend, Jabrayil, Fuzuli districts, and Khankendi city, and Kalbajar-Lachin economic region covers Kalbajar, Lachin, Zangilan, and Gubadli districts.
In 2019, the average monthly nominal salary in the Upper Karabakh economic region was $ 206.8 (351.6 AZN), the average monthly pension was $ 129.2 (219.7 AZN). These figures were $ 244.8 (416.1 AZN) and $ 135.8 (230.8 AZN) in the Kalbajar-Lachin economic region, respectively. Last year, the average monthly salary in the “NKR” was $ 363.3, and the average monthly pension was $ 89.2.
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Salaries in the occupied economic regions of Azerbaijan and “NKR” in 2019 (dollars) |
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| Indicators | Upper Karabakh | Kalbajar-Lachin | “NKR” |
| Average monthly salary | 206.8 | 244.7 | 363.3 |
| Average monthly pension | 129.2 | 135.8 | 89.2 |
It should be noted that in comparison with other economic regions of Azerbaijan, the population's access to value-creating resources was limited in the Upper Karabakh and Kalbajar-Lachin economic regions. However, the fact that salaries in these regions are lower than in the “NKR” is not due to the occupation factor alone. Because the indicators on salaries in the economic regions such as Ganja-Gazakh, Shaki-Zagatala, Lankaran, Aran, and Mountainous Shirvan are lower than those in the economic region of Kalbajar-Lachin.
Thus, in 2019, the average monthly pension and salary in Azerbaijan were higher than those in the “NKR”. However, since the “NKR” was established in the Upper Karabakh and Kalbajar-Lachin economic regions, the comparison should be made not with Azerbaijan, but with these regions. Last year, the average monthly pension in these economic regions was higher than those in the “NKR”, and the average monthly nominal income was lower. In this regard, only what the President claimed about pensions is confirmed.
Fakt Yoxla concludes that Ilham Aliyev’s claim is Half True.
PS. The table on "Salaries and pensions by economic regions" was added to the text after publication. After that, the fact-meter was changed from Manipulation of Facts to Half True.
