Armenians struggling with worsening welfare

/AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

The latest 2014 Prosperity Index developed by the London-based Legatum Institute disappointed the Armenian government with its ranking in terms of public welfare.

The 2014 Prosperity Index ranked Armenia 95th among 142 countries. Its position remained unchanged in comparison with the last year. Experts say this proves Armenia's deteriorating economic and social life. If the country has failed to improve its position over a year, it means that the country is facing lots of problems. The index puts Armenia significantly far behind of its two South Caucasus neighbors - Azerbaijan and Georgia, which were ranked 79 and 80 respectively.

The global Prosperity Index is the flagship publication of the Legatum Institute. The Index now benchmarks 142 countries around the world since its first publication in 2007. Eight distinct categories comprise economy, education, entrepreneurship and opportunity, governance, health, personal freedom, safety and security, and social capital.

The Prosperity Index includes both objective and subjective data. The purpose of the report is to spark debate and to encourage policymakers, scholars, the media, and the interested public to take a general view of prosperity and to understand how to create it. It covers almost 96 percent of the world population and 99 percent of the world GDP.

The Legatum Institute placed Armenia's economy as 129 in the ranking, which testifies to the ongoing economic stagnation. The Index relegated the country to 124th position for the social capital index. Personal freedom index ranked the country 126th in terms of human rights violations. Entrepreneurship and opportunity capacities are not advantageous in Armenia, as the Index reported the country standing at 68th position among 149 countries.

Norway, Switzerland and New Zealand stand at the top three places in the list respectively. Denmark, Canada, Sweden, Australia, Finland, Netherlands and the U.S. grabbed the first ten places in the 2014 Prosperity Index's report.

One more international report unveiled the grievous problems facing the modern Armenia. It could be claimed as a biased report or unfair approach towards the small South Caucasus country, if not to mention the National Statistical Service's latest data on the volume of money in the country.

Statistical service has rung the alarm bells with its report which clearly showed a decrease in financial resources in Armenia. The figure dropped by 0.4 percent in September as compared to August to $38.9 billion.

The government confessed the wrecking economic crisis in the country as the PM Hovik Abrahamyan reported about 2.3 percent in budget deficit in 2015.

Now, a talking goldfish that grants three wishes to make come true would be a real gift for the Armenian authorities to get rid of at least three problems in their land. What could be the wishes? To get rid of the economic hardship in a moment; to resolve financial troubles in a twinkling of an eye, and to save the country from desertification in a flash! It is difficult to read the government's mind and reveal its wishes, but, anyway, the goldfish can be the best tool for Armenian leadership amid its past, present and maybe the future failures.