The lump sum for the first child will be 300,000 AMD

The government is determined to improve the demographic situation in the country … and all of our plans should be aimed at ensuring that every family in the average statistical population of the Republic of Armenia has the desire and opportunity to have at least three children by 2021, the September 23 Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan at the Demographic Situation Improvement Council meeting.

To this end, the government promises to increase one-time birth benefit by six times by 2020, double the second childbirth allowance twice, increase the monthly allowance to working mothers by 41 percent, eliminate the vicious phenomenon called “kindergarten queue”.

According to a statement by the Armenian government, Tigran Avinyan said in his speech:

“I want to start today’s session by summing up the results of the previous session on improving the demographic situation. During the previous session we touched upon very important and practical steps to improve the demographic situation. I would like to reiterate that the government is determined to improve the demographic situation in the country. Consequently, from the results of the previous session discussion we can announce that starting in 2020 we will launch new programs to encourage births, support for  young families with children.

So, from 2020:

• we will increase the lump sum for the first child six times, from 50,000 to 300,000.
• We will double our lump-sum birth allowance twice, from 150,000 to 300,000 for the birth of the second child. As a result, parents will be able to cover the initial one-off costs associated with the baby’s birth.
• We will increase the monthly allowance for working mothers by about 41 percent, from 18,000 to 25,500.
• We will introduce a new type of child care benefit in rural areas: Mothers will be paid 25,500 AMD a month until the child is two years old.
• We will work to phase out the vicious phenomenon called the “kindergarten queue” step by step. In preschools and schools we will have expanded day care and tuition services, in particular co-pay will be organized from 08:30 to 19:00. As a result, the working parent should have the opportunity to arrange for the care of his or her child at preschool and school facilities near his or her place of employment.
• One of the most important ones, of course, is housing programs for young families with children, and we will launch in 2020 with ambitious plans to provide state-run mortgage and prepaid housing insurance in the provinces by 2020. The initial project budget will be approximately  500 million AMD. But for starters, I think this will be more than enough. In parallel, work will be carried out on targeted housing development projects in the regional settlements, which the Urban Development Committee is already involved in.

I would also like to add that these programs are just the beginning and we need to have a discussion of a new national ideology by 2021, that is to say, before that, but by 2021 we should have 3 children in the average family. And all of our plans should be aimed at ensuring that every  average household in the Republic of Armenia has the desire and opportunity to have at least three children by 2021. “