YEREVAN, May 31. /ARKA/. Armenian Finance Minister Tigran Khachatryan said today that in 2021 the budget deficit was 4.6% of GDP, having decreased by 0.8 p.p., and the government debt was 60.3% of GDP, which was 2.3% less than at the end of 2020.

Speaking at a discussion on the execution of the 2021 budget organized by the parliamentary committees Khachatryan noted that real GDP growth was 5.7%, with industrial output growing  4.2%, services by 7.8%, construction sector by 2.6%. The only sector which recorded a decline was agriculture, which dropped by 1.4%.

At the same time, according to the minister, consumption grew by 3.7%, gross fixed capital by 7%, exports increased by 16.5%, and imports by 10.9%. The average annual inflation rate was 7.2%.

Armenian government’s growth projection for 2022 is 7%, and the inflation is set at 4% (± 1.5%). Earlier, the Central Bank revised its growth forecast for 2022 1.6% from an earlier projection of 5.3%.

Armenia's economic activity index (EAI) in the first 4 months of 2022 registered a 9.4% year-on-year growth, the National Statistical Committee reported earlier.

The 2022 budget calls for 1 trillion 947.8 billion drams in revenue (a 17% rise compared to 2021), and for 2 trillion 184 billion drams in spending (a 10% rise compared to 2021). The budget deficit is projected at 236.2 billion drams. ($1 - 449.56 AMD) -0-.