Social issues in Armenia
Encyclopedia
Social issues in Armenia
include poverty
, high unemployment
, child labor
, organized crime
, political corruption
, education
, human trafficking
, domestic violence
, lack of rule of law, lack of public trust in government, and inadequate public services
.
About half of Armenians live in poverty and two out of ten are extremely poor, with rural people being particularly vulnerable. Armenia's poorest people are concentrated along the nation’s borders, in mountain areas and in earthquake zones. The Shirak Province in north-eastern Armenia, Lori Province in northern Armenia, and Kotayk Province in central Armenia are among the poorest provinces.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
include poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, high unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
, organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
, lack of rule of law, lack of public trust in government, and inadequate public services
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
.
Poverty
After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, masses of newly unemployed people found themselves with no income. The predominantly industrial society of Armenia was suddenly forced to be independent and rebuild an economy. People who lost their livelihood in other sectors got into agriculture, finding a safety net there.About half of Armenians live in poverty and two out of ten are extremely poor, with rural people being particularly vulnerable. Armenia's poorest people are concentrated along the nation’s borders, in mountain areas and in earthquake zones. The Shirak Province in north-eastern Armenia, Lori Province in northern Armenia, and Kotayk Province in central Armenia are among the poorest provinces.