Human Development Report on the social cost of transition

The NHDR reveals a dramatic decline in the Human Development Index for Armenia, which moved it from the group of countries with a high HDI to those with an average one. For instance, between 1993 and 1994 alone, it fell from 0.801 (ranking of 53) to 0.739 (ranking of 82). In its conclusion, the NHDR recognizes that, in spite of the decrease in per capita GDP, the level of human development in Armenia is still adequate due to the high standards of education and health-care inherited from the past. Yet the key message of the report is that the current stage of reforms in the country calls for a transition from relief to development activities, and that priority needs to be given to seven key focus areas, namely, the social protection of vulnerable groups, the strengthening of financial institutions and energy sector development; privatization and private enterprise development, reforms of education and health, development of productive farms, acquisition of and investment in new environmentally safe technologies and rehabilitation of housing systems.