ArmInfo. In January 2026, Armenia experienced a boost in its economic activity, with annual growth rising from 7.1% to 7.6%. At the same time, the decrease in the foreign trade slowed down. According to the latest data from the RA Statistics Committee, the main drivers of annual growth were the construction, energy, and industrial sectors, while the services sector made a modest contribution and the trade sector had a negligible impact.
According to statistics, this economic activity in January 2026 was largely due to a significant increase in the construction sector (from 11.6% to 18.7%), the energy sector (from 10.1% to 18.1%), and the industrial sector's recovery from a 10.4% decline to 10.6% growth. At the same time, annual growth slowed in the services sector (from 12.6% to 7.4%), and in the trade sector (from 9.9% to a stagnant 0.7%). In terms of volume in January 2026, the trade sector maintained the lead, totaling 414.7 billion drams. The services sector ranks second in terms of volume at 318 billion drams, followed by the industrial sector at 229.5 billion drams, and the construction sector at 22.3 billion drams. Power generation in January 2026 amounted to 1,085.7 million kWh.
Against this backdrop, Armenia's foreign trade turnover in January 2026 amounted to 484.8 billion drams ($1.3 billion), with the annual decline slowing from 40% to 12%. This is due to a slowdown in the annual decline in both exports and imports - from 49.2-33.5% to 13.5-11.2%. As a result, the absolute value of exports in January 2026 amounted to 176.3 billion drams ($463.9 million), and imports - 308.5 billion drams ($811.8 million).
It should be noted that the Central Bank of Armenia, in its December forecast, predicted GDP growth of 6.3-4.1% in 2026 (compared to actual 7.2% growth in 2025), and then 4.9-5.3% in 2027. According to the Central Bank's updated forecast, the dynamics of foreign trade will grow by 4.5-3.4% for exports and 3.1% for imports, with this trend continuing in 2027 to 3.9-4.1% (for exports) and 4.2-3.8% (for imports).
According to the IMF's updated forecast in December, Armenia's GDP growth in 2026 will be 5.5%. According to the IMF forecast, Armenia's foreign trade indicators will reach a nearly flat 2.2-2.1% growth rate in 2026, with a further acceleration in 2027 to 3.4-3.7%. In its January forecast, the World Bank (WB) predicts a slowdown in Armenia's GDP growth in 2026-2027 to 4.9-4.7%. The draft state budget for Armenia for 2026 projects a GDP growth of 5.4%. According to the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, Armenia's GDP, after accelerating from 5.8% to 12.6% in 2022, began to slow down in 2023 to 8.3% and then to 5.9% in 2024. However, in 2025 it accelerated again to 7.2%, exceeding 11.3 trillion drams (over $29 billion) in absolute terms. The GDP deflator index also, after growing in 2022 from 106.9% to 108%, began to decline to 103.1% in 2023 and to 101.4% in 2024. It increased again to 103.6% in 2025.
