ArmInfo. In Armenia, economic activity growth accelerated to 8% annually in January-May 2026 (from 5.7% in the same period of 2025). Moreover, the industrial sector, having managed to recover from the recession to double-digit growth, has recovered its position as one of the drivers of economic growth. According to the final data from the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia, foreign trade is still in decline, but only slightly, in contrast to the significant decline a year ago.
According to statistics, the acceleration of economic activity in January-May 2026 was driven by improved annual growth in the industrial sector, which rose from a 14.1% decline to 12.2%, and accelerated growth in the construction sector, from 17.1% to 24.1%. Growth in the energy sector accelerated significantly, from 3.6% to 9.7%. Meanwhile, the leading trade sector by volume continued to decline, from 4.2% to 1.2%. The services sector, second in volume, also slowed, but less noticeably, from 10.1% to 9.1%.
According to statistics for January-May 2026, the trade sector retained its leadership in absolute terms, with a volume of 2.6 trillion drams ($6.8 billion). The services sector ranks second in terms of volume with 1.7 trillion drams ($4.6 billion), followed by the industrial sector with 1.3 trillion drams ($3.4 billion), and the construction sector, with 207.3 billion drams ($552.1 million), due to the lack of data on the agricultural sector in this statistical report. Electricity generation in January-May 2026 amounted to 4,380.9 million kWh, of which 770.2 million kWh was generated in May alone.
An acceleration in economic activity growth was also observed in May 2026 compared to May 2025, from 10.4% to 11.7%, with growth in May alone advancing from 6% to 9.9% (compared to a less noticeable acceleration in May 2025 from 4.3% to 5.4%). Moreover, in May 2026, the industrial sector's growth reversed from a 0.2% decline to 1.2% growth, a similar figure to the same month a year earlier, when it reversed from a 3.9% decline to 2.9% growth.
The energy sector also saw an improvement in May, with growth rising from a 20.1% decline to 2.6%. At the same time, growth accelerated in the construction sector in May, from 18.6% to 27.2%, and in the services sector, from 3.4% to 6.9%. Meanwhile, the trade sector's growth in May worsened from 1.9% growth to a 1.6% decline. In annual terms (May 2026 to May 2025), all sectors demonstrated an upward trend. In particular, the construction sector demonstrated the highest annual growth - 27.1%, followed by double-digit rates in the energy sector - 16.8% and the service sector - 14.7%. The industrial sector managed to recover from the recession with 9.5% growth. At the same time, the trade sector stagnated. A year earlier, in May 2025 to May 2024, with the exception of the industrial sector (5.9%) and the energy complex (2.4%), which declined, other sectors maintained growth: the construction sector - 22.2%, the service sector - 10.8%, and the trade sector - 0.9%.
Against this backdrop, Armenia's foreign trade turnover in January-May 2026 amounted to 2.95 trillion drams ($7.9 billion), a decline of only 0.1% year-on-year (compared to a 49% decline a year ago). This significant slowdown in the decline was due to an improvement in import dynamics, from a 42% decline to 2.2% growth, and a noticeable slowdown in export decline from 57.4% to 3.7%. As a result, the absolute value of exports for January-May 2026 amounted to 1.1 trillion drams ($2.9 billion), while imports amounted to 1.9 trillion drams ($4.99 billion).
In May 2026, compared to May 2025, foreign trade turnover also remained in decline, but also with a slowdown in growth, from 28.8% to 5.3%. Specifically, the decline in exports slowed from 39.3% to 11.5%, while imports fell from 20.4% to 1.6%. In May alone, foreign trade turnover fell by 5.6%, with exports falling by 4.7% and imports by 6.1%. This was also observed in the same month a year earlier, but at that time, the decline rates were double-digit - 14.8%, 19%, and 12%, respectively.
Starting in 2023, the methodology for calculating electricity generation volumes in statistical reports has changed; in particular, the volume of electricity generated by independent producers has now been included. For the agricultural sector, data is published only in quarterly and annual statistical reports. (The average dram exchange rate in January-May 2026 was 375.53 drams per US dollar, compared to 392.72 drams per US dollar a year ago.)
