WOMEN AND SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPM ENT

Abstract

There are more women than men within the Armenian population and in 2015, women represented 52.2 percent of the total population.1 However, Armenia ranked in the bottom five countries in the world in the Health and Survival subindex (2014)2 because of its low female-to-male sex ratio at birth score (100/114). This has prompted intense debate among experts about the issue of selective abortion in the country.3 The distribution of women by age is as follows: women below working age (0-15 years) account for 46.6 percent of this sub group of the population; working-age women (16-62 years) for 52.5 percent; and women above working age (63+ years) for 59.8 percent (2015).4 Conclusion: while women are an important resource in Armenia’s economic development, they are also the main beneficiaries of the social protection system (in particular, the pension system).