The government, at its Cabinet meeting Thursday, approved the draft of Armenia’s state budget for 2026.
The document states that Armenia’s defense spending has been reduced in next year’s budget. In the case when 664.6 billion drams were allocated for defense spending this year, in 2026 that amount will total 563.1 billion drams. The decrease amounts to 101.5 billion drams.
Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had announced that there may be a considerable increase in spending, or no increase in defense spending at all, in the 2026 state budget.
Despite the reduction in defense spending, Armenia’s total state budget next year is more than 5 percent higher. Accordingly, the government plans to spend 3 trillion 628 billion drams next year.
In particular, the healthcare budget will increase by about 45 billion drams.
Social spending will increase by about 90 billion drams, the lion’s share of which, about 591 billion, will be allocated to pensions.
Financial assistance for Armenians forcibly displaced from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) will also increase, with 55 billion drams planned next year. This year’s budget provided 35 billion.
Also, the government will spend a lot of money to manage Armenia’s national debt. More than 423 billion drams will be allocated to paying interest on these debts alone.
