Nearly a Third of Armenians Ready to Leave Their Country for Good

YEREVAN — The Armenian Center of the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) has conducted a polling in 6,000 households in the three countries of the South Caucasus, revealing interesting trends.
According to the survey, around 30 percent of respondents in Armenia said they were ready to leave the country permanently and 64 percent said they considered going abroad temporarily.
In Azerbaijan, the wish to leave the country permanently and temporarily was expressed by 17 percent and 52 percent respectively, while in Georgia the figures, accordingly, were 7 percent and 47 percent.
The Azerbaijani society is worried about the high level of corruption unlike Armenia and Georgia. The Army is the most trustworthy among public structures in Armenia, while the level of trust in the National Assembly is the lowest. Religious establishments enjoy the highest trust in Georgia, while Azerbaijani trust the President most.
According to the survey the happiest people live in Georgia, followed by Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenians are most interested in the issue of unemployment (45 pct) and poverty (10 pct) as the main problem, while Azerbaijanis are concerned with territorial integrity (53 pct) and then unemployment (17 pct).
In Georgia, 52 percent of the polled mentioned unemployment as the main problem, and 12 percent mentioned territorial integrity.
The poll has also revealed the attitude of Armenians towards the opening of the border with Turkey. The overwhelming majority said to be worried about security issues. Some have expectations as regards economic development.
CRRC Armenian Center Director Heghine Manasyan said the goal of the simultaneously held polls was to collect comparable data concerning social, political and economic processes in the South Caucasus countries.