Economic Measure of Armenia
The GDP measures the total economic output produced by a country. The basic assumption is that if the output increases, then it means that everyone has more goods and services, and would therefore, be better off. It can be measured in three ways through the output approach, the income approach and the expenditure approach. It is divided by the total population to come up with the GDP per capita. Armenias GDP per capita was US 3877 in 2008. (UN, 2009)
The Gini coefficient is a quantitative measure to determine the inequality in wealth in a country. It is calculated by measuring the shaded region in the Lorenz curve. It can range between zero (depicting complete equality), and one (depicting complete inequality). The Gini coefficient of Armenia was 0.37 in 2006. (CIA, 2004)
The HDI is a statistical index that ranks countries according to the level of human development. The formula for calculating the index incorporates three things, namely, life expectancy, the education level (measured by the adult literacy rate), and the standard of living. According to the 2009 human development report (HDR), Armenia falls into the medium human development category and ranks 84th out of 182 countries (HDR, 2009).
AmericaArmeniaGDP per capitaUS 45230US 3877Gini coefficient0.37 (2006)0.47 (2007)HDI rank84th (2009) 13th (2009)
Compared to America, Armenia has a significantly lower GDP per capita, and HDI. However, the Gini coefficient shows that the income is more equally distributed in Armenia.