Armenia's 'Middle Class': Stability Characteristics and the Challenge of Erosion

Abstract

This article will give a systematic overview of the main features of the middle class in Armenia based on their self-perception as captured in representative surveys. Typically, respondents identifying themselves as 'middle class' mostly have a university-level education, are employed, and are young or middle-aged. Evidence of upward social and economic mobility and progress in life are other important factors for self-identification as 'middle class'. However, has stagnation set in? This article analyses the threats that might lead to the erosion of Armenia's middle class. A limited access to professional education and healthcare services, the precariousness of employment, and the many impediments to small- and middle-sized enterprise development were the most prominent threats identified in a number of sociological studies.