YEREVAN, Nov. 21, 2025— Stronger competition is essential for Armenia’s growth, as concentrated markets reduce efficiency and fairness, according to a new World Bank report released today.
Armenia’s Economic Pulse: Fairer Markets for Inclusive Growth calls for improved enforcement of competition rules and fairer supplier-retailer relationships in order to lower prices, expand consumer choice, and help small producers compete. Taking these actions would support job creation and a more productive economy, the report says.
“Competition is not just about prices, it’s about opportunities,” said Fabrizio Zarcone, World Bank Country Manager for Armenia. “When markets are open and transparent, small firms grow, consumers enjoy better choices and prices, and productivity gains translate into better jobs and shared prosperity.”
Armenia’s macroeconomic fundamentals are strong, the report says. The growth was faster than expected in 2025 to date, driven by strong consumer spending, investment, and growth in services and construction. Inflation rose to 3.3% by October mainly due to inflation in food prices, while unemployment dropped to 12.3%. Looking ahead, the report projects Armenia’s growth to 5.2% in 2025 and 4.7% by 2027, with inflation expected to stabilize around 3%.
The analysis in the focus chapter of the report confirms that a series of reforms during recent years has aligned Armenia's antitrust and consumer protection frameworks with international practice, improving the overall competition landscape. At the same time, Armenia’s competitive environment has a high concentration of retailers. While this can partly be attributed to the country’s limited market size, such concentration reduces incentives for businesses to innovate and leads them to have low levels of productivity.
In a “spotlight” analysis of the wholesale and retail sector, the report finds that with stronger enforcement of the newly amended competition protection laws and regulations and with awareness-raising by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the country can enhance market transparency, improve supplier-retailer relationships, and enable small and medium businesses to compete more effectively. This would result in an ultimate increase in consumer choice and overall market efficiency.
The report adds that strong market competition also requires continued monitoring, suggesting that Armenia could do so by deploying integrated and smart market monitoring systems.
Contacts
In Yerevan: Hasmik Soghomonyan, +374 91291300,
hsoghomonyan@worldbankgroup.org
World Bank Media Relations: (202) 473-7660,
