Integrated Living Conditions Survey 2018

The Integrated Living Conditions Survey (ILCS) was introduced in Armenia in 1996, followed by the one in 1998-1999; thereafter, it has been conducted every year since 2001. Since 1996, when the present Integrated Living Conditions Survey was first implemented in Armenia, the National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia (NSS) with the assistance of the World Bank, USAID and other donor organizations, has been putting effort to continuously improve the quality of data collected through household surveys, as well as to advance its own expertise in arriving at a more accurate assessment of poverty. These efforts have proven to be successful as the data collected through household surveys and the estimates of poverty rate based on such data appeared to be an important input in defining and monitoring the poverty reduction strategy, which is the responsibility of the Government.

In 2004, the NSS undertook significant measures to improve the Integrated Living Conditions Survey (ILCS) and to update the poverty assessment methodology, which was used until 2008. With the technical assistance provided by the World Bank and due to numerous consultancies and practical works:
(1) the survey sample frame was updated using the 2001 Population Census database
(2) the sample size was expanded to ensure representativeness of data by regions
(3) the ILCS questionnaire was revised to reflect economic and social changes since 1998/99 up to 2003, as well as a comprehensive section on employment was added into the questionnaire
(4) the surveying personnel underwent a more profound training.

With the co-funding provided within the period of 2007-2011 by the Millennium Challenge Account - Armenia (MCA-Armenia), a state non-commercial organization, the sample size of the ILCS has been expanded to include 7,872 households annually as compared to the relevant indicator at 5,184 in 2006 (funded from the state budget only). Nonetheless, due to the termination of activities of MCA-Armenia in 2012, the sample size was reduced back to 5,184 households. This is the sample size in the 2018 survey. ILCS is conducted during the year with monthly rotation of households and settlements. The survey results serve primarily to assess the level of consumption-based poverty in Armenia.