Armenia is in the research phase. Central Bank of Armenia official Erik Vardanyan published a paper in 2023 that examined the case for a CBDC in Armenia. Ultimately, the paper concluded that “based on the current level of financial market development in Armenia, limited use cases for retail CBDC have been identified thus far. However, the various technological innovations considered for CBDC hold potential for a wide range of financial market enhancements in specific areas.”

Armenia earned a 54 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. Armenia faces problems with torture, arbitrary arrests, and worse, but the most relevant issues are those concerning surveillance and corruption. The issuance or adoption of a CBDC in Armenia could worsen these issues.

Although laws prohibit unauthorized surveillance, the U.S. State Department reported that “Law enforcement organizations did not always abide by these requirements.” Unfortunately, a CBDC could be used to greatly expand surveillance by putting financial records on government databases by default.

“Relationships between politicians, public servants, and businesspeople have historically influenced policy and contributed to selective application of the law,” according to Freedom House. “High-level government officials are rarely investigated despite clear evidence of improper uses of their office.” The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.