On June 20 at 17:00, Armen Khachikyan, Executive Director of the ARAR Civilizational Research Foundation, presented the results of a sociological study conducted on public-political issues.
The research was conducted from May 8 to June 5.
The results of the study revealed perceptions on the following:
53.3% of Armenians use Facebook, 35.6% use YouTube, 21.9% use Instagram, 14.9% use TikTok, 8.5% use Telegram, 0.3% use Twitter, and 14.2% found it difficult or refused to answer — when it comes to receiving information.
Women use Facebook and Instagram more often, while men use TikTok and Telegram more. YouTube is used equally by both men and women.
Facebook is most popular among middle-aged people — 63.7%. 48.8% of those aged 55 and older use Facebook, and 46.6% of 18–34-year-olds.
Instagram is most used by 18–34-year-olds — 47.5%, 14.8% of 35–54-year-olds, and 7.2% of those aged 55+.
YouTube shows a different picture: 45.6% of those aged 55+, 34.7% of 35–54-year-olds, and 24.8% of 18–34-year-olds use it.
As with Instagram, TikTok and Telegram are most used by the 18–34 age group. 19.6% of 18–34-year-olds use TikTok, 16.4% of 35–54-year-olds, and 9.5% of those aged 55+.
Telegram is used by 16.8% of 18–34-year-olds, 7% of 35–54-year-olds, and 2.9% of those aged 55+.
Some of the survey questions addressed the internal and external policies of the RA authorities.
“About 59% of respondents believe that the Armenian authorities are conducting the wrong foreign policy, 31.5% believe the policy is correct. 9.6% of respondents found it difficult to answer the question,” said the Foundation’s Director Armen Khachikyan.
67.8% of respondents believe that the Armenian authorities are pursuing the wrong domestic policy, while only 25.4% think the authorities are conducting the right policy. 6.8% found it difficult to answer.
According to the research, 64.9% of 18–34-year-olds, 58.6% of 35–54-year-olds, and 54.1% of those aged 55+ consider the foreign policy of the RA authorities to be wrong.
According to Armen Khachikyan, Yerevan residents are much more anti-government — around 63% stated that the foreign policy is wrong.
The survey also included questions about the socio-economic situation of society.
“30% of respondents noted that their socio-economic condition has improved in recent years. Around 40% said the situation has remained the same, and about 27% said their social condition has worsened,” said Armen Khachikyan, emphasizing that in essence, for about 42% of society, the socio-economic condition has remained unchanged over the past 5 years.
Regarding the work of various RA institutions, the most trusted are the RA Armed Forces and the Armenian Apostolic Church — 61.7% and 59.7% respectively.
Trust in the police is 49%, in the Government — about 28%, and in the National Assembly — about 19%.
The research also covered Armenia’s military alliance preferences.
28.4% of respondents said Armenia should form military-strategic relations with Russia, 22.2% preferred EU countries, 21.6% — Iran, 16% — the USA, and 5.9% — India.
3.7% stated that no country should be seen as a military ally, and 2.2% found it difficult or refused to answer the question.
Armen Khachikyan added that this research confirms the well-known discourse that those who believe the authorities’ policies are wrong are more inclined toward forming military-strategic relations with Russia.
The survey also addressed perceptions of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
About 31% of respondents agreed that it is possible to achieve long-term peace through negotiations with Azerbaijan, while 68.5% believe it is not possible.
62.8% believe a peace treaty cannot be signed without resolving the Artsakh issue, while 33.5% believe it can be.
Speaking on questions about the future of Artsakh, Armen Khachikyan noted that 87.5% of respondents believe the loss of Artsakh is temporary.
“When Artsakh was finally lost in September–October 2023, and we began the research in December, this figure was 77%. I had assumed it would decline. To everyone’s delight, the figure has risen, and people believe that one day we must strengthen our army and take back what we lost,” said Armen Khachikyan.
23.7% of respondents reacted positively to possible autonomy for Artsakh within Azerbaijan, 74% — negatively.
A question was also raised about the return of Artsakh residents.
The majority of respondents — 67.4% — said the return is possible if Armenia becomes stronger and liberates it again.
11.2% believe it’s possible under international security guarantees within Azerbaijan, 8.3% — if Russian peacekeepers return and the November 9 agreement is extended.
8% responded that return is only possible in the distant future if Azerbaijan undergoes reforms, while 2.9% believe it’s not possible under any circumstances.
The final part of the research related to perceptions of the ideal family.
Respondents were asked how many children an ideal family should have.
Around 60% of respondents said that an ideal family should have up to 3 or exactly 3 children, while 40% believe that it should have 4 or more.
Among those aged 55+, the desired number of children in an ideal family is 4 or more.
72.4% of 18–34-year-olds answered that an ideal family should have up to 3 or exactly 3 children.
The same answer was given by 60.2% of 35–54-year-olds.
Summing up the meeting, participants exchanged views and presented several suggestions for future research.
You can download the research findings here.