| Armenia |
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| Background: Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. During World War I in the western portion of Armenia, Ottoman Turkey instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh practices that resulted in an estimated 1 million Armenian deaths. The eastern area of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in 1828; this portion declared its independence in 1918, but was conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. Turkey imposed an economic blockade on Armenia and closed the common border because of the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Yerevan
geographic coordinates: 40 11 N, 44 30 E
time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Area Total: 29,800 sq km |
| Area Land: 28,400 sq km |
| Area Water: 1,400 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters |
| Terrain: Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Debed River 400 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m |
| Natural Resources: small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite |
| Land Use Arable Land: 16.78% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 2.01% |
| Land Use Other: 81.21% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 2,860 sq km (2003) |
| Natural Hazards: occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts |
| Environment Current Issues: soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; the energy crisis of the 1990s led to deforestation when citizens scavenged for firewood; pollution of Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras Rivers; the draining of Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan), a result of its use as a source for hydropower, threatens drinking water supplies; restart of Metsamor nuclear power plant in spite of its location in a seismically active zone |
| Geography Note: landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range |
| Population |
| Population: 2,971,650 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 19.5% (male 307,610/female 271,381) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 69.3% (male 962,126/female 1,098,192) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 11.2% (male 132,705/female 199,636) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 30.8 years |
| Median Age Male: 28.1 years |
| Median Age Female: 33.6 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: -0.129% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 12.34 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 8.29 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.16 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.133 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 0.876 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.665 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.894 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 21.69 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 26.69 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 15.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 72.12 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 68.52 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 76.29 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 1.34 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.1% (2003 est.) |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: 2,600 (2003 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.) |
| Religions: Armenian Apostolic 94.7%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi (monotheist with elements of nature worship) 1.3% |
| Languages: Armenian 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% (2001 census) |
| Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write |
| Literacy Total Population: 98.6% |
| Literacy Male: 99.4% |
| Literacy Female: 98% (2003 est.) |
| Administrative Divisions: 11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan |
| Legal System: based on civil law system |
| Economy |
| Overview: Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (copper, gold, bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic liberalization program that resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-2006. Armenia has managed to slash inflation, stabilize its currency, and privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. Despite strong economic growth, Armenia's unemployment rate remains high. Nuclear power plants built at Metsamor eliminated the chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in the early and mid-1990s, but those plants are under international pressure to close. Armenia is now a net energy exporter, although it does not have sufficient generating capacity to replace Metsamor. Construction of a natural gas pipeline between Iran and Armenia has been completed and it is scheduled to be commissioned by April 2007. Economic ties with Russia remain close, especially in the energy sector. The electricity distribution system was privatized in 2002 and bought by Russia's RAO-UES in 2005. Armenia's severe trade imbalance has been offset somewhat by international aid, remittances from Armenians working abroad, and foreign direct investment. Armenia joined the WTO in January 2003. The government made some improvements in tax and customs administration in 2005, but anti-corruption measures will be more difficult to implement. Investment in the construction and industrial sectors is expected to continue in 2007 and will help to ensure annual average real GDP growth of more than 10%. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $15.99 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 13.4% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 17.7% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 42% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 40.3% (January-November 2006 est.) |
| Labor Force: 1.2 million (November 2006) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 45%
industry: 25%
services: 30% (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment Rate: 7.4% (November 2006 est.) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 41.3% (2004) |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 2.9% (2006 est.) |
| Industries: diamond-processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry manufacturing, software development, food processing, brandy |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: -1.2% (2006 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 6.317 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 42.3% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 27% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 30.7% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 4.374 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity Exports: 1.012 billion kWh; note - exports an unknown quantity to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 260 million kWh; note - imports an unknown quantity from Iran (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2005) |
| Oil Consumption: 41,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 1.33 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Imports: 1.33 billion cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $1.056 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy |
| Exports Partners: Germany 15.6%, Netherlands 13.7%, Belgium 12.8%, Russia 12.2%, Israel 11.5%, US 11.2%, Georgia 4.8% (2005) |
| Imports: $1.684 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds |
| Imports Partners: Russia 13.5%, Belgium 8%, Germany 7.8%, Ukraine 7%, Turkmenistan 6.3%, US 6.2%, Israel 5.8%, Iran 4.9%, Romania 4.2% (2005) |
| Debt External: $1.16 billion (30 September 2006) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: ODA, $254 million (2004) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 600,000 (2006) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 320,000 (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: system inadequate; now 90% privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion |
| Telephone System Domestic: the majority of subscribers and the most modern equipment are in Yerevan (this includes paging and mobile cellular service) |
| Telephone System International: country code - 374; Yerevan is connected to the Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional international service is available by microwave radio relay and landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and through the Moscow international switch and by satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 3 (2005) |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 9, FM 16, shortwave 1 (2006) |
| Radios: 850,000 (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 48 (private television stations alongside 2 public networks; major Russian channels widely available) (2006) |
| Televisions: 825,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 9 (2001) |
| Internet Users: 150,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Railways Total: 839 km |
| Railways Broad Gauge: 839 km 1.520-m gauge (828 km electrified) |
| Airports: 13 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 6.5% (FY01) |
| Disputes International: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s, has militarily occupied 16% of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; over 800,000 mostly ethnic Azerbaijanis were driven from the occupied lands and Armenia; about 230,000 ethnic Armenians were driven from their homes in Azerbaijan into Armenia; Azerbaijan seeks transit route through Armenia to connect to Naxcivan exclave; border with Turkey remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy; Armenians continue to emigrate, primarily to Russia, seeking employment |
Refugees And Internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 219,324 (Azerbaijan)
IDPs: 8,400 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, majority have returned home since 1994 ceasefire) (2006) |
| IllicitDrugs: illicit cultivation of small amount of cannabis for domestic consumption; minor transit point for illicit drugs - mostly opium and hashish - moving from Southwest Asia to Russia and to a lesser extent the rest of Europe |