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Armenia, Geography
Location:
Southwestern Asia, between Turkey and Azerbaijan
Map references:
Africa, Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - European States,
Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
29,800 sq km
land area:
28,400 sq km
comparative area:
slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total 1,254 km, Azerbaijan (east) 566 km, Azerbaijan (south) 221 km,
Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none; landlocked
International disputes:
violent and longstanding dispute with Azerbaijan over ethnically
Armenian exclave of Nagorno-Karabakh; traditional demands on former
Armenian lands in Turkey have greatly subsided
Climate:
highland continental, hot summers, cold winters
Terrain:
high Armenian Plateau with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing
rivers; good soil in Aras River valley
Natural resources:
small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina
Land use:
arable land:
17%
permanent crops:
3%
meadows and pastures:
20%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
60%
Irrigated land:
3,050 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues:
soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; energy blockade, the
result of conflict with Azerbaijan, has led to deforestation as
citizens scavenge for firewood; pollution of Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras
Rivers; the draining of Lake Sevan, a result of its use as a source
for hydropower, threatens drinking water supplies; air pollution in
Yerevan
natural hazards:
occasionally severe earthquakes (25,000 people killed in major quake
in 1988); subject to drought
international agreements:
party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note:
landlocked
Armenia, People
Population:
3,521,517 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.08% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
24.21 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
6.72 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-6.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
27.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
72.07 years
male:
68.65 years
female:
75.65 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.19 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Armenian(s)
adjective:
Armenian
Ethnic divisions:
Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Religions:
Armenian Orthodox 94%
Languages:
Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Literacy:
age 9-49 can read and write (1970)
total population:
100%
male:
100%
female:
100%
Labor force:
1.578 million
by occupation:
industry and construction 34%, agriculture and forestry 31%, other 35%
(1992)
Armenia, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Armenia
conventional short form:
Armenia
local long form:
Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun
local short form:
Hayastan
former:
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic; Armenian Republic
Digraph:
AM
Type:
republic
Capital:
Yerevan
Administrative divisions:
none (all rayons are under direct republic jurisdiction)
Independence:
28 May 1918 (First Armenian Republic); 23 September 1991 (from Soviet
Union)
National holiday:
Referendum Day, 21 September
Constitution:
adopted NA April 1978; post-Soviet constitution not yet adopted
Legal system:
based on civil law system
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN (since 16 October 1991), Vice
President Gagik ARUTYUNYAN (since 16 October 1991); election last held
16 October 1991 (next to be held NA); results - Levon Akopovich
TER-PETROSYAN 86%; radical nationalists about 7%; note - Levon
Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN was elected Chairman of the Armenian Supreme
Soviet 4 August 1990 before becoming president
head of government:
Prime Minister Hrant BAGRATYAN (since 16 February 1993); First Deputy
Prime Minister Vigen CHITECHYAN (since 16 February 1993)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Supreme Soviet:
elections last held 20 May 1990 (next to be held NA); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (260 total) non-aligned 125, ANM
52, DPA 23, Democratic Liberal Party 17, ARF 17, NDU 9, Christian
Democratic Party 1, Constitutional Rights Union 1, UNSD 1, Republican
Party 1, Nagorno-Karabakh representatives 13
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Armenian National Movement (ANM), Ter-Husik LAZARYAN, chairman;
National Democratic Union (NDU), David VARTANYAN, chairman; Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaktsutyun), Arutyun ALISTAKESYAN,
chairman; Democratic Party of Armenia (DPA; Communist Party), Aram
SARKISYAN, chairman; Christian Democratic Party, Azat ARSHAKYAN,
chairman; Greens Party, Hakob SANASARIAN, chairman; Democratic Liberal
Party, Rouben MIRZAKHANYAN, chairman; Republican Party, Ashot
NAVARSARDYAN, chairman; Union for Self-Determination (UNSD), Paruir
AIRIKYAN, chairman
Member of:
BSEC, CCC, CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, ILO,
IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NACC, NAM (observer), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Rouben Robert SHUGARIAN
chancery:
Suite 210, 1660 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
(202) 628-5766
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Harry J. GILMORE
embassy:
18 Gen Bagramian, Yerevan
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
7-8852-151-144 or 8852-524-661
FAX:
7-8852-151-138
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and gold
Armenia, Economy
Overview:
Under the old central planning system, Armenia had built up a
developed industrial sector, supplying machine building equipment,
textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange
for raw materials and energy resources. Armenia is a large food
importer and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are small. The
economic decline in the past three years (1991-93) has been
particularly severe due to the ongoing conflict over the Armenian
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan and Turkey have
blockaded pipeline and railroad traffic to Armenia for its support of
the Karabakh Armenians. This has left Armenia with only sporadic
deliveries of natural gas through unstable Georgia, while other fuel
and raw materials are in critical short supply. Inflation, roughly 14%
per month in the first nine months of 1993, surged even higher in the
fourth quarter. In late 1993, most industrial enterprises were either
shut down or operating at drastically reduced levels. Only small
quantities of food were available (mostly humanitarian aid), heat was
nonexistent, and electricity strictly rationed. An economic recovery
cannot be expected until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is settled and
until transportation through Georgia improves.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $7.1 billion (1993 estimate from
the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and
published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as
extrapolated to 1993 using official Armenian statistics, which are
very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
National product real growth rate:
-9.9% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
$2,040 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
14% per month average (first 9 months, 1993)
Unemployment rate:
6.5% of officially registered unemployed but large numbers of
underemployed (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$NA
expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
$31 million to countries outside the FSU (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, light industrial products,
processed food items, alcoholic products (1991)
partners:
NA
Imports:
$87 million from countries outside the FSU (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities:
grain, other foods, fuel, other energy (1991)
partners:
Russia, US, EC
External debt:
$NA
Industrial production:
growth rate -11% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
2,875,000 kW
production:
9 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
2,585 kWh (1992)
Industries:
traditionally diverse, including (as a percent of output of former
USSR) metalcutting machine tools (5.5%), forging-pressing machines
(1.9%), electric motors (9%), tires (1.5%), knitted wear (4.4%),
hosiery (3.0%), shoes (2.2%), silk fabric (0.8%), washing machines
(2.0%), chemicals, trucks, watches, instruments, and microelectronics
(1990); currently, much of industry is shut down
Agriculture:
accounts for about 45% of GDP; only 17% of land area is arable;
employs 20%-30% of labor force as residents increasingly turn to
subsistence agriculture; fruits (especially grapes) and vegetable
farming, minor livestock sector; vineyards near Yerevan are famous for
brandy and other liqueurs
Illicit drugs:
illicit cultivator of cannabis mostly for domestic consumption; used
as a transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
considerable humanitarian aid, mostly food and energy products, from
US and EC; Russia has granted 60 billion rubles in technical credits
Currency:
1 dram = 100 luma; introduced separate currency in November 1993
Exchange rates:
NA
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Armenia, Communications
Railroads:
840 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
total:
11,300 km
paved:
10,500 km
unpaved:
earth 800 km (1990)
Inland waterways:
NA km
Pipelines:
natural gas 900 km (1991)
Ports:
none; landlocked
Airports:
total:
12
usable:
10
with permanent-surface runways:
6
with runways over 3,659 m:
1
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
3
with runways 1,060-2,439 m:
2
note:
a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications:
progress on installation of fiber optic cable and construction of
facilities for mobile cellular phone service remains in the
negotiation phase for joint venture agreement; Armenia has about
650,000 telephones; average telephone density is 17.7 per 100 persons;
international connections to other former republics of the USSR are by
landline or microwave and to other countries by satellite and by
leased connection through the Moscow international gateway switch;
broadcast stations - 100% of population receives Armenian and Russian
TV programs; satellite earth station - INTELSAT
Armenia, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Air Force, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border
troops)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 862,921; fit for military service 690,113; reach
military age (18) annually 28,458 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
250 million rubles, NA% of GDP (1992 est.); note - conversion of the
military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could
produce misleading results