World Atlas: Armenia

Information about Armenia

Here you can find online selected information about the geography, inhabitants, government, economy and history of Armenia. Included are selected statistics, an overview map and the detailed map of Armenia. But let's start with the flag of Armenia here:

Armenia - Overview:

What you should know about Armenia? Let's start with this: 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, the Ottoman Empire instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh practices that resulted in at least 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 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 trilateral cease-fire between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh took hold, ethnic Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also seven surrounding regions - approximately 14 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. Turkey closed the common border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over control of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, further hampering Armenian economic growth. In 2009, senior Armenian leaders began pursuing rapprochement with Turkey, aiming to secure an opening of the border, but Turkey has not yet ratified the Protocols normalizing relations between the two countries. In January 2015, Armenia joined Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Geography of Armenia

Where on the globe is Armenia? The location of this country is Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan; note - Armenia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both. Total area of Armenia is 29,743 sq km, of which 28,203 sq km is land. So this is not a large country. How could we describe the terrain of the country? This way: Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley. The lowest point of Armenia is Debed River 400 m, the highest point Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m. And the climate is highland continental, hot summers, cold winters.

Inhabitants of Armenia

Let's take a look how many people live in Armenia. The number is: 3,045,191 (July 2017 est.). So this is not very populous country. Who lives here? Armenian 98.1%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.1%, other 0.7% (2011 est.). What are the languages in Armenia? Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurdish (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1% (2011 est.). And the religions: Armenian Apostolic 92.6%, Evangelical 1%, other 2.4%, none 1.1%, unspecified 2.9% (2011 est.). How old are the people in average? 35.1 years. We have to add that this number is the median - so one half of the people is older than this, one half is younger. And what is their life expectancy (at birth)? This: 74.9 years. Where the people live in Armenia? Here: most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than five times as many people as Gyumri, the second largest city in the country. The major urban areas of Armenia are: Yerevan (capital) 1,044 (2015).

Government and Economy of Armenia

The capital of Armenia is Yerevan and the government type parliamentary democracy. Let's take a look at the administrative divisions - 11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan. Regarding the economy of Armenia, important industrial products are brandy, mining, diamond processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging and pressing machines, electric motors, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry, software, food processing. Important agricultural products are fruit (especially grapes and apricots), vegetables; livestock. The most important export commodities are unwrought copper, pig iron, nonferrous metals, gold, diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, brandy, cigarettes, energy and the most important export partners are Russia 21%, Bulgaria 8.7%, Georgia 8.1%, Canada 7.9%, Germany 7.9%, Iraq 7.8%, China 5.7%, Iran 4.2%, Switzerland 4.2% (2016). The most important import commodities are natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, cars and the most important import partners are Russia 30.7%, China 11%, Iran 5.1%, Turkey 5%, Germany 5% (2016). How rich is Armenia and how rich are people in this country? The most important number here is GDP per capita (PPP): $9,100 (2017 est.). This is quite a low number. Let's add that this means Gross Domestic Product per person, which is recalculated with respect to the relative cost of local goods and services. And one more important number - population below poverty line: 32% (2013 est.).

Map of Armenia