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 cease-fire 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.

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

40 00 N, 45 00 E

Asia

slightly smaller than Maryland

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

highland continental, hot summers, cold winters

Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley

highest point: Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m

small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite

arable land 15.8%; permanent crops 1.9%; permanent pasture 42%

2,740 sq km (2012)

most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than three times as many people as the second largest city in the country

occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts

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

landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range

3,051,250 (July 2016 est.)

Armenian 98.1%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.1%, other 0.7% (2011 est.)

Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurdish (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1% (2011 est.)

Armenian Apostolic 92.6%, Evangelical 1%, other 2.4%, none 1.1%, unspecified 2.9% (2011 est.)

-0.18% (2016 est.)

13.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

-5.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than three times as many people as the second largest city in the country

YEREVAN (capital) 1,044 (2015)

24.1 (2013 est.)

25 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

1.64 children born/woman (2016 est.)

54.9% (2010)

4.5% of GDP (2014)

2.7 physicians/1,000 population (2013)

3.9 beds/1,000 population (2012)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 96.2% of population

rural: 78.2% of population

total: 89.5% of population

urban: 3.8% of population

rural: 21.8% of population

total: 10.5% of population (2015 est.)

0.2% (2015 est.)

3,600 (2015 est.)

100 (2015 est.)

19.9% (2014)

5.3% (2010)

2.8% of GDP (2015)

semi-presidential republic

11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan

21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Independence Day, 21 September (1991)

previous 1915, 1978; latest adopted 5 July 1995; amended 2005, 2015; note - the 2015 amendment, approved in December 2015 by a public referendum and effective for the 2017-18 electoral cycle, changes the government type from the current semi-presidential system to a parliamentary system (2016)

civil law system

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN]

Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN]

Armenian Revolutionary Federation or ARF ("Dashnak" Party) [Hrant MARKARIAN]

Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN]

People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN]

Prosperous Armenia [Naira ZOHRABYAN]

Republican Party of Armenia or RPA [Serzh SARGSIAN]

Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]

Aylentrank (Impeachment Alliance) [Nikol PASHINIAN]

Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN]

ADB, BSEC, CD, CE, CIS, CSTO, EAEC (observer), EAEU, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange; the color red recalls the blood shed for liberty, blue the Armenian skies as well as hope, and orange the land and the courage of the workers who farm it

Mount Ararat, eagle, lion; national colors: red, blue, orange

Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics, in exchange for raw materials and energy. Armenia has since switched to small-scale agriculture and away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. Armenia has only two open trade borders - Iran and Georgia - because its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey have been closed since 1991 and 1993, respectively, as a result of Armenia's ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenia joined the WTO in January 2003. The government has made some improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but anti-corruption measures have been ineffective. Armenia will need to pursue additional economic reforms and strengthen the rule of law in order to regain economic growth and improve economic competitiveness and employment opportunities, especially given its economic isolation from two of its nearest neighbors, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Armenia's geographic isolation, a narrow export base, and pervasive monopolies in important business sectors have made it particularly vulnerable to the sharp deterioration in the global economy and the economic downturn in Russia. Armenia is particularly dependent on Russian commercial and governmental support and most key Armenian infrastructure is Russian-owned and/or managed, especially in the energy sector, including electricity and natural gas. Remittances from expatriates working in Russia are equivalent to about 20% of GDP and partly offset the country's severe trade imbalance. Armenia joined Russia in the Eurasian Economic Union upon the bloc's launch in January 2015, even though the ruble's sharp depreciation in December 2014 led to currency instability, inflation, and a significant decrease in exports from Armenia to Russia.

$26.56 billion (2016 est.)

$25.73 billion (2015 est.)

$24.97 billion (2014 est.)

$10.75 billion (2015 est.)

3.2% (2016 est.)

3% (2015 est.)

3.6% (2014 est.)

$8,900 (2016 est.)

$8,600 (2015 est.)

$8,400 (2014 est.)

18.1% of GDP (2016 est.)

18.3% of GDP (2015 est.)

13.2% of GDP (2014 est.)

fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock

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, brandy, mining

4.2% (2016 est.)

1.559 million (2016 est.)

18.1% (2016 est.)

32% (2013 est.)

30.3 (2012)

31.3 (2011)

22.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

-4.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

53.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

48.8% of GDP (2015 est.)

calendar year

-0.4% (2016 est.)

3.7% (2015 est.)

10.5% (10 February 2015)

8% (11 January 2012)

17.5% (31 December 2016 est.)

17.59% (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.178 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.149 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.949 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.779 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$5.307 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$5.022 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$132.1 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$139.6 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$144.8 million (31 December 2010 est.)

-$267 million (2016 est.)

-$279 million (2015 est.)

$1.678 billion (2016 est.)

$1.626 billion (2015 est.)

pig iron, unwrought copper, nonferrous metals, gold, diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy

Russia 15.2%, China 11.1%, Germany 9.8%, Iraq 8.8%, Georgia 7.8%, Canada 7.6%, Bulgaria 5.3%, Iran 5.3% (2015)

$2.638 billion (2016 est.)

$2.78 billion (2015 est.)

natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, cars

Russia 29.1%, China 9.7%, Germany 6.2%, Iran 6.1%, Italy 4.6%, Turkey 4.2% (2015)

$1.512 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.775 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$8.365 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$8.554 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$4.817 billion (2013)

drams (AMD) per US dollar -

492.7 (2016 est.)

477.92 (2015 est.)

477.92 (2014 est.)

415.92 (2013 est.)

401.76 (2012 est.)

7.3 billion kWh (2014 est.)

5.1 billion kWh (2014 est.)

1.3 billion kWh (2014 est.)

26 million kWh (2014 est.)

4.1 million kW (2014 est.)

32.2% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

34.3% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

33.5% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

8,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

7,809 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

2.5 billion cu m (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

2.061 billion cu m (2014 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

12 million Mt (2013 est.)

2 public TV networks operating alongside about 40 privately owned TV stations that provide local to near nationwide coverage; major Russian broadcast stations are widely available; subscription cable TV services are available in most regions; Public Radio (2015)

.am

EK (2016)

11 (2013)

gas 2,233 km (2013)

Armenian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Air Force and Air Defense; "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic": Nagorno-Karabakh Self-Defense Force (NKSDF) (2011)

18-27 years of age for voluntary or compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation; 17 year olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2012)

4.24% of GDP (2015)

4.29% of GDP (2014)

4.1% of GDP (2013)

3.92% of GDP (2012)

3.87% of GDP (2011)

the dispute over the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region and the Armenian military occupation of surrounding lands in Azerbaijan remains the primary focus of regional instability; residents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan; Turkish authorities have complained that blasting from quarries in Armenia might be damaging the medieval ruins of Ani, on the other side of the Arpacay valley; in 2009, Swiss mediators facilitated an accord reestablishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey, but neither side has ratified the agreement and the rapprochement effort has faltered; local border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian borders; ethnic Armenian groups in the Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian Government

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