"text":"<p>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 - actions widely recognized as constituting genocide. 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.</p> <p>Armenia remains involved in the protracted Nagorno-Karabakh struggle with Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh was a primarily ethnic Armenian region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan. In the late Soviet period, a separatist movement developed that sought to end Azerbaijani control over the region. Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 and escalated after Armenia and Azerbaijan attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the time a ceasefire took effect in May 1994, separatists, with Armenian support, controlled Nagorno‑Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. Following a Second Nagorno-Karabakh War that took place in September-November 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured much of the territory it had lost a quarter century earlier and under the terms of a cease fire agreement, Armenia returned the remaining territories it occupied to Azerbaijan.</p> <p>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, Armenia and Turkey signed Protocols normalizing relations between the two countries, but neither country ratified the Protocols, and Armenia officially withdrew from the Protocols in March 2018. In 2015, Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union alongside Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. In November 2017, Armenia signed a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the EU. In spring 2018, Serzh SARGSIAN of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) stepped down and Civil Contract party leader Nikol PASHINYAN became prime minister.</p>"
"text":"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"
"text":"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"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range"
"text":"<br>Աշխարհի Փաստագիրք, Անփոխարինելի Աղբյւր Հիմնական Տեղեկատվւթյան. (Armenian)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"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"
"text":"soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; deforestation; pollution of Hrazdan 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"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants"
}
},
"Air pollutants":{
"particulate matter emissions":{
"text":"30.48 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)"
},
"carbon dioxide emissions":{
"text":"5.16 megatons (2016 est.)"
},
"methane emissions":{
"text":"2.91 megatons (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Total water withdrawal":{
"municipal":{
"text":"616.4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)"
},
"industrial":{
"text":"122.4 million cubic meters (2017 est.)"
},
"agricultural":{
"text":"2.127 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)"
}
},
"Total renewable water resources":{
"text":"7.769 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)"
},
"Climate":{
"text":"highland continental, hot summers, cold winters"
},
"Land use":{
"agricultural land":{
"text":"59.7% (2018 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: arable land":{
"text":"arable land: 15.8% (2018 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: permanent crops":{
"text":"permanent crops: 1.9% (2018 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: permanent pasture":{
"text":"permanent pasture: 42% (2018 est.)"
},
"forest":{
"text":"9.1% (2018 est.)"
},
"other":{
"text":"31.2% (2018 est.)"
}
},
"Revenue from forest resources":{
"forest revenues":{
"text":"0.28% of GDP (2018 est.)"
}
},
"Revenue from coal":{
"coal revenues":{
"text":"0% of GDP (2018 est.)"
}
},
"Urbanization":{
"urban population":{
"text":"63.4% of total population (2021)"
},
"rate of urbanization":{
"text":"0.23% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)"
"text":"Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, Armenian Republic"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"the etymology of the country's name remains obscure; according to tradition, the country is named after Hayk, the legendary patriarch of the Armenians and the great-great-grandson of Noah; Hayk's descendant, Aram, purportedly is the source of the name Armenia"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary democracy; note - constitutional changes adopted in December 2015 transformed the government to a parliamentary system"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Yerevan"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"40 10 N, 44 30 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"note":"<strong>etymology:</strong> name likely derives from the ancient Urartian fortress of Erebuni established on the current site of Yerevan in 782 B.C. and whose impresive ruins still survive"
"text":"21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 321 B.C. (Kingdom of Armenia established under the Orontid Dynasty), A.D. 884 (Armenian Kingdom reestablished under the Bagratid Dynasty); 1198 (Cilician Kingdom established); 28 May 1918 (Democratic Republic of Armenia declared)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day, 21 September (1991)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"previous 1915, 1978; latest adopted 5 July 1995"
"text":"proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly; passage requires approval by the president, by the National Assembly, and by a referendum with at least 25% registered voter participation and more than 50% of votes; constitutional articles on the form of government and democratic procedures are not amendable; amended 2005, 2015, last in 2020; note - a constitutional referendum was rescheduled from 4 May 2020 to summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic"
"text":"Prime Minister (vacant); Deputy Prime Ministers Mher GRIGORYAN and Tigran AVINYAN (since 16 January 2019); note - Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN resigned on 25 April 2021"
"text":"Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president indirectly elected by the National Assembly in 3 rounds if needed for a single 7-year term; election last held on 2 March 2018; prime minister elected by majority vote in 2 rounds if needed by the National Assembly; election last held on 14 January 2019"
},
"election results":{
"text":"Armen SARKISSIAN elected president in first round; note - Armen SARKISSIAN ran unopposed and won the Assembly vote 90-10; Nikol PASHINYAN was chosen as prime minister by the parliament automatically after his party won a landslide victory in the December 2018 elections"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> After initially winning election on 8 May 2018, Nikol PASHINYAN resigned his post (but stayed on as acting prime minister) on 16 October 2018 to force a snap election (held on 9 December 2018) in which his bloc won more than 70% of the vote; PASHINYAN was reappointed prime minister on 14 January 2019"
"text":"unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (minimum 101 seats, current - 132; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote; the quota for the proportion of women MPs on each party list must be at least one of three candidates; political parties must meet a 5% threshold and alliances a 7% threshold to win seats; members serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - Civil Contract 53.9%, Armenia Alliance 21.0%, I Have Honour Alliance 5.2%; seats by party - Civil Contract 72 of 105 seats, Armenia Alliance 27, I Have Honour Alliance 6; composition - men 101, women 31, percent of women 23.5%"
"text":"Court of Cassation (consists of the Criminal Chamber with a chairman and 5 judges and the Civil and Administrative Chamber with a chairman and 10 judges – with both civil and administrative specializations); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Court of Cassation judges nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council, a 10-member body of selected judges and legal scholars; judges appointed by the president; judges can serve until age 65; Constitutional Court judges - 4 appointed by the president, and 5 elected by the National Assembly; judges can serve until age 70"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"criminal and civil appellate courts; administrative appellate court; first instance courts; specialized administrative and bankruptcy courts"
"text":"Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN]<br>Armenian Revolutionary Federation or ARF (\"Dashnak\" Party) [Hakob TER-KHACHATURYAN]<br>Bright Armenia [Edmon MARUKYAN]<br>Citizen's Decision [Suren SAHAKYAN] <br>Civil Contract [Nikol PASHINYAN]<br>Free Democrats [Khachatur KOKOBELYAN]<br>Heritage Party [Raffi HOVANNISIAN]<br>Prosperous Armenia or BHK [Gagik TSARUKYAN]<br>Republic [Aram SARGSYAN]<br>Republican Party of Armenia or RPA [Serzh SARGSIAN]<br>Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) or OEK [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]<br>Sasna Tser [Varuzhan AVETISYAN]"
"text":"American Embassy Yerevan, US Department of State, 7020 Yerevan Place, Washington, DC 20521-7020"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[374](10) 464-742"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"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"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"Mount Ararat, eagle, lion; national colors: red, blue, orange"
"text":"<p>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 agro industrial 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.</p><p></p><p>Armenia joined the World Trade Organization in January 2003. The government has made some improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but anti-corruption measures have been largely ineffective. Armenia will need to pursue additional economic reforms and strengthen the rule of law in order to raise its economic growth and improve economic competitiveness and employment opportunities, especially given its economic isolation from Turkey and Azerbaijan.</p><p></p><p>Armenia's geographic isolation, a narrow export base, and pervasive monopolies in important business sectors have made it particularly vulnerable to volatility in the global commodity markets and the economic challenges in Russia. Armenia is particularly dependent on Russian commercial and governmental support, as most key Armenian infrastructure is Russian-owned and/or managed, especially in the energy sector. Remittances from expatriates working in Russia are equivalent to about 12-14% of GDP. Armenia joined the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union in January 2015, but has remained interested in pursuing closer ties with the EU as well, signing a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU in November 2017. Armenia’s rising government debt is leading Yerevan to tighten its fiscal policies – the amount is approaching the debt to GDP ratio threshold set by national legislation.</p>"
"text":"<p>telecom market struggles to provide an effective national telecom service; country remains dependent on the economic health of Russian and EU economies; fixed-line penetration falling, driven by growth in mobile and fixed-line broadband; growth of 4G networks and falling prices due to growing competition; fixed broadband is growing but remains low by international comparisons; flat mobile market; strong growth predicted for mobile broadband market; government participating in a project to ensure eventual nationwide 5G network; government approved plans for a new data center built via public-private partnership; communication technologies sectors have attracted foreign investment; top importer of broadcast equipment from China (2021)</p> (2020)"
"text":"15 per 100 fixed-line, 122 per 100 mobile-cellular; reliable fixed-line and mobile-cellular services are available across Yerevan and in major cities and towns; mobile-cellular coverage available in most rural areas (2019)"
"text":"country code - 374; Yerevan is connected to the Caucasus Cable System fiber-optic cable through Georgia and Iran to Europe; additional international service is available by microwave radio relay and landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, through the Moscow international switch, and by satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 3 (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"text":"<p>Armenia’s government-run Public Television network operates alongside 100 privately owned TV stations that provide local to near nationwide coverage; three Russian TV companies are broadcast in Armenia under interstate agreements; subscription cable TV services are available in most regions; several major international broadcasters are available, including CNN; Armenian TV completed conversion from analog to digital broadcasting in late 2016; Public Radio of Armenia is a national, state-run broadcast network that operates alongside 18 privately owned radio stations</p> (2019)"
"text":"the inventory of the Armenian Armed Forces includes mostly Russian and Soviet-era equipment; since 2010, almost all of Armenia's weapons imports have come from Russia (2020)"
"text":"18-27 years of age for voluntary or compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation, which can be served as an officer upon deferment for university studies if enrolled in officer-producing program; 17 year olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2019)"
"text":"since November 2020, Russia has deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops to the area in and around Nagorno-Karabakh as part of a cease-fire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan; fighting erupted between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in September of 2020; Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces (the \"Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army\") backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994; six weeks of fighting resulted in about 6,000 deaths and ended after Armenia ceded swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh territory"
"text":"<p>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</p>"
"text":"Armenians may be exploited domestically or abroad, and foreigners may be subjected to sex trafficking or forced labor in Armenia; Armenian women and children are exploited in sex and labor trafficking domestically, as well as sex trafficking in the UAE and Turkey; Armenian migrants experience forced labor in Russia, the UAE, and Turkey; Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian women working as dancers are vulnerable to sex trafficking, while Indian employment seekers are subjected to forced labor in Armenia"
"text":"<p>Tier 2 Watch List — Armenia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; law enforcement authorities did not conduct proactive investigations and relied on victims to self-identify; prevention efforts decreased and protection efforts were weak, with the government continuing to lack a formal victim-witness protection program; the government had no convictions, including convictions of complicit government employees, for the second consecutive year and has not had a forced labor conviction since 2014; legislation was passed to strengthen the health and labor body and training was provided to law enforcement officials; government and local NGOs provided legal, medical, and psychological assistance, housing, and monetary compensation to victims; however, civil society continued to provide reintegration and long-term support services without government funding (2020)</p>"
"text":"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"
