Armenia

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

total:

2.95 cu km/yr (30%/4%/66%)

per capita:

977 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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

party to:

Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

at birth:

1.14 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.15 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.88 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.64 male(s)/female

total population:

0.89 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

noun:

Armenian(s)

adjective:

Armenian

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

name:

Yerevan

geographic coordinates:

40 10 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

chief of state:

President Serzh SARGSIAN (since 9 April 2008)

head of government:

Prime Minister Tigran SARGSIAN (since 9 April 2008)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held 19 February 2008 (next to be held February 2013);
• prime minister appointed by the president based on majority or plurality support in parliament;
• the prime minister and Council of Ministers must resign if the National Assembly refuses to accept their program

election results:

Serzh SARGSIAN elected president; percent of vote - Serzh SARGSIAN 52.9%, Levon TER-PETROSSIAN 21.5%, Artur BAGHDASARIAN 16.7%

• Armenian National Congress or ANC [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN];
• Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN];
• Armenian People's Party [Tigran KARAPETIAN];
• Armenian Ramkavar Azadagan Party Alliance or HRAK (includes former Dashink Party, National Revival Party, and Ramkavar Liberal Party);
• Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Hrant MARKARIAN];
• Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN];
• National Democratic Party [Shavarsh KOCHARIAN];
• National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN];
• National Unity Party [Artashes GEGHAMIAN];
• People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN];
• Prosperous Armenia [Gagik TSAROUKIAN];
• Republic Party [Aram SARKISIAN];
• Republican Party of Armenia or HHK [Serzh SARGSIAN];
• Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) [Artur BAGHDASARIAN];
• Union of Constitutional Rights [Hrant KHACHATURIAN];
• United Labor Party [Gurgen ARSENIAN]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Tatoul MARKARIAN

chancery:

2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 319-1976

FAX:

[1] (202) 319-2982

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador Marie L. YOVANOVITCH

embassy:

1 American Ave., Yerevan 0082

mailing address:

American Embassy Yerevan, US Department of State, 7020 Yerevan Place, Washington, DC 20521-7020

telephone:

[374](10) 464-700

FAX:

[374](10) 464-742

• 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

agriculture:

46.2%

industry:

15.6%

services:

38.2% (2006 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.6%

highest 10%:

41.3% (2004)

general assessment:

• telecommunications investments have made major inroads in modernizing and upgrading the outdated telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era;
• now 100% privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion;
• mobile-cellular services monopoly terminated in late 2004 and a second provider began operations in mid-2005

domestic:

• reliable modern landline and mobile-cellular services are available across Yerevan in major cities and towns;
• significant but ever-shrinking gaps remain in mobile-cellular coverage in rural areas

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, through the Moscow international switch, and by satellite to the rest of the world;
• satellite earth stations - 3 (2007)

total:

845 km

country comparison to the world: 99

broad gauge:

845 km 1.520-m gauge (818 km electrified)

note: some lines are out of service (2008)

total:

7,700 km

country comparison to the world: 144

paved:

7,700 km (includes 1,561 km of expressways) (2006)

males age 16-49:

809,576

females age 16-49:

870,864 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

642,734

females age 16-49:

729,047 (2009 est.)

male:

27,293

female:

25,574 (2009 est.)

• 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 and Nagorno-Karabakh;
• 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 (country of origin):

113,295 (Azerbaijan)

IDPs:

8,400 (conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, majority have returned home since 1994 ceasefire) (2007)

current situation:

• Armenia is primarily a source country for women and girls trafficked to the UAE and Turkey for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation;
• Armenian men and women are trafficked to Turkey and Russia for the purpose of forced labor

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Armenia is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for a fourth consecutive year;
• its efforts to increase compliance with the minimum standards were assessed based on its commitments to undertake future actions, particularly in the areas of improving victim protection and assistance;
• while the government elevated anti-trafficking responsibilities to the ministerial level, adopted a new National Action Plan, and drafted a National Referral Mechanism, it has yet to show tangible progress in identifying and protecting victims or in tackling trafficking complicity of government officials;
• the Armenian Government made some notable improvements in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, but it failed to demonstrate evidence of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences of officials complicit in trafficking (2008)

• 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