Armenia

• 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

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

mean elevation:

1,792 m

elevation extremes:

400 m lowest point: Debed River; 4090 highest point: Aragats Lerrnagagat'

• 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

• 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

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

noun:

Armenian(s)

adjective:

Armenian

0-14 years:

18.86% (male 303,712 /female 269,279)

15-24 years:

12.37% (male 195,722 /female 179,970)

25-54 years:

43.31% (male 640,089 /female 675,643)

55-64 years:

13.77% (male 192,515 /female 225,882)

65 years and over:

11.7% (male 142,835 /female 212,570) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

44.4 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

28.7 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

15.8 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

6.3 (2015 est.)

• 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

at birth:

1.12 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.14 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

0.93 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.84 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.67 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

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

etymology:

• 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

name:

Yerevan

geographic coordinates:

40 10 N, 44 30 E

time difference:

UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

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

history:

previous 1915, 1978; latest adopted 5 July 1995 (2017)

amendments:

• 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, 2007, 2008, last in 2015 (2017)

note: a 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

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Armenia

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

3 years

highest courts:

• 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:

• 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:

• criminal and civil appellate courts;
• administrative appellate court;
• first instance courts;
• specialized administrative and bankruptcy courts

chief of state:

President Armen SARKISSIAN (since 9 April 2018)

head of government:

Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN (since 8 May 2018); First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat MIRZOYAN (since 11 May 2018)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• 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 8 May 2018

election results:

• Armen SARKISSIAN elected president in first round;
• note - Armen SARKISSIAN ran unopposed and won the Assembly vote 90-10;
• Nikol PASHINYAN elected prime minister in second round;
• note - Nikol PASHINYAN ran unopposed and won the Assembly vote 59-42

note: Nikol PASHINYAN resigned his post on 16 October 2018 but remains on as Acting Prime Minister until new elections are held on 9 December 2018

description:

unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (minimum 101 seats, currently 132; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 9 December 2018 (next elections to be held December 2023)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - My Step Alliance 70.4%, BHK 8.3%, Bright Armenia 6.4%, other 14.9%;
• seats by party - My Step Alliance 88, BHK 26, Bright Armenia 18;
• composition - men 112, women 20, percent of women 15.2%

• 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]
• Bright Armenia [Edmon MARUKYAN]
• Christian Democratic Rebirth Party [Levon SHIRINYAN]
• Citizen's Decision [Suren SAHAKYAN]
• Civil Contract [Nikol PASHINYAN]
• Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN]
• Mission Party [Manuk SUKIASYAN]
• My Step Alliance (Civil Contract Party and Mission Party) [Nikol PASHINYAN]
• National Progress Party [Lusine HAROYAN]
• People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN]
• Prosperous Armenia or BHK [Gagik TSARUKYAN]
• Republic [Aram SARGSYAN]
• Republican Party of Armenia or RPA [Serzh SARGSIAN]
• Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) or OEK [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]
• Sasna Tser [Varuzhan AVETISYAN]
• We Alliance or FD-H [Aram SARGSIAN]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Varuzhan NERSESSYAN (since November 2018)

chancery:

2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 319-1976

FAX:

[1] (202) 319-2982

consulate(s) general:

Glendale (CA)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Richard MILLS (since 13 February 2015)

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

name:

"Mer Hayrenik" (Our Fatherland)

lyrics/music:

Mikael NALBANDIAN/Barsegh KANACHYAN

note: adopted 1991; based on the anthem of the Democratic Republic of Armenia (1918-1922) but with different lyrics

agriculture:

36.3%

industry:

17%

services:

46.7% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

25.7% (2014)

highest 10%:

25.7% (2014)

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;
• with a small populaton and low GDP - moderate growth in mobile market;
• mobile operators promise mobile broadband to be faster (2017)

domestic:

• 17 per 100 fixed-line, 115 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 (2017)

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 (2015)

• 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;
• 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 21 privately owned radio stations;
• several major international broadcasters are available (2017)

total:

780 km (2014)

broad gauge:

780 km 1.520-m gauge (780 km electrified) (2014)

note: 726 km operational

• 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)

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 instabilityresidents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and AzerbaijanTurkish authorities have complained that blasting from quarries in Armenia might be damaging the medieval ruins of Ani, on the other side of the Arpacay valleyin 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 falteredlocal border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian bordersethnic Armenian groups in the Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian Government

refugees (country of origin):

14,680 (Syria - ethnic Armenians) (2017)

stateless persons:

773 (2017)

• 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