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

• 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

• 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:

1.1 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.12 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.85 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.68 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2020 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

• 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)

history:

previous 1915, 1978; latest adopted 5 July 1995

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, 2015;
• note - a constitutional referendum scheduled for 4 May 2020 has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic

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

chief of state:

President Armen SARKISSIAN (since 9 April 2018)

head of government:

Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN (since 8 May 2018); Deputy Prime Ministers Mher GRIGORYAN and Tigran AVINYAN (since 16 January 2019)

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 14 January 2019

election results:

• 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: 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

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%, RPA 4.7%, ARF 3.9%, other 6.3%;
• seats by party - My Step Alliance 88, BHK 26, Bright Armenia 18;
• composition - men 112, women 20, percent of women 15.2%

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

• Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN]
• Armenian Revolutionary Federation or ARF ("Dashnak" Party) [Hakob TER-KHACHATURYAN]
• Bright Armenia [Edmon MARUKYAN]
• Citizen's Decision [Suren SAHAKYAN]
• Civil Contract [Nikol PASHINYAN]
• Free Democrats [Khachatur KOKOBELYAN]
• Heritage Party [Raffi HOVANNISIAN]
• 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]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Varuzhan NERSESSYAN (since 11 January 2019)

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 Lynne M. TRACEY (since 5 March 2019)

telephone:

[374](10) 464-700

embassy:

1 American Ave., Yerevan 0082

mailing address:

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

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

Fitch rating:

B+ (2020)

Moody's rating:

Ba3 (2019)

agriculture:

36.3%

industry:

17%

services:

46.7% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.5%

highest 10%:

25.7% (2014)

• 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 (2019)

total:

780 km (2014)

broad gauge:

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

note: 726 km operational

total:

7,700 km (2019)

urban:

3,780 km

non-urban:

3,920 km

• the inventory of the Armenian Armed Forces (as well as the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army) includes mostly Russian and Soviet-era equipment;
• since 2010, almost all of Armenia's imported weapons have come from Russia (2019 )

• 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)

• 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

refugees (country of origin):

14,730 (Syria - ethnic Armenians) (2019)

stateless persons:

961 (2019)

• 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