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Background: Armenia was one of the 15 successor republics to the USSR in December 1991. Its leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Although a cease-fire has been in effect since May 1994, the sides have not made substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. In January 1998, differences between President TER-PETROSSIAN and members of his cabinet over the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process came to a head. With the prime minister, defense minister, and security minister arrayed against him, an isolated TER-PETROSSIAN resigned the presidency on 3 February 1998. Prime Minister Robert KOCHARIAN was elected president in March 1998. Concerns about Armenia's economic performance have continued since 1997 with a slowdown in growth and the serious impact of the 1998 financial crisis in Russia.
Location: Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey Geographic coordinates: 40 00 N, 45 00 E Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States Area: Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland Land boundaries: Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none (landlocked) Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters Terrain: Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley Elevation extremes: Natural resources: small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina Land use: Irrigated land: 2,870 sq km (1993 est.) Natural hazards: occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts Environment—current issues: soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; energy blockade, the result of conflict with Azerbaijan, has 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 without adequate (IAEA-recommended) safety and backup systems Environment—international agreements: Geography—note: landlocked
Population: 3,409,234 (July 1999 est.) Age structure: Population growth rate: -0.38% (1999 est.) Birth rate: 13.53 births/1,000 population (1999 est.) Death rate: 9.03 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.) Net migration rate: -8.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.) Sex ratio: Infant mortality rate: 41.12 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.) Life expectancy at birth: Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman (1999 est.) Nationality: Ethnic groups: Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other
(mostly Yezidi Kurds) 2% (1989) Religions: Armenian Orthodox 94% Languages: Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% Literacy:
Country name: Data code: AM Government type: republic Capital: Yerevan Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (marzer, singular—marz) and 1 city* (k'aghak'ner, singular—k'aghak'); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan* Independence: 28 May 1918-2 December 1920 (First Armenian Republic); 23 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) National holiday: Referendum Day, 21 September Constitution: adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995 Legal system: based on civil law system Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Parliament)
or Azgayin Zhoghov (190 seats; members serve four-year terms) Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court Political parties and leaders: Armenian National Movement or ANM [Vano SIRADEGIAN, chairman]; National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN]; Intellectual Armenia [H. TOKMAJIAN]; Social Democratic (Hnchakian) Party [Yeghia NACHARIAN]; Shamiram Women's Movement or SWM [Maria NERSISSIAN]; Armenian Communist Party or ACP [Sergey BADALYAN]; Union of National Self-Determination or NSDU [Paruir HAIRIKIAN, chairman]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [leader NA]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Azat ARSHAKYN, chairman]; Democratic Liberal Party [Orthosis GYONJIAN, chairman]; Republican Party [Andranik MARKARYAN]; People's Party of Armenia [Karen DEMIRCHYAN]; National Democratic 21st Century Party [David SHAKHAZARYAN]; Yerkrapah Parliamentary Group [Smbat AYVAZYAN] International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE (guest), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) Diplomatic representation in the US: Diplomatic representation from the US: Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and gold
Economy—overview: Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet area. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-98. Armenia also managed to slash inflation and to privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in recent years have been largely offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. The Russian financial crisis generated concerns about Armenia's economic performance in 1998. Although inflation dropped to 10% and GDP grew about 6%, the industrial sector remained moribund. Much of Armenia's population remains heavily dependent on remittances from relatives abroad, and remittances from Russia fell off sharply in 1998. GDP: purchasing power parity—$9.2 billion (1998 est.) GDP—real growth rate: 6% (1998 est.) GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,700 (1998 est.) GDP—composition by sector: Population below poverty line: 50% (1998 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (1998 est.) Labor force: 1.6 million (1997) Labor force—by occupation: manufacturing, mining, and construction 25%, agriculture 38%, services 37% Unemployment rate: 20% (1998 est.) Budget: Industries: much of industry is shut down; metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, washing machines, chemicals, trucks, watches, instruments, microelectronics Industrial production growth rate: NA% Electricity—production: 7.6 billion kWh (1996) Electricity—production by source: Electricity—consumption: 7.6 billion kWh (1996) Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996) Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996) Agriculture—products: fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock Exports: $230 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.) Exports—commodities: gold and jewelry, aluminum, transport equipment, electrical equipment, scrap metal Exports—partners: Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Georgia Imports: $840 million (c.i.f., 1998 est.) Imports—commodities: grain, other foods, fuel, other energy Imports—partners: Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Georgia, US, EU Debt—external: $820 million (of which $75 million to Russia) (1997 est.) Economic aid—recipient: $245.5 million (1995) Currency: 1 dram = 100 luma Exchange rates: dram per US$1—535.62 (January 1999), 504.92 (1998), 490.85 (1997), 414.04 (1996), 405.91 (1995), 288.65 (1994) Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones: 730,000 (1998 est.) Telephone system: the Ministry of Communications oversees
the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications; the national operator
is Armentel; the Greek Telecoms Company owns 90% of Armentel and will
provide a $60 million eight-year loan; Armenia has about 4,000 Internet
users on one satellite channel Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998) Radios: NA Television broadcast stations: 3 (in addition, programs are received by relay from Russia; 100% of the population receive Armenian and Russian TV programs) (1997) Televisions: NA
Railways: Highways: Waterways: NA km Pipelines: natural gas 900 km (1991) Ports and harbors: none Airports: 11 (1996 est.) Airports—with paved runways: Airports—with unpaved runways:
Military branches: Army, Air Force and Air Defense Aviation, Air Defense Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops) Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age Military manpower—availability: Military manpower—fit for military service: Military manpower—reaching military age annually: Military expenditures—dollar figure: $72.1 million (1999) Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 4% (1999)
Disputes—international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; traditional demands on former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis mostly for
domestic consumption; increasingly used as a transshipment point for
illicit drugs—mostly opium and hashish—to Western Europe
and the US via Iran, Central Asia, and Russia |