You are here:
  1. Homepage
  2. » Armenia
Armenia Flag Icon

Armenia Country Guide

Explore Armenia in Asia

Armenia with the capital city Yerevan is located in Asia (Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan). It covers some 29,800 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Maryland) with 2,968,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Armenia

The landscape offers Armenian Highland with mountains with little forest land, fast flowing rivers and good soil in Aras River valley. The average density of population is approximately 100 per km². The notable climate conditions in Armenia can be described as highland continental, hot summers, cold winters. Potential threats by nature are occasionally severe earthquakes or droughts.

To reach someone in Armenia dial +374 prior to a number. There are 630,000 installed telephones. And there are 2,620,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900/1800 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".am". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Armenia

Armenia Flag Icon

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.


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, Ottoman Turkey instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh practices that resulted in at least 1 million Armenian deaths. 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. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, ethnic Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. 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, senior Armenian leaders began pursuing rapprochement with Turkey, aiming to secure an opening of the border, but Turkey has not yet ratified the Protocols normalizing relations between the two countries.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Asia
Neighbours: Georgia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey
Capital: Yerevan
Size29,800 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 11,505 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than Maryland
Population2,968,000
CurrencyName Dram, Currency Code:AMD
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).am
Telephone Country Prefix+374
Mobile Phone Connections2,620,000
Landline Phone Connections630,000

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area29,743 (sq km)143

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population2,974,184 138
Population growth rate0.14 (%)182
Birth rate12.86 (births/1,000 population)153
Death rate8.51 (deaths/1,000 population)80
Net migration rate-2.93 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)175
Maternal mortality rate30.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)123
Infant mortality rate17.59 (deaths/1,000 live births)100
Life expectancy at birth73.75 (years)119
Total fertility rate1.39 (children born/woman)206
Health expenditures4.40 (% of GDP)159
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.10 (%)114
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS1,900 136
HIV/AIDS - deaths100 119
Obesity - adult prevalence rate24.00 (%)68
Children under the age of 5 years underweight5.30 (%)85
Education expenditures3.20 (% of GDP)136
Unemployment, youth ages 15-2445.50 (%)9

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)19,970,000,000 131
GDP - real growth rate7.20 (%)25
GDP - per capita (PPP)5,900 152
Labor force1,194,000 138
Unemployment rate7.00 (%)76
Distribution of family income - Gini index30.90 110
Investment (gross fixed)37.10 (% of GDP)7
Taxes and other revenues21.90 (% of GDP)146
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-3.10 (% of GDP)115
Public debt42.10 (% of GDP)85
Inflation rate (consumer prices)4.00 (%)108
Central bank discount rate7.25 (%)35
Commercial bank prime lending rate17.76 (%)25
Stock of narrow money1,249,000,000 142
Stock of broad money3,555,000,000 138
Stock of domestic credit2,807,000,000 133
Market value of publicly traded shares27,990,000 117
Industrial production growth rate14.10 (%)4
Current account balance-1,163,000,000 117
Exports1,495,000,000 151
Imports3,269,000,000 145
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold2,016,000,000 122
Debt - external7,629,000,000 104

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production7,432,000,000 (kWh)102
Electricity - consumption5,800,000,000 (kWh)108
Electricity - exports1,360,000,000 (kWh)49
Electricity - imports291,000,000 (kWh)83
Electricity - installed generating capacity3,173,000 (kW)85
Electricity - from fossil fuels53.30 (% of total installed capacity)151
Electricity - from nuclear fuels11.80 (% of total installed capacity)18
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants34.70 (% of total installed capacity)61
Electricity - from other renewable sources0.10 (% of total installed capacity)97
Refined petroleum products - consumption45,300 (bbl/day)104
Refined petroleum products - imports9,698 (bbl/day)133
Natural gas - consumption2,077,000,000 (cu m)79
Natural gas - imports2,077,000,000 (cu m)49
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy11,560,000 (Mt)98

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use577,500 92
Telephones - mobile cellular3,211,000 123
Internet hosts194,142 73
Internet users208,200 138

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports11 155
Railways869 (km)96
Roadways7,705 (km)144

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures2.80 (% of GDP)46

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots
The cathedral and churches of Echmiatsin and the archaeological remains at Zvartnots graphically illustrate the evolution and development of the Armenian central-domed cross-hall type of church, which exerted a profound influence on architectural and ...
2000
Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin
These two Byzantine monasteries in the Tumanian region from the period of prosperity during the Kiurikian dynasty (10th to 13th century) were important centres of learning. Sanahin was renown for its school of illuminators and calligraphers. The two ...
1996
Monastery of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley
The monastery of Geghard contains a number of churches and tombs, most of them cut into the rock, which illustrate the very peak of Armenian medieval architecture. The complex of medieval buildings is set into a landscape of great natural beauty, sur ...
2000