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Armenia |
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| Background: |
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. It was incorporated into Russia
in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by
the long conflict with Muslim 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,
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. |
| Location: |
Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
40 00 N, 45 00 E |
| Map
references: |
Asia |
| Area: |
total: 29,800 sq km
water: 1,400 sq km
land: 28,400 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 1,254 km
border countries: Azerbaijan-proper
566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35
km, Turkey 268 km |
| 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: |
lowest point: Debed River 400 m
highest point:
Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m |
| Natural
resources: |
small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 17.52%
permanent crops: 2.3%
other: 80.18% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
2,870 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts |
| Environment
- current issues: |
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 |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent
Organic Pollutants |
| Geography
- note: |
landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan)
is the largest lake in this mountain range
|
| Population: |
3,326,448
note: Armenia's first census since independence
was conducted in October 2001; official results are not expected until
late 2003 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 21.1% (male 356,587; female 346,648)
15-64
years: 68.3% (male 1,113,241; female 1,158,245)
65 years
and over: 10.6% (male 147,156; female 204,571) (2003 est.) |
| Median
age: |
total: 32.3 years
male: 30.6 years
female:
34.1 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
-0.07% (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
12.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
10.16 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population:
0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 40.86 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
36.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 45.27 deaths/1,000
live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 66.68 years
male: 62.41 years
female: 71.17 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.56 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Armenian(s)
adjective: Armenian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Armenian 93%, Azeri 1%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 4% (2002)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated
from Armenia |
| Religions: |
Armenian Apostolic 94%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi (Zoroastrian/animist)
2% |
| Languages: |
Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total
population: 98.6%
male: 99.4%
female: 98%
(2003 est.)
|
| 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 era. 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 (copper, 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 1995-2002. Armenia also managed to slash inflation, stabilize
the local currency (the dram), and privatize most small- and medium-sized
enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in the early
and mid-1990s have been offset by the energy supplied by one of its
nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia is now a net energy exporter,
although it does not have sufficient generating capacity to replace
Metsamor, which is under international pressure to close. The electricity
distribution system was privatized in 2002. Armenia's severe trade imbalance,
which has decreased in recent years, has been offset somewhat by international
aid, domestic restructuring of the economy, and foreign direct investment.
|
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $12.6 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
12.7% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
30%
industry: 26%
services: 44% (2001 est.)
|
| Population
below poverty line: |
50% (2002 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
2.3%
highest 10%: 46.2% (1996) |
| Distribution
of family income - Gini index: |
44.4 (1996) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
1.1% (2002 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
1.4 million (2001) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 45%, services 30%, industry 25% (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
20% (2001 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$402 million
expenditures: $482 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2003 est.) |
| Industries: |
metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors,
tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks,
instruments, microelectronics, gem cutting, jewelry manufacturing, software
development, food processing, brandy |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
15% (2002 est.) |
| Oil
- imports: |
NA (2001) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock |
| Exports: |
$525 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy |
| Exports
- partners: |
Russia 17.7%, US 15.2%, Belgium 13.6%, Israel 9.7% (2001) |
| Imports: |
$991 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds |
| Imports
- partners: |
Russia 19.5%, UK 10.4%, US 9.6%, Iran 8.9%, Belgium (2001) |
| Debt
- external: |
$905 million (June 2001) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
ODA $170 million (2000) |
| Currency: |
dram (AMD) |
| Currency
code: |
AMD |
| Exchange
rates: |
drams per US dollar - NA (2002), 555.078 (2001), 539.526 (2000), 535.062
(1999), 504.915 (1998) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
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