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 1994 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.

Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan

slightly smaller than Maryland

highland continental, hot summers, cold winters

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

small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite

occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts

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

landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range

Armenian 97.9%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.3%, Russian 0.5%, other 0.3% (2001 census)

Armenian (official) 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% (2001 census)

Armenian Apostolic 94.7%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi (monotheist with elements of nature worship) 1.3%

2,970,495 (July 2012 est.)

12.9 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

8.49 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-3.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

YEREVAN (capital) 1.11 million (2009)

30 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

1.38 children born/woman (2012 est.)

3.697 physicians/1,000 population (2007)

4.07 beds/1,000 population (2007)

fewer than 100 (2009 est.)

11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan

21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Independence Day, 21 September (1991)

adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995; amendments adopted through a nationwide referendum 27 November 2005

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

20 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (131 seats; members elected by popular vote, 90 members elected by party list and 41 by direct vote; to serve five-year terms)

Constitutional Court; Court of Cassation (Appeals Court)

Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN]; Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Hrant MARKARIAN]; Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN]; People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN]; Prosperous Armenia [Gagik TSARUKIAN]; Republican Party of Armenia or HHK [Serzh SARGSIAN]; Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]

Aylentrank (Impeachment Alliance) [Nikol PASHINIAN]; Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN]

ADB, BSEC, CE, CIS, CSTO, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

Mount Ararat; eagle; lion

fter several years of double-digit economic growth, Armenia faced a severe economic recession with GDP declining more than 14% in 2009, despite large loans from multilateral institutions. Sharp declines in the construction sector and workers' remittances, particularly from Russia, led the downturn. The economy began to recover in 2010 with 2.1% growth, and picked up to 4.6% growth in 2011. Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics, in exchange for raw materials and energy. Armenia has since switched to small-scale agriculture and away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. Armenia has managed to reduce poverty, slash inflation, stabilize its currency, and privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. Armenia's geographic isolation, a narrow export base, and pervasive monopolies in important business sectors have made it particularly vulnerable to the sharp deterioration in the global economy and the economic downturn in Russia. The conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s and Armenia's borders with Turkey remain closed. Armenia is particularly dependent on Russian commercial and governmental support and most key Armenian infrastructure is Russian-owned and/or managed, especially in the energy sector. The electricity distribution system was privatized in 2002 and bought by Russia's RAO-UES in 2005. Natural gas is primarily imported from Russia but construction of a pipeline to deliver natural gas from Iran to Armenia was completed in December 2008, and gas deliveries expanded after the April 2010 completion of the Yerevan Thermal Power Plant. Armenia's severe trade imbalance has been offset somewhat by international aid, remittances from Armenians working abroad, and foreign direct investment. Armenia joined the WTO in January 2003. The government made some improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but anti-corruption measures have been ineffective and the economic downturn has led to a sharp drop in tax revenue and forced the government to accept large loan packages from Russia, the IMF, and other international financial institutions. Amendments to tax legislation, including the introduction of the first ever "luxury tax" in 2011, aim to increase the ratio of budget revenues to GDP, which still remains at low levels. Armenia will need to pursue additional economic reforms and to strengthen the rule of law in order to regain economic growth and improve economic competitiveness and employment opportunities, especially given its economic isolation from two of its nearest neighbors, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

$18.17 billion (2011 est.)

$17.41 billion (2010 est.)

$17.05 billion (2009 est.)

$10.11 billion (2011 est.)

1.194 million (2011 est.)

35.4% of GDP (2011 est.)

22.5% of GDP (2011 est.)

-3% of GDP (2011 est.)

8% (11 January 2012)

7.25% (2 December 2008)

17.75% (31 December 2011 est.)

18.9% (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.663 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.201 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.92 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$3.708 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$3.31 billion (31 December 2011)

$2.634 billion (31 December 2010)

$43.52 million (31 December 2011)

$27.99 million (31 December 2010)

$140.5 million (31 December 2009)

fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock

diamond-processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry manufacturing, software development, food processing, brandy, mining

-$1.258 billion (2011 est.)

-$1.3 billion (2010 est.)

$1.305 billion (2011 est.)

$1.113 billion (2010 est.)

pig iron, unwrought copper, nonferrous metals, diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy

Russia 15.4%, Germany 13.9%, Iran 9.8%, Bulgaria 9.3%, Netherlands 7.8%, US 7.6%, Spain 7.6%, Canada 5.7%, Belgium 5.5%, Georgia 4.6% (2011)

$3.503 billion (2011 est.)

$3.255 billion (2010 est.)

natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds

Russia 20%, China 8.1%, Ukraine 6.8%, Iran 6.5%, Germany 5.9%, Italy 4.7% (2011)

$1.959 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.866 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$7.336 billion (30 September 2011)

$6.103 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

drams (AMD) per US dollar -

7.432 billion kWh (2011 est.)

5.8 billion kWh (2011 est.)

1.36 billion kWh (2011 est.)

291 million kWh (2009 est.)

3.173 million kW (2009 est.)

53.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

11.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

34.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0.1% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

45,300 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

9,698 bbl/day (2008 est.)

2.077 billion cu m (2011 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

11.56 million Mt (2010 est.)

3.211 million (2011)

2 public TV networks operating alongside more than 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; Public Radio of Armenia is a national, state-run broadcast network that operates alongside about 20 privately-owned radio stations; several major international broadcasters are available (2008)

Armenian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Air Force and Air Defense; "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic": Nagorno-Karabakh Self-Defense Force (NKSDF) (2011)

18-27 years of age for voluntary or compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation (2010)

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

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