:Armenia Geography

Total area:
    29,800 km2
Land area:
    28,400 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries:
    1,254 km total; Azerbaijan (east) 566 km, Azerbaijan (south) 221 km, Georgia
    164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km
Coastline:
    none - landlocked
Maritime claims:
    none - landlocked
Disputes:
    violent and longstanding dispute with Azerbaijan over ethnically Armenian
    exclave of Nagorno-Karabakh; some irredentism by Armenians living in
    southern Georgia; traditional demands on former Armenian lands in Turkey
    have greatly subsided
Climate:
    continental, hot, and subject to drought
Terrain:
    high Armenian Plateau with mountain; little forest land; fast flowing
    rivers; good soil in Aras River valley
Natural resources:
    small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina
Land use:
    10% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures; NA% forest
    and woodland; NA% other; NA% irrigated
Environment:
    pollution of Razdan and Aras Rivers; air pollution in Yerevan

:Armenia People

Population:
    3,415,566 (July 1992), growth rate 0.8% (1992)
Birth rate:
    22 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    --7 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    35 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    68 years male, 74 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    2.7 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Armenian(s); adjective - Armenian
Ethnic divisions:
    Armenian 93.3%, Russian 1.5%, Kurd 1.7%, other 3.5%
Religions:
    Armenian Orthodox 94%
Languages:
    Armenian 93%, Russian 2%, other 5%
Literacy:
    NA% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (NA)
Labor force:
    1,630,000; industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 18%,
    other 40%(1990)
Organized labor:
    NA

:Armenia Government

Long-form name:
    Republic of Armenia
Type:
    republic
Capital:
    Yerevan
Administrative divisions:
    none - all rayons are under direct republic jurisdiction
Independence:
    Armenian Republic formed 29 November 1920 and became part of the Soviet
    Union on 30 December 1922; on 23 September 1991, Armenia renamed itself the
    Republic of Armenia
Constitution:
    adopted NA April 1978, effective NA
Legal system:
    based on civil law system
National holiday:
    NA
Executive branch:
    President, Council of Ministers, prime minister
Legislative branch:
    unicameral body - Supreme Soviet
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    President Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN (since 16 October 1991), Vice
    President Gagik ARUTYUNYAN (since 16 October 1991)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister Gagik ARUTYUNYAN (since November 1991), First Deputy Prime
    Minister Grant BAGRATYAN (since NA September 1990); Supreme Soviet Chairman
    - Babken ARARKTSYAN
Political parties and leaders:
    Armenian National Movement, Husik LAZARYAN, chairman; National
    Self-Determination Association, Pakvyr HAYRIKIAN, chairman; National
    Democratic Union, Vazgen MANUKYAN, chairman; Democratic Liberal Party,
    Ramkavar AZATAKAN, chairman; Dashnatktsutyan Party, Rouben MIRZAKHANIN;
    Chairman of Parliamentary opposition - Mekhak GABRIYELYAN
Suffrage:
    universal at age 18
Elections:
  President:
    last held 16 October 1990 (next to be held NA); results - elected by the
    Supreme Soviet, Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN 86%; radical nationalists
    about 7%
  Supreme Soviet:
    last held 20 May 1990 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by
    party NA; seats - (259 total); number of seats by party NA
Other political or pressure groups:
    NA
Member of:
    CSCE, NACC, UN, UNCTAD
Diplomatic representation:
    Charge d'Affaires ad interim, Aleksandr ARZOUMANIAN
  US:
    Ambassador (vacant); Steven R. MANN, Charge d'Affaires; Embassy at Hotel
    Hrazdan (telephone 8-011-7-8852-53-53-32); (mailing address is APO AE
    09862); telephone 8-011-7-885-215-1122 (voice and FAX); 8-011-7-885-215-1144
    (voice)

:Armenia Government

Flag:
    NA

:Armenia Economy

Overview:
    Armenia under the old centrally planned Soviet system had built up textile,
    machine-building, and other industries and had become a key supplier to
    sister republics. In turn, Armenia had depended on supplies of raw materials
    and energy from the other republics. Most of these supplies enter the
    republic by rail through Azerbaijan (85%) and Georgia (15%). The economy has
    been severely hurt by ethnic strife with Azerbaijan over control of the
    Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, a mostly Armenian-populated enclave
    within the national boundaries of Azerbaijan. In addition to outright
    warfare, the strife has included interdiction of Armenian imports on the
    Azerbaijani railroads and expensive airlifts of supplies to beleagured
    Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. An earthquake in December 1988 destroyed
    about one-tenth of industrial capacity and housing, the repair of which has
    not been possible because the supply of funds and real resources has been
    disrupted by the reorganization and subsequent dismantling of the central
    USSR administrative apparatus. Among facilities made unserviceable by the
    earthquake are the Yerevan nuclear power plant, which had supplied 40% of
    Armenia's needs for electric power and a plant that produced one-quarter of
    the output of elevators in the former USSR. Armenia has some deposits of
    nonferrous metal ores (bauxite, copper, zinc, and molybdenum) that are
    largely unexploited. For the mid-term, Armenia's economic prospects seem
    particularly bleak because of ethnic strife and the unusually high
    dependence on outside areas, themselves in a chaotic state of
    transformation.
GDP:
    $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate --10% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    91%
Unemployment rate:
    NA%
Budget:
    revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
    $176 million (f.o.b., 1990)
  commodities:
    machinery and transport equipment, ferrous and nonferrous metals, and
    chemicals (1991)
  partners:
    NA
Imports:
    $1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
  commodities:
    machinery, energy, consumer goods (1991)
  partners:
    NA
External debt:
    $650 million (December 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
    growth rate --9.6% (1991)
Electricity:
    NA kW capacity; 10,433 million kWh produced, about 3,000 kWh per capita
    (1990)
Industries:
    diverse, including (in percent of output of former USSR) metalcutting
    machine tools (6.7%), forging-pressing machines (4.7%), electric motors
    (8.7%), tires (2.1%), knitted wear (5.6%), hosiery (2.3%), shoes (2.2%),
    silk fabric (5.3%), washing machines (2.0%); also chemicals, trucks,
    watches, instruments, and microelectronics

:Armenia Economy

Agriculture:
    only 10% of land area is arable; employs 18% of labor force; citrus, cotton,
    and dairy farming; vineyards near Yerevan are famous for brandy and other
    liqueurs
Illicit drugs:
    illicit producer of cannabis mostly for domestic consumption; used as a
    transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid:
    NA
Currency:
    as of May 1992, retaining ruble as currency
Exchange rates:
    NA
Fiscal year:
    calendar year

:Armenia Communications

Railroads:
    840 km all 1.000-meter gauge (includes NA km electrified); does not include
    industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
    11,300 km total (1990); 10,500 km hard surfaced, 800 km earth
Inland waterways:
    NA km perennially navigable
Pipelines:
    NA
Ports:
    none - landlocked
Merchant marine:
  none:
    landlocked
Civil air:
    none
Airports:
    NA total, NA usable; NA with permanent-surface runways; NA with runways over
    3,659 m; NA with runways 2,440-3,659 m; NA with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    Armenia has about 260,000 telephones, of which about 110,000 are in Yerevan;
    average telephone density is 8 per 100 persons; international connections to
    other former republics of the USSR are by landline or microwave and to other
    countries by satellite and by leased connection through the Moscow
    international gateway switch; broadcast stations - 100% of population
    receives Armenian and Russian TV programs; satellite earth station -
    INTELSAT

:Armenia Defense Forces

Branches:
    Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), National Guard; CIS
    Forces (Ground and Air Defense)
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, NA; NA fit for military service; NA reach military age (18)
    annually
Defense expenditures:
    $NA, NA% of GDP