Armenia

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Armenia is a landlocked state, which borders Georgia to the north Azerbaijan to the east, Iran to the south and Turkey to the west. the Armenia landscape is marked by a high elevation and rugged mountainous terrain. Due to its elevation, it is home to one of the highest lakes in the world, Lake Sevan.

Known for its historical landscapes as well as its biblical monuments, Armenia has a rich and tumultuous history. The origin of its name is still being discussed among scientists. Some argue that Armenia stems from the old Greek Arminoi, the Assyrian Armânum or the name of the Hebrew reference to the mountain Minni and its people living in the surrounding area. What is known, is that Armenia has been the first state to officially adopt Christianity as its state religion. As a result of this early adoption, Armenia holds the oldest churches in the world. At its peak, Armenia was the most powerful state in Asia. Since then, Armenia has had several invasions by other empires that have led to the decline in territory throughout the centuries. The invading empires were the Persians Byzantines Arabs Romans Greeks, but the most notable was the Ottoman Empire which ruled over Armenia from the 16th until the early 20th century. During this period, the Armenians lost many of their civilians as a result of the repressive actions of the Ottoman Empire. The types of atrocities as well as the amount of people that have died during this period is still being disputed.

The surface area of Armenia is slightly larger than the Solomon Islands and as slightly smaller than Lesotho with a total surface area of 29,891 km², or 11,541 mi.².

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

It has a total water surface area of 1408 km² or 544 mi.². This ranks Armenia as the 98th largest state in terms of surface area by water.

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Its main source of water comes from the ground, which represents nearly all of its drinking water sources and roughly 40% its total water sources. These water sources are replenished by streams that come from the mountains as well as the river Kura that flow from the Caucasus downstream along the border with Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan.

The climate of Armenia is known to have four seasons. During the summer, temperatures can vary highly dependent on the altitude. During the winter, Armenia experiences regular snowfall in the northern part. With an average temperature of 7.1°C or 44.9°F, Armenia ranks as the 174th warmest state in the world.

Temperature

Its average highest temperature, during the summer, is around 14°C or 57.2°F which ranks it as the 161st warmest state globally.

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

During the colder months, the average temperature reaches the freezing point with approximately 0.3°C, or 32.54°F, but it can reach freezing temperatures of -14°C in its mountain ranges.

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Even though Armenia holds an average amount of water within its territory, this water is mainly provided by rivers. The average rainfall in Armenia is relatively low with 44.5 cm or 17.5 inches annually. Which ranks Armenia as the 163rd state with the highest precipitation.

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

The capital, Yerevan, is home to 1.2 million people or 1.4 million people within its metropolitan area. Its nearest capital is Baku with a distance of 167 km or 104 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Yerevan is Wellington New Zealand with a distance of 15,800 km or 9800 miles.

Armenian has a mixed economy which combines private enterprises with government regulation. The economy of Armenia has experienced hardships in recent years. As a result of the economic crisis of 2008, the Armenian economy shrank with 15% and has been slowly recovering since then. Other factors that hindered the economic growth of Armenia are the historical border disputes with Turkey and Azerbaijan which is led to the border closure between these states which is upheld for over 30 years as well as government corruption. Also, its critical economic sectors are mainly in hands of other states, mainly Russia and Iran, which creates an economic dependence. Its main export products are rare earth minerals, tobacco and liquor (mainly brandy). These products are mainly exported to China, Switzerland and the Russian Federation. Its main import partners are also China and the Russian Federation as well as Iran.

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Armenia is a member of 14 international economic organizations, which ranks it as the 53rd most economically interconnected state in the world. These organizations are:

Alliance for Financial Inclusion
Asian Development Bank
Black Sea Trade and Development Bank
Eurasian Development Bank
Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
TRACECA Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia
Energy Charter Treaty
International Renewable Energy Agency

The GDP of Armenia is estimated to be around US$13 billion which ranks it as the 133rd highest in terms of GDP and roughly equates to 0.015% of global GDP

Its GDP per capita is around US$4350 per year which ranks its citizens as the 109th wealthiest citizens in the world.

The figure below displays the average amount that inhabitant of other states earn for every 1$ that an average Armenian citizen makes.

It is ranked as the 100th highest GDP per surface area with around US$432,000 per square kilometer or US$1.1 million per square mile.

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

The purchasing power per capita is roughly US$12,364 which ranks the purchasing power of its citizens as the 105th in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of the Dominican Republic with the rest of the world.

The graph on the left displays the purchasing power parity of the rest of the world in relation to the purchasing power of 1$ in the Dominican Republic.

With a population of nearly 3 million people, Armenia is the 85th most populous state in the world. It has Armenian as its official language which is spoken by roughly 98% of the total population with some minority groups in its border area speaking the language of the adjacent state.

Population

Population density

It has a population density of 256 people per square mile, or 99 people per square kilometer which ranks it as the 88th most densely populated state in the world

Emigration

It is estimated that around 965,000 Armenians live outside of Armenia which is around 32% of its total population. This is mainly due to the political instability as a result of border clashes with Turkey and Azerbaijan. In total, the number of emigrated Armenians represent around 0.38% of total global emigration which ranks it as the 67th state with the highest emigration in absolute numbers.

Immigration

People immigrated to Armenia did so for various reasons. Some were ethnic Armenians which returned to Armenia, some are businessmen from India, Russia and Iran, and some were Syrians that were seeking asylum. The total number of immigrants is around 170,000, or around 5.7% of the total population. This equates to around 0.067% of total global emigration.

Literacy

Literacy in Armenia is among the highest in the world. This is due to high enrollment rates as well as the high quality of primary and secondary education which is compulsory and provided for free to its population. It is estimated that around 99.5% of Armenians are literate which ranks it as the 12th most literate state in the world.

Health

Armenia is home to just over 102 hospitals. Healthcare in Armenia is provided for free to citizens under the age of 18. The healthcare system for the adult population is heavily subsidized by the Armenian government. The average life expectancy is 75.57 years, with women averaging around 79 years and men averaging around 72 years. This gives Armenia the 89th highest life expectancy in the world.

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Religion within Armenia is mainly dominated by adherents to the Christian faith. The Armenian state however, provides freedom of religion, but is heavily biased towards the Armenian church. It is ranked as the 181st most multi religious state in the world.

As mentioned earlier, Armenia became the first state in the world that has adopted Christianity as its state religion in the year 301. Around 98.4% of the total population adheres to the Christian faith, specifically, and exclusively to the Armenian Apostolic Church, which is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. Due to the high percentage of Christians within Armenia, Armenia is the second most Christian state in the world.

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Historically, Armenia has been invaded by Arab empires, with the Seljuk, the Kurds, the Iranians and the Turks being the most significant. During the rule by these empires, many of the Armenian people were able to keep their Christian identity, but other Armenians have converted to Islam under the threat of the death penalty by their Islamic rulers. Within the current borders of Armenia, it is estimated that around 1000 Muslims, or around 0.6% of the population are present. This ranks Armenia is the 167th most Islamic state in the world.

Some of the businessmen who immigrated to Armenia are of Asian descent. There are no official Buddhist institutions registered in Armenia, but yoga has been practiced in the capital Yerevan. It is estimated that around 0.7% of the total population adheres to the Buddhist faith.

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Before the rise of Christianity in Armenia, there have been some Hindu cities that were established on its territory. These were formed by royalty that fled the territory that this presently known as India. Currently, the international Society for Krishna consciousness represents the Hindu activities within Armenia and is mainly focused on students that come from India. It is estimated that around 0.03% of the population adheres to the Hindu faith.

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Currently, there are around 500 Armenians of Jewish descent that live in Armenia, or around 0.3% of the total population. The origin of the Jews in Armenia can be traced back to first century when Jews settled in the Caucasus region. From there until the formation of present-day Armenia, the Jews slowly located to the capital Yerevan, where the vast majority of Armenian Jews currently live.

Other religions (share of the total population)

Other religions are mainly represented by the Yazidi minority that live in the border area with Turkey. The Yazidi fled religious persecution by the Ottoman Empire and found refuge in Armenia. The Yazidi’s represent around 0.1% of the total population.

Non-religious (share of the total population)

It is estimated that around 0.87% of the total Armenian population is nonreligious or atheist.

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

It is estimated that around US$673 million is spent on the military annually. This corresponds to roughly 5.3% of its GDP and ranks Armenia as the 85th most funded military in the world.

The Armenian army, also known as Haykakan Banak, is based on conscription and consists of the ground forces and the air forces. Due to the fact that Armenia is a landlocked state and mainly consists of inland lakes, the Armenian army does not have a Navy.

Military membership

Aside from this, Armenia is a member of six international military organizations. These are,

Collective Security Treaty Organization
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Collective Security Treaty Organization

Military membership

International wars

Since the turn of the first century, Armenia has been involved in 12 international wars. These are:

World War I 1914-1918
Russian Civil War 1917-1911
Georgian–Armenian War 1918-1918
Franco-Turkish War 1918-1911
Turkish War of Independence 1919-1913

Greco-Turkish War 1919-1911
Turkish–Armenian War 1910-1910
First Nagorno-Karabakh War 1988-1994
Armenian-Azerbaijani border conflict 1994-present
Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes 2016-2016
Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes 2018-2018
Second Nagorno-Karabakh war 2010-2010

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Armenia is a member of nine international political organizations, this makes it the 148th most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following political organizations:

Member states of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
the Council of Europe
Commonwealth of Independent States
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Member states of the Organization internationale de la Francophonie
Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy
Interpol
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

It is the 85th most democratic state in the world. This is mainly due to free elections, but also political unrest in regard to nakorno karabach and media laws.

Democracy/Dictatorship

Armenia has a parliamentary representative democracy with a of the head of government, which is represented by the Prime Minister, and a head of state, which is represented by the President.