Data at glance of Armenia - average on period

History

Armenia prides itself on being the first state to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Armenia has existed as a political entity for centuries, but for much of its history it was under the sway of various empires, including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, Ottoman, and Russian. During World War I, the Ottoman Empire instituted a policy of forced resettlement that, coupled with other harsh practices targeting its Armenian subjects, resulted in at least 1 million deaths; these actions have been widely recognized as constituting genocide. During the early 19th century, significant Armenian populations fell under Russian rule. Armenia declared its independence in 1918 in the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, but it was conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. Armenia, along with Azerbaijan and Georgia, was initially incorporated into the USSR as part of the Transcaucasian Federated Soviet Socialist Republic; in 1936, the republic was separated into its three constituent entities, which were maintained until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. For over three decades, Armenia had a longstanding conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan about the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which historically had a mixed Armenian and Azerbaijani population, although ethnic Armenians have constituted the majority since the late 19th century. In 1921, Moscow placed Nagorno-Karabakh within Soviet Azerbaijan as an autonomous oblast. In the late Soviet period, a separatist movement developed that sought to end Azerbaijani control over the region. Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 and escalated after Armenia and Azerbaijan declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By the time a cease-fire took effect in 1994, separatists with Armenian support controlled Nagorno‑Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. Armenia and Azerbaijan engaged in a second military conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020; Armenia lost control over much of the territory it had previously captured, returning the southern part of Nagorno-Karabakh and the territories around it to Azerbaijan. In September 2023, Azerbaijan took military action to regain control over Nagorno-Karabakh; after an armed conflict that lasted only one day, nearly the entire ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh fled to Armenia. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan during the first period of conflict with Armenia and has since maintained a closed border, leaving Armenia with closed borders both in the west (with Turkey) and east (with Azerbaijan). Armenia and Turkey engaged in intensive diplomacy to normalize relations and open the border in 2009, but the signed agreement was not ratified in either country. In 2015, Armenia joined the Eurasian Economic Union alongside Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. In 2017, Armenia signed a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the EU. In 2018, former President of Armenia (2008-18) Serzh SARGSIAN of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) tried to extend his time in power, prompting protests that became known as the “Velvet Revolution.” After SARGSIAN resigned, the National Assembly elected the leader of the protests, Civil Contract party chief Nikol PASHINYAN, as the new prime minister. PASHINYAN’s party has prevailed in subsequent legislative elections, most recently in 2021.

Environment

Area: 29,743 sq km km2

Climate: highland continental, hot summers, cold winters

Natural resources: small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Armenian 98.1%, Yezidi 1.1%; less than 1%: Russian, other, Assyrian, Kurd, Ukrainian, Greek (2022 est.)

Languages: Armenian 97.2%, Russian 1.4%, Ezidian 1.0%; less than 1%: other, unknown (2022)

Religions: Armenian Apostolic 95.2%, not stated 1.7%; less than 1%: Catholic, no religion, Evangelical, Shar-fadinian, other, Armenian Orthodox, Jehovah's Witness, Pagan, Molokan (2022 est.)

Government

Capital: Yerevan

Government type: parliamentary democracy; note - constitutional changes adopted in December 2015 transformed the government to a parliamentary system

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Vahagn KHACHATURYAN (since 13 March 2022)

Head of government: Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN (since 10 September 2021)

Legislative branch

Description: National Assembly (Azgayin Zhoghov) - unicameral

Industries

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

GDP by sector: Agriculture: 7.9% (2024 est.), Industry: 23.2% (2024 est.), Services: 61.5% (2024 est.)

Trade

Export partners: Russia 37%, UAE 25%, Hong Kong 7%, China 5%, Georgia 4% (2023)

Export commodities: gold, diamonds, copper ore, broadcasting equipment, jewelry (2023)

Import partners: Russia 29%, China 12%, Vietnam 6%, Georgia 5%, Iran 4% (2023)

Import commodities: cars, gold, diamonds, broadcasting equipment, natural gas (2023)

Geography

Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan; note - Armenia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both

Defence

Military expenditure: 2024: 5.5% of GDP (2024 est.)