1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 29,800 km2 land area: 28,400 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Maryland
Climate
continental, hot, and subject to drought
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Environment
pollution of Razdan and Aras Rivers; air pollution in Yerevan; energy blockade has led to deforestation as citizens scavenge for firewood, use of Lake Sevan water for hydropower has lowered lake level, threatened fish population
International 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
Irrigated land
3,050 km2 (1990)
Land boundaries
total 1,254 km, Azerbaijan (east) 566 km, Azerbaijan (south) 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km
Land use
arable land: 29% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 15% forest and woodland: 0% other: 56%
Location
Southeastern Europe, between Turkey and Azerbaijan
Map references
Africa, Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - European States, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
none; landlocked
Natural resources
small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina
Note
landlocked
Terrain
high Armenian Plateau with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley
People and Society
Birth rate
25.79 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
6.77 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Infant mortality rate
28.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
1.63 million by occupation: industry and construction 42%, agriculture and forestry 18%, other 40% (1990)
Languages
Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.77 years male: 68.36 years female: 75.36 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 9-49 can read and write (1970) total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100%
Nationality
noun: Armenian(s) adjective: Armenian
Net migration rate
-6.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
3,481,207 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
1.23% (1993 est.)
Religions
Armenian Orthodox 94%
Total fertility rate
3.31 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
none (all rayons are under direct republic jurisdiction)
Capital
Yerevan
Chief of State
President Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN (since 16 October 1991), Vice President Gagik ARUTYUNYAN (since 16 October 1991)
Constitution
adopted NA April 1978; post-Soviet constitution not yet adopted
Digraph
AM
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Rouben SHUGARIAN chancery: 122 C Street NW, Suite 360, Washington, DC 20001 telephone: (202) 628-5766
Executive branch
president, council of ministers, prime minister
FAX
(7) (885) 215-1122
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and gold
Head of Government
Prime Minister Hrant BAGRATYAN (since NA February 1993); Supreme Soviet Chairman Babken ARARKTSYAN (since NA 1990)
Independence
23 September 1991 (from Soviet Union)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Legal system
based on civil law system
Legislative branch
unicameral Supreme Soviet
Member of
BSEC, CIS, CSCE, EBRD, IBRD, ICAO, IMF, NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Armenia conventional short form: Armenia local long form: Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun local short form: Hayastan former: Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic; Armenian Republic
National holiday
NA
Political parties and leaders
Armenian National Movement, Husik LAZARYAN, chairman; National Democratic Union; National Self-Determination Association; Armenian Democratic Liberal Organization, Ramkavar AZATAKAN, chairman; Dashnatktsutyan Party (Armenian Revolutionary Federation, ARF), Rouben MIRZAKHANIN; Chairman of Parliamentary opposition - Mekhak GABRIYELYAN; Christian Democratic Union; Constitutional Rights Union; Republican Party
President
last held 16 October 1991 (next to be held NA); results - Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSYAN 86%; radical nationalists about 7%; note - Levon TER-PETROSYAN was elected Chairman of the Armenian Supreme Soviet 4 August 1990
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Supreme Soviet
last held 20 May 1990 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (240 total) non-aligned 149, Armenian National Movement 52, Armenian Democratic Liberal Organization 14, Dashnatktsutyan 12, National Democratic Union 9, Christian Democratic Union 1, Constitutional Rights Union 1, National Self-Determination Association 1, Republican Party 1
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Designate Harry GILMORE embassy: 18 Gen Bagramian, Yerevan mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: (7) (885) 215-1122, 215-1144
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for about 20% of GDP; only 29% 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
Budget
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Currency
retaining Russian ruble as currency (January 1993)
Economic aid
wheat from US, Turkey
Electricity
2,875,000 kW capacity; 9,000 million kWh produced, 2,585 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
rubles per US$1 - 415 (24 December 1992) but subject to wide fluctuations
Exports
$30 million to outside the successor states of the former USSR (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, light industrial products, processed food items (1991) partners: NA
External debt
$650 million (December 1991 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of cannabis mostly for domestic consumption; used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Imports
$300 million from outside the successor statees of the former USSR (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: machinery, energy, consumer goods (1991) partners: NA
Industrial production
growth rate -50% (1992 est.)
Industries
diverse, including (in percent of output of former USSR) metalcutting machine tools (5.5%), forging-pressing machines (1.9%), electric motors (9%), tires (1.5%), knitted wear (4.4%), hosiery (3.0%), shoes (2.2%), silk fabric (0.8%), washing machines (2.0%), chemicals, trucks, watches, instruments, and microelectronics (1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
20% per month (first quarter 1993)
National product
GDP $NA
National product per capita
$NA
National product real growth rate
-34% (1992)
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 beleaguered 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. The dramatic drop in output in 1992 is attributable largely to the cumulative impact of the blockade; of particular importance was the shutting off in the summer of 1992 of rail and road links to Russia through Georgia due to civil strife in the latter republic.
Unemployment rate
2% of officially registered unemployed but large numbers of underemployed
Communications
Airports
total: 12 useable: 10 with permanent-surface runways: 6 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 3
Highways
11,300 km total; 10,500 km hard surfaced, 800 km earth (1990)
Inland waterways
NA km
Pipelines
natural gas 900 km (1991)
Ports
none; landlocked
Railroads
840 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Telecommunications
progress on installation of fiber optic cable and construction of facilities for mobile cellular phone service remains in the negotiation phase for joint venture agreement; 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
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Air Force, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops)
Defense expenditures
250 million rubles, NA% of GDP (1992 est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 848,223; fit for military service 681,058; reach military age (18) annually 28,101 (1993 est.)