Armenia

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Republic of Armenia
Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն
Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun  (Armenian)
Anthem: 
Մեր Հայրենիք
Mer Hayrenik
"Our Fatherland"
Location of Armenia
Location of Armenia
Capital
and largest city
Yerevan
40°11′N 44°31′E / 40.183°N 44.517°E / 40.183; 44.517
Official languagesArmenian[1]
Recognized languagesRussian
Ethnic groups
(2011)
Religion
Christianity[4]
Demonym(s)Armenian
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary republic
• President
Vahagn Khachaturyan
Nikol Pashinyan
Alen Simonyan
LegislatureNational Assembly
Establishment history
6th century BC
190 BC[5]
52–428
885–1045
1198–1375

28 May 1918
• Independence from the Soviet Union
21 September 1991
Area
• Total
29,743 km2 (11,484 sq mi) (138th)
• Water (%)
4.71[7]
Population
• Q1 2021 estimate
2,963,900[8] (137th)
• 2011 census
3,018,854[9][10]
• Density
101.5/km2 (262.9/sq mi) (99th)
GDP (PPP)2021 estimate
• Total
$43.550 billion[11]
• Per capita
$14,701[11]
GDP (nominal)2021 estimate
• Total
$13.612 billion[11] (127th)
• Per capita
$4,595[11] (104th)
Gini (2019)Positive decrease 29.9[12]
low
HDI (2019)Increase 0.776[13]
high · 81st
CurrencyDram (֏) (AMD)
Time zoneUTC+4 (AMT)
Driving sideright
Calling code+374
ISO 3166 codeAM
Internet TLD

Armenia[14] is officially the Republic of Armenia. It is a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It is in Eastern Europe and Western Asia on the Armenian Highlands,

Armenia is bordered by Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north. The de facto independent Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan is to the east, and Iran and Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.[15]

Armenia is a multi-party, democratic nation-state in Asia.

History[change | change source]

Hayasa-Azzi may have played a significant role in the ethnicity of Armenians. It has an ancient cultural heritage. One of the earliest Armenian kingdoms such as Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia. The Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great in the 1st century BC and became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion in the late 3rd or early 4th century AD.[16][17][18] The official date of state adoption of Christianity is 301.[19]

Foreign invasion[change | change source]

Between the 16th century and 19th century, the traditional Armenian homeland composed of Eastern Armenia and Western Armenia came under the rule of the Ottoman and Iranian empires, repeatedly ruled by either of the two over the centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, while most of the western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule.

20th century[change | change source]

During World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. In 1918, following the Russian Revolution, all non-Russian countries declared their independence after the Russian Empire ceased to exist, leading to the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union. In 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

21st century[change | change source]

See also: 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Administrative divisions[change | change source]

Armenia is divided into ten provinces, with the city of Yerevan having special administrative status as the country's capital. The chief executive in each of the ten provinces is the marzpet (marz governor), appointed by the government of Armenia. In Yerevan, the chief executive is the mayor, appointed by the president.

As of 2007, Armenia includes 915 communities, of which 49 are considered urban and 866 are considered rural.

Province Capital Area (km²) Population †
Aragatsotn Արագածոտն Ashtarak Աշտարակ 2,756 132,925
Ararat Արարատ Artashat Արտաշատ 2,090 260,367
Armavir Արմավիր Armavir Արմավիր 1,242 265,770
Gegharkunik   Գեղարքունիք   Gavar Գավառ 5,349 235,075
Kotayk Կոտայք Hrazdan Հրազդան 2,086 254,397
Lori Լոռի Vanadzor Վանաձոր 3,799 235,537
Shirak Շիրակ Gyumri Գյումրի 2,680 251,941
Syunik Սյունիք Kapan Կապան 4,506 141,771
Tavush Տավուշ Ijevan Իջևան 2,704 128,609
Vayots Dzor Վայոց Ձոր Yeghegnadzor   Եղեգնաձոր   2,308 52,324
Yerevan Երևան – – 223 1,060,138

† 2011 census
Sources: Area and population of provinces.[20]

Culture[change | change source]

The Republic of Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment.[21][22] The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD.

Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh, which was proclaimed in 1991.

Gallery[change | change source]


  • Armenia

  • Yerevan

  • Geghard

  • Vagharshapat

  • Khor Virap

  • Sevanavank

  • Zvartnots

  • Etchmiadzin

  • Armenian dancers.

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "Constitution of Armenia, Article 20". president.am.
  2. ↑ Asatryan, Garnik; Arakelova, Victoria (Yerevan 2002). The Ethnic Minorities in Armenia. Part of the OSCE. Archived copy at WebCite (16 April 2010).
  3. ↑ Ministry of Culture of Armenia "The ethnic minorities in Armenia. Brief information" Archived 2017-10-10 at the Wayback Machine. As per the most recent census in 2011. "National minority".
  4. ↑ "National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia - Official Web Site - parliament.am". www.parliament.am.
  5. ↑ Encyclopedia Americana: Ankara to Azusa. Scholastic Library Publishing. 2005. p. 393. ISBN 9780717201389. It was named for Artaxias, a general of Antiochus the Great, who founded the kingdom of Armenia about 190 B.C.
  6. ↑ de Laet, Sigfried J.; Herrmann, Joachim, eds. (1996). History of Humanity: From the seventh century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. (1st ed.). London: Routledge. p. 128. ISBN 978-92-3-102812-0. The ruler of the part known as Greater Armenia, Artaxias (Artashes), the founder of a new dynasty, managed to unite the country...
  7. ↑ "The World Fact Book – Armenia". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  8. ↑ "Statistics". Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Statistical Service of Armenia" (PDF). Armstat. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Armenia Population". countrymeters.info. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2021". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "GINI index (World Bank estimate) - Armenia". World Bank. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  13. ↑ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  14. ↑ Armenia. Dictionary.com Unabridged. 2015.
  15. ↑ The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History. Oxford University Press. 2003. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-19-510507-0.
  16. ↑ (Garsoïan, Nina (1997). R.G. Hovannisian (ed.). Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 81, Vol. 1.)
  17. ↑ Stringer, Martin D. (2005). A Sociological History of Christian Worship. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 92. ISBN 0-521-81955-5.
  18. ↑ Smaller nations that have claimed a prior official adoption of Christianity include Osroene, the Silures, and San Marino. See Timeline of official adoptions of Christianity.
  19. ↑ Grousset, René (1947). Histoire de l'Arménie (1984 ed.). Payot. p. 122.. Estimated dates vary from 284 to 314. Garsoïan (op.cit. p. 82), following the research of Ananian, favours the latter.
  20. ↑ "Armstat:Provinces, area and population" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  21. ↑ The republic has separation of church and state
  22. ↑ "The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, Article 8.1". President.am. Archived from the original on 20 December 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2010.

Other websites[change | change source]

  • Armenia travel guide from Wikivoyage
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