Armenia

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Republic of Armenia
Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն
Hayastani Hanrapetutyun
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: 
Մեր Հայրենիք
Mer Hayrenik
Our Fatherland
Capital
and largest city		 Template:Coat of arms
40°11′N 44°31′E / 40.183°N 44.517°E / 40.183; 44.517
Official languages Armenian[1]
Official written language Eastern Armenian[2][3]
Official script Armenian alphabetTemplate:Padlsup
Ethnic groups ([4])
Religion Armenian Apostolic Church
Demonym Armenian
Government Semi-presidential republic[1]
 -  President Serzh Sargsyan
 -  Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan
Legislature National Assembly
Formation and independence
 -  Traditional date 2492 BCE 
 -  Hayasa-Azzi 1500–1290 BCE 
 -  Arme-Shupria[5][6] 1300s–1190 BCE 
 -  Urartu[7] 860–590 BCE 
 -  Orontid Dynasty 6th century BCE 
 -  Kingdom of Greater
Armenia united under
the Artaxiad Dynasty[8]		 190 BCE[9] 
 -  Arsacid Dynasty 52–428 
 -  Bagratid Armenia 885–1045 
 -  Kingdom of Cilicia 1198–1375 
 -  First Republic of Armenia declared
28 May 1918 
 -  Independence from the Soviet Union 23 August 1990Template:Padlsup
21 September 1991Template:Padlsup 
Area
 -  Total 29,743 km2 (141st)
11,484 sq mi
 -  Water (%) 4.71[10]
Population
 -  2011 census Increase 3,018,854[11][12] (134th)
 -  Density 101.5/km2 (99th)
262.9/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate
 -  Total $20.831 billion[13]
 -  Per capita $6,128[13]
GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate
 -  Total $10.325 billion[13]
 -  Per capita $3,037[13]
Gini (2008) 30.9[14]
medium
HDI (2013) Steady 0.730[15]
high · 87th
Currency Dram (դր.) (AMD)
Time zone UTC (UTC+4)
Drives on the right
Calling code +374
Patron saint St. Gregory
Internet TLD .am
a. Reformed orthography.[16]
b. Declared.
c. Referendum.

Armenia (officially called the Republic of Armenia) is a country in the western part of Asia. Its capital city is Yerevan. Armenia received its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Armenia touches Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.

There are some minorities living in Armenia, such as Greek, Russian, and other minorities, and more than 90% of the people are ethnic Armenians. Also, the Armenian Apostolic Church, is by far the largest religion in the country. There is a small amount of other Christians, Muslims and atheists.

Armenia is the place that some Christians believe Noah's Ark landed, and Noah's family settled. The Armenian name for Armenia (Hayastan) means Land of Haik. Haik was the name of a great-great-grandson of Noah.

Throughout history, Armenia's size has changed many times. Today Armenia is much smaller than it was once. In 80 BCE, the Kingdom of Armenia covered parts of what is today Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and, of course, Armenia.

From 1920 to 1991, Armenia was a member of the Soviet Union.

Today, Armenia's borders are locked with Turkey and Azerbaijan, due to conflicts. In 1992, Armenia and Azerbaijan had a war over the land of Nagorno-Karabakh. The fighting stopped in 1994, and Armenia has had control over this land, but Azerbaijan still disputes about the land.

Geography[change | change source]

Armenia is landlocked in the South Caucasus. It is between the Black and Caspian Seas. The country is bordered on the north and east by Georgia and Azerbaijan, and on the south and west by Iran and Turkey.

It covers an area of 29,743 square kilometres (11,484 sq mi). The land is mostly mountains, with fast flowing rivers and few forests. There are hot summers and cold winters.

Mount Ararat used to be part of Armenia. It is the highest mountain in the region. It is now in Turkey, but clearly visible in Armenia. The Armenians see it as a symbol of their land. Because of this, the mountain is present on the Armenian national emblem today.

Provinces[change | change source]

Armenia is divided into ten provinces and the capital city of Yerevan. As of 2007, Armenia includes 915 communities. 49 are considered urban and 866 are considered rural. For a list of communities see List of settlements in Armenia.

Province Capital Area Population
Aragatsotn (Արագածոտն) Ashtarak (Աշտարակ) 2,753 km² 126,278
Ararat (Արարատ) Artashat (Արտաշատ) 2,096 km² 252,665
Armavir (Արմավիր) Armavir (Արմավիր) 1,242 km² 255,861
Gegharkunik (Գեղարքունիք) Gavar (Գավառ) 5,348 km² 215,371
Kotayk (Կոտայք) Hrazdan (Հրազդան) 2,089 km² 241,337
Lori (Լոռի) Vanadzor (Վանաձոր) 3,789 km² 253,351
Shirak (Շիրակ) Gyumri (Գյումրի) 2,681 km² 257,242
Syunik (Սյունիք) Kapan (Կապան) 4,506 km² 134,061
Tavush (Տավուշ) Ijevan (Իջևան) 2,704 km² 121,963
Vayots Dzor (Վայոց Ձոր) Yeghegnadzor (Եղեգնաձոր) 2,308 km² 53,230
Yerevan (Երևան) – 227 km² 1,091,235

Largest cities[change | change source]

Armenia has many cities. Here is a list of the ten biggest ones:

  1. Yerevan (1,121,900 people)
  2. Vanadzor
  3. Gyumri
  4. Vagharshapat
  5. Hrazdan
  6. Abovyan
  7. Armavir
  8. Kapan
  9. Gavar
  10. Artashat (20,562 people)

Filmography[change | change source]

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia (with amendments)". Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia. 5 July 1995. http://www.concourt.am/english/constitutions/index.htm#1. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Campbell, George L.; King, Gareth (2013). Compendium of the World's Languages (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 115. ISBN 9781136258466. "...Eastern Armenian is the written and spoken language of the Republic of Armenia."
  3. ↑ Dalby, Andrew (1998). Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780231115681. "...Eastern Armenian of the Present Republic of Armenia..."
  4. ↑ Asatryan, Garnik; Arakelova, Victoria (Yerevan 2002). The Ethnic Minorities in Armenia. Part of the OSCE.
  5. ↑ Lang, David Marshall. Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. London: Allen and Unwin, 1970, p. 114. ISBN 0-04-956007-7.
  6. ↑ Redgate, Anna Elizabeth. The Armenians. Cornwall: Blackwell, 1998, pp. 16–19, 23, 25, 26 (map), 30–32, 38, 43 ISBN 0-631-22037-2.
  7. ↑ Redgate, A. E. (2000). The Armenians (Reprint ed.). Oxford: Blackwell. p. 5. ISBN 0631220372. http://books.google.com/books?id=e3nef10a3UcC&dq. "However, the most easily identifiable ancestors of the later Armenian nation are the Urartians."
  8. ↑ 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 9789231028120. "The ruler of the part known as Greater Armenia, Artaxias (Artashes), the founder of a new dynasty, managed to unite the country..."
  9. ↑ Encyclopedia Americana: Ankara to Azusa. Scholastic Library Publishing. 2005. p. 393. "It was named for Artaxias, a general of Antiochus the Great, who founded the kingdom of Armenia about 190 B.C."
  10. ↑ "The World Fact Book – Armenia". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/am.html. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  11. ↑ "Statistical Service of Armenia". Armstat. http://www.armstat.am/file/doc/99475033.pdf. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  12. ↑ "News.am". World Economic Outlook Database, October 2009. IMF. http://news.am/eng/news/46702.html. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "Armenia". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2013/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=49&pr.y=4&sy=2011&ey=2014&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=911&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=. Retrieved 2013-07-19.
  14. ↑ "Distribution of family income – Gini index". The World Factbook. CIA. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  15. ↑ "Human Development Report 2013". United Nations. 2013. http://hdr.undp.org/en/mediacentre/humandevelopmentreportpresskits/2013report/. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  16. ↑ Dum-Tragut, Jasmine (2009). Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 9789027238146. "The orthography used in Armenia nowadays goes back to the Soviet orthography reform of 1922 and its revision of 1940."

Other websites[change | change source]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Armenia
Countries and territories of Europe
Countries
Albania – Andorra – Armenia2 – Austria – Azerbaijan1 – Belarus – Belgium – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Bulgaria – Croatia – Republic of Cyprus2 – Czech Republic – Denmark1 – Estonia – Finland – France1,4 – Georgia1 – Germany – Greece – Hungary – Iceland – Ireland – Italy – Kazakhstan1 – Latvia – Liechtenstein – Lithuania – Luxembourg – Malta – Macedonia – Moldova – Monaco – Montenegro – Netherlands1, 4 – Norway1 – Poland – Portugal1 – Romania – Russia1 – San Marino – Serbia – Slovakia – Slovenia – Spain1 – Sweden – Switzerland – Turkey1 – Ukraine – United Kingdom1, 4 – Vatican City
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1. Has part of its territory outside Europe. 2. Geographically in Asia, but often counted as part of Europe for cultural and historical reasons. 3. Partially recognized. 4. not all dependent territories are listed 5. Territory has some form of self-rule. 6. Geographically part of Africa 7. Geographically, part of North America.
 
Countries and territories of Asia
Afghanistan  · Armenia2  · Azerbaijan1  · Bahrain  · Bangladesh  · Bhutan  · Brunei  · Cambodia  · China (PRC)  · Cyprus2  · East Timor  · Gaza Strip  · Georgia1  · Hong Kong3  · India  · Indonesia  · Iran  · Iraq  · Israel  · Japan  · Jordan  · Kazakhstan1  · Kuwait  · Kyrgyzstan  · Laos  · Lebanon  · Macau3  · Malaysia  · Maldives  · Mongolia  · Myanmar  · Nepal  · North Korea  · Oman  · Pakistan  · Philippines  · Qatar  · Russia1  · Saudi Arabia  · Singapore  · South Korea  · Sri Lanka  · Syria  · Taiwan (ROC)4  · Tajikistan  · Thailand  · Turkey1  · Turkmenistan  · United Arab Emirates  · Uzbekistan  · Vietnam  · West Bank  · Yemen
1. Includes territory in both Europe and Asia. 2. Usually thought of Europe for cultural, political and historical reasons. 3. Special territories. 4. Disputed territories.
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