 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Flag Description of Armenia:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange
People of Armenia
Nationality: Noun--Armenian(s). Adjective--Armenian.
Population (official est.): 3,213,011 de jure (3,002,594 de facto). These
figures represent the final results of the October 2001 census, as announced in
January 2003.
Ethnic groups: Armenian 98%; Yezidi 1.2%; Russian, Greek, and other 0.8%.
Religion: Armenian Apostolic Church (more than 90% nominally affiliated).
Languages: Armenian (96%), Russian, other.
Education: Literacy--99%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--20/1,000. Life expectancy--66.6
years.
Work force (1.24 million; 10.5% unemployed): Industry and construction--24.5%;
agriculture and forestry--24.6%; trade--17.3%; education--13.4%; other--22.2%.
Geography of Armenia
Area: 29,800 sq. km. (11,500 sq. mi.); slightly larger than Maryland.
Cities: Capital--Yerevan.
Terrain: High plateau with mountains, little forest land.
Climate: Highland continental, hot summers, cold winters.
Government of Armenia
Type: Republic.
Constitution: Approved in November 2005 referendum.
Independence: 1918 (First Armenian Republic); 1991 (from Soviet Union).
Branches: Executive--president (head of state) with wider powers relative
to other branches, prime minister (head of cabinet), Council of Ministers
(cabinet). Legislative--unicameral National Assembly (parliament).
Judicial--Constitutional Court.
Administrative subdivisions: 10 marzes (provinces) in addition to the city of
Yerevan, which has the status of a province.
Political parties represented in the National Assembly: Republican Party of
Armenia, Prosperous Armenia, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
Dashnaktsutyun, Country of Law (Orinats Yerkir), and the Heritage Party. Other
parties include: People's Party of Armenia, National Accord Party, Republic
Party, New Times Party, United Labor Party, Dashink Party, National Democratic
Union, and the Armenian National Movement. In addition, there are dozens of
other registered parties, many of which become active only during national
campaigns, if at all.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
Economy (2005) of Armenia
GDP: $4.867 billion.
GDP growth rate: 13.9%.
Per capita GDP: $1,514.
Inflation: 0.06%.
Natural resources: Copper, zinc, gold, and lead; hydroelectric power; small
amounts of gas and petroleum.
Agriculture: Products--fruits and vegetables, wines, dairy, some
livestock.
Industry: Types--chemicals, electronic products, machinery, processed
food, synthetic rubber, and textiles.
Trade: Exports--$950.4 million: diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and
equipment, brandy, copper ore. Export partners (2004)--Belgium 18%,
Israel 15.3%, Russia 12.5%, U.S. 8.1%, Netherlands 7.2%, Iran 5.5%, Georgia
4.3%. Imports (2004)--$1.767.9 billion: natural gas, petroleum, tobacco
products, foodstuffs, and diamonds. Import partners--Russia 11.3%,
Belgium 10.1%, Israel 8.4%, Iran 7.1%, U.S. 7.6%.
monastery,
church, christianity, christianism, christian religion, Armenia, India
F0001839 Iconotec Royalty Free Photograph
Armenia, Khor Virap monastery and Mount Ararat
F0020979 Iconotec Royalty Free Photograph
9th Century Sevan Monastery overlooking Lake
Armenia
ARM-013 Flat Earth Royalty Free Photograph
Armenia, Yerevan, Genocide Memorial
F0021075 Iconotec Royalty Free Photograph
PEOPLE AND HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS of Armenia
Ethnic groups in Armenia include Armenians (95%), Kurds, Russians, Greeks, and
others. More than 90% of the population is nominally affiliated with the
Armenian Apostolic Church. Languages are Armenian (96%), Russian, and others.
Armenia first emerged into history around 800 BC as part of the Kingdom of
Urartu or Van, which flourished in the Caucasus and eastern Asia Minor until 600
BC. After the destruction of the Seleucid Empire, the first Armenian state was
founded in 190 BC. At its zenith, from 95 to 65 BC, Armenia extended its rule
over the entire Caucasus and the area that is now eastern Turkey, Syria, and
Lebanon. For a time, Armenia was the strongest state in the Roman East. It
became part of the Roman Empire in 64 BC and adopted a Western political,
philosophical, and religious orientation.
In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion, establishing a church that still exists independently of both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches. During its later political eclipses, Armenia depended on the church to preserve and protect its unique identity. From around 1100 to 1350, the focus of Armenian nationalism moved south, as the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which had close ties to European Crusader states, flourished in southeastern Asia Minor until conquered by Muslim states.
Between the 4th and 19th centuries, Armenia was conquered and ruled by, among others, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, and Turks. For a brief period from 1918 to 1920, it was an independent republic. In late 1920, the communists came to power following an invasion of Armenia by the Red Army, and in 1922, Armenia became part of the Trans-Caucasian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1936, it became the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Armenia declared its independence from the Soviet Union on September 21, 1991.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS of Armenia
Armenians voted overwhelmingly for independence in a September 1991 referendum,
followed by a presidential election in October 1991 that gave 83% of the vote to
Levon Ter-Petrossian. Ter-Petrossian had been elected head of government in
1990, when the Armenian National Movement defeated the Communist Party.
Ter-Petrossian was re-elected in 1996. Following public demonstrations against
Ter-Petrossian's policies on Nagorno-Karabakh, the President resigned in January
1998 and was replaced by Prime Minister Robert Kocharian, who was elected
President in March 1998. Following the October 27, 1999 assassination in
Parliament of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian, Parliament Speaker Karen
Demirchian, and six other officials, a period of political instability ensued
during which an opposition headed by elements of the former Armenian National
Movement government attempted unsuccessfully to force Kocharian to resign.
Kocharian was successful in riding out the unrest. Kocharian was reelected in
March 2003 in a contentious election that the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the U.S. Government deemed to fall short of
international standards.
As a result of the May 2007 parliamentary elections, 103 seats of the 131 in the National Assembly (90 elected on a proportional basis and 41 on a district-by-district majoritarian basis) are members of pro-governmental parties. The Republican Party and Prosperous Armenia formed a coalition; the ARF Dashnaksutyun Party signed a cooperation agreement with this coalition. The Heritage Party and Orinats Yerkir remain opposition parties. While in the past opposition parties, despite philosophical differences, tended to vote together on key legislative issues, there has been no agreement among the opposition parties to date to do so.
The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. However, international observers have questioned the inherent fairness of parliamentary and presidential elections during each of the previous nationwide elections (1995, 1999, and 2003) as well as during the 2005 constitutional referendum, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the electoral commission, poor maintenance of electoral lists, and access to polling places. The 2007 parliamentary elections, however, demonstrated an improvement over previous elections. The new constitution in 2005 increased the power of the legislative branch and allows for more independence of the judiciary; the executive branch nevertheless retains more power than most European countries.
The Government's human rights record remained poor in 2006; while there were some improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. Security forces beat pretrial detainees. Impunity remained a problem. There were reports of arbitrary arrest and detention. Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem. There were some limits on press freedom, due in part to self-censorship and denial of television broadcast licenses. The law places some restrictions on religious freedom. Societal violence against women was a problem. Trafficking of women and children was a problem, which the government took some steps to address.
Principal Government Officials
President--Robert Kocharian
Prime Minister--Serge Sargsyan
Foreign Minister--Vartan Oskanian
Defense Minister--Mikhael Harutyunian
Ambassador to the U.S.--Tatoul Markarian
Ambassador to the UN--Armen Martirossian
Armenia's embassy in the U.S. is at 2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008; tel: 202-319-1976; fax: 202-319-2984.
ECONOMY of Armenia
Armenia is the second most densely populated of the former Soviet republics. It
is a landlocked country between the Black and the Caspian Seas, bordered on the
north by Georgia, to the east by Azerbaijan, on the south by Iran, and to the
west by Turkey. Up until independence, Armenia's economy was based largely on
industry--chemicals, electronic products, machinery, processed food, synthetic
rubber, and textiles--and highly dependent on outside resources. Agriculture
accounted for only 20% of net material product and 10% of employment before the
breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Armenian mines produce copper, zinc, gold,
and lead. The vast majority of energy is produced with imported fuel, including
gas and nuclear fuel (for its one nuclear power plant) from Russia; the main
domestic energy source is hydroelectric. Small amounts of coal, gas, and
petroleum have not yet been developed.
Like other New Independent States of the former Soviet Union, Armenia's
economy suffers from the legacy of a centrally planned economy and the breakdown
of former Soviet trading patterns. Soviet investment in and support of Armenian
industry has virtually disappeared, so that few major enterprises are still able
to function. In addition, the effects of the 1988 earthquake, which killed more
than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being felt. Although a
cease-fire has held since 1994, the conflict with Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved. The consequent closure of both the
Azerbaijani and Turkish borders has devastated the economy, because of Armenia's
dependence on outside supplies of energy and most raw materials. Land routes
through Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed; routes through Georgia and Iran are
inadequate or unreliable. In 1992-93, GDP fell nearly 60% from its 1989 level.
The national currency, the dram, suffered hyperinflation for the first few years
after its introduction in 1993.
Nevertheless, the Government of Armenia, helped by the cease-fire that has been in effect in Nagorno-Karabakh since 1994, has been able to carry out wide-ranging economic reforms that paid off in dramatically lower inflation and steady growth. Armenia has registered strong economic growth since 1995, building on the turnaround that began the previous year, and inflation has been negligible for the past several years. New sectors, such as precious stone processing and jewelry making, information and communication technology, and even tourism are beginning to supplement more traditional sectors such as agriculture in the economy.
This steady economic progress has earned Armenia increasing support from international institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as other international financial institutions (IFIs) and foreign countries are extending considerable grants and loans. Total loans extended to Armenia since 1993 exceed $1.1 billion. These loans are targeted at reducing the budget deficit, stabilizing the local currency; developing private businesses; energy; the agriculture, food processing, transportation, and health and education sectors; and ongoing rehabilitation work in the earthquake zone.
Continued progress will depend on the ability of the government to strengthen its macroeconomic management, including increasing revenue collection, improving the investment climate, and making strides against corruption. A liberal foreign investment law was approved in June 1994, and a Law on Privatization was adopted in 1997, as well as a program on state property privatization. The government joined the World Trade Organization on February 5, 2003.
Environmental Issues of Armenia
Armenia is trying to address its environmental problems. It has established a
Ministry of Nature Protection and has introduced a pollution fee system by which
taxes are levied on air and water emissions and solid waste disposal, with the
resulting revenues used for environmental protection activities. Armenia is
interested in cooperating with other members of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS--a group of 12 former Soviet republics) and with members of the
international community on environmental issues. The Armenian Government has
committed to decommissioning the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant as soon as
alternate energy sources can be identified.
The Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty was ratified by the Armenian parliament in July 1992. The treaty establishes comprehensive limits on key categories of military equipment, such as tanks, artillery, armored combat vehicles, combat aircraft, and combat helicopters, and provides for the destruction of weaponry in excess of those limits. Armenian officials have consistently expressed determination to comply with its provisions. Armenia has provided data on armaments as required under the CFE Treaty. There are indications that Armenia is trying to establish mechanisms to ensure fulfillment of its arms control obligations. Armenia is not a significant exporter of conventional weapons, but it has provided substantial support, including materiel, to separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In March 1993, Armenia signed the multilateral Chemical Weapons Convention, which calls for the eventual elimination of chemical weapons. Armenia acceded to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state in July 1993. The U.S. and other Western governments have discussed efforts to establish effective nuclear export control systems with Armenia.
FOREIGN RELATIONS of Armenia
Armenia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Commonwealth of
Independent States, NATO's Partnership for Peace, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership
Council, the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, and the World Trade Organization.
Nagorno-Karabakh
In 1988, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly ethnic Armenian
enclave within Azerbaijan, voted to secede and join Armenia. This eventually
developed into a full-scale armed conflict. Armenian support for the separatists
led to an economic embargo by Azerbaijan, which has had a negative impact on
Armenia's foreign trade and made imports of food and fuel more expensive,
three-quarters of which previously transited Azerbaijan under Soviet rule.
Peace talks in early 1993 were disrupted by the seizure of Azerbaijan's Kelbajar district by Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian forces and the forced evacuation of thousands of ethnic Azeris. Turkey in protest then followed with an embargo of its own against Armenia. A cease-fire was declared between Azeri and Armenian/Nagorno-Karabakh forces in 1994 and has been maintained by both sides since then in spite of occasional shooting along the line of contact. All Armenian governments have thus far resisted domestic pressure to recognize the self-proclaimed independence of the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic," while at the same time announcing they would not accept any peace accords that returned the enclave to Azerbaijani rule. Approximately 526,000 of the estimated 800,000 ethnic Azeris who fled during the Karabakhi offensives still live as internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan, while roughly 235,000 of 360,000 ethnic Armenians who fled Azerbaijan since 1988 remain refugees.
Negotiations to peacefully resolve the conflict have been ongoing since 1992
under the aegis of the Minsk Group of the OSCE. The Minsk Group is currently
co-chaired by the U.S., France, and Russia. Negotiations have intensified since
2004.
According to Armenia's Office of the Geographer, Karabakhi Armenians,
supported by the Republic of Armenia, now hold about 11% of Azerbaijan and have
refused to withdraw from occupied territories until an agreement on the status
of Nagorno-Karabakh is reached. Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to observe the
cease-fire that has been in effect since May 1994, and in late 1995 both also
agreed to OSCE field representatives being based in Tbilisi, Georgia, to monitor
the cease-fire and facilitate the peace process.
U.S.-ARMENIAN RELATIONS
The dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 brought an end to the Cold
War and created the opportunity to build bilateral relations with the New
Independent States (NIS) as they began a political and economic transformation.
The U.S. recognized the independence of Armenia on December 25, 1991, and opened
an Embassy in Yerevan in February 1992.
The United States has made a concerted effort to help Armenia and the other NIS during their difficult transition from totalitarianism and a command economy to democracy and open markets. The cornerstone of this continuing partnership has been the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets (FREEDOM) Support Act, enacted in October 1992. Under this and other programs, the U.S. to date has provided nearly $1.5 billion in humanitarian and technical assistance for Armenia. U.S. assistance programs in Armenia are described in depth on the website at: http://www.usaid.am/main/en/129/.
On March 27, 2006 Armenia signed a Millennium Challenge Compact with the United States; the agreement entered into force on September 29, 2006. The agreement will provide $235 million to Armenia over five years to reduce rural poverty through the improvement of rural roads and irrigation networks.
U.S.-Armenian Economic Relations
In 1992 Armenia signed three agreements with the U.S. affecting trade between
the two countries. The agreements were ratified by the Armenian parliament in
September 1995 and entered into force in the beginning of 1996. They include an
"Agreement on Trade Relations," an "Investment Incentive Agreement," and a
treaty on the "Reciprocal Encouragement and Protection of Investment" (generally
referred to as the Bilateral Investment Treaty, or BIT). Armenia does not have a
bilateral taxation treaty with the U.S. The 1994 Law on Foreign Investment
governs all direct investments in Armenia, including those from the U.S.
Approximately 70 U.S.-owned firms currently do business in Armenia, including such multinationals as Procter & Gamble, M&M-Mars, Xerox, Dell, Microsoft, and IBM. Recent major U.S. investment projects include the Hotel Armenia; the Hotel Ani Plaza; Tufenkian Holdings (carpet and furnishing production, hotels, and construction); several subsidiaries of U.S.-based information technology firms, including Viasphere Technopark, an IT incubator; a Greek-owned Coca-Cola bottling plant; petroleum exploration by the American-Armenian Exploration Company; jewelry and textile production facilities; a large perlite mining and processing plant; and Jermuk Mother Plant, which produces one of the more popular brands of mineral water in Armenia.
U.S. Support To Build A Market Economy
The U.S. continues to work closely with international financial institutions
like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to help Armenia in its
transition to a free-market economy. Armenia has embarked upon an ambitious
reform program, which has allowed a gradual transition from humanitarian aid
toward more developmental assistance. U.S. economic assistance programs,
primarily under the administration of the
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have three objectives: to
help create a legal, regulatory, and policy framework for competition and
economic growth in energy, agriculture, housing, and other sectors; to promote
fiscal reform; and to develop a competitive and efficient private financial
sector. Other agencies, including the Departments of State, Agriculture,
Treasury, Defense, Commerce, Energy, Justice, and the
Peace Corps sponsor various assistance projects. The U.S.-Armenia Task
Force, established in 2000, is a bilateral commission that meets every 6 months
to review the progress and objectives of U.S. assistance to Armenia.
Specific USAID programs focus on the development of a private sector and small and medium-size enterprises, including microcredit programs; energy sector reform, focusing on efficient management of Armenia's physical resources; democracy and good governance programs, including the promotion of a well-informed and active civil society; social sector reform, including benefits administration for vulnerable populations and targeted vocational training; health sector reform, including improvement of management and delivery of primary healthcare services with an emphasis on preventive medicine; and earthquake zone assistance, which provides housing and economic reactivation for victims of the 1988 earthquake. Under this program, more than 4,000 families who lost their homes have participated in a housing certificate program allowing them to secure permanent and adequate housing.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Caucasus Agricultural Development Initiative provides targeted and sustained technical, financial and marketing assistance to small and medium-sized agribusinesses and farmer-marketing associations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cochran Fellowship Program provides training to Armenian agriculturists. USDA and USAID also have launched efforts to revive production and export of Armenian vegetables, fruits, and other agricultural products.
U.S. Humanitarian Assistance
Over the past decade the U.S. has provided over $1.5 billion in assistance to
Armenia, the highest per capita amount in the NIS. Humanitarian aid originally
accounted for up to 85% of this total, reflecting the economic effects caused by
closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan related to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, destruction in northern Armenia left from the devastating 1988
earthquake, and the virtual paralysis of most of the country's factories.
As conditions in Armenia have improved, with the stabilization of the economy
and increased energy production--including the restarting of the Armenian
Nuclear Power Plant at Metsamor--U.S. assistance programs have moved away from
humanitarian goals to longer-term development ones.
U.S. Support To Achieve Democracy
Technical assistance and training programs have been provided in municipal
administration, intergovernmental relations, public affairs, foreign policy,
diplomatic training, rule of law, and development of a constitution. Specific
programs are targeted at promoting elections that meet international standards,
strengthening political parties, and promoting the establishment of an
independent judiciary and independent media. This includes financing for
programs that support civil society organizations, local non-governmental
organizations (NGO) capacity building, National Assembly professional
development, and local and community-level governance.
State Department and USAID educational exchange programs play an important role in supporting democratic and free-market reforms. Assistance in the translation and publication of printed information also has been provided. Exchange programs in the U.S. for Armenian lawyers, judges, political party members, business people, government officials, NGO activists, journalists, and other public figures focus on a range of topics, including the American judicial and political system, privatization, specific business sectors, the media, and civil society. The State Department has funded an ongoing project to provide Internet connectivity to schools at various levels throughout the country; these centers provide both educational and community-building opportunities.
USAID has funded international and domestic groups to monitor national elections. USAID also has funded programs to educate voters and to strengthen the role of an array of civic organizations in the democratic process.
|
Link to this Site For Free. Information in
this Page is Free!
Information gathered from the Central Intelligence Agency |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World News: