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Global Post
Feb 15 2014
Factfile on Armenia
Armenia, which holds a presidential election on Monday, is a small
mountainous landlocked republic in the southern Caucasus. Until 1991
it was part of the Soviet Union.
GEOGRAPHY: Wedged between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey,
Armenia has an area of 29,800 square kilometres (11,500 square miles).
Only 10 percent of the land surface is below 1,000 metres (3,300 feet)
altitude.
CAPITAL: Yerevan (1.2 million inhabitants).
POPULATION: Three million. Between eight and nine million people of
Armenian origin live abroad, many from families who emigrated during
the massacres carried out by the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
RELIGION: Largely Christian with the majority belonging to the
Armenian Apostolic Church. Some Russian Orthodox, Protestants and
Muslims.
LANGUAGE: Armenian.
HISTORY: Armenia, which in the fourth century AD became the first
country to officially embrace Christianity, has been occupied by
foreign powers for most of its history. It was divided between the
Ottoman and Russian empires when World War I broke out. Major
massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire -- viewed by Armenia as
genocide -- occurred during the conflict.
After a short period of independence, the country was invaded by
Bolshevik troops at the end of the war and became a Soviet republic in
November 1920.
On the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia became an
independent state. The country initially faced an alarming decline in
economic conditions, but in recent years has seen economic growth.
However, poverty and unemployment rates remain high.
In February 1988 conflict broke out in Nagorny Karabakh, a region with
an ethnic Armenian majority which was attached to neighbouring
Azerbaijan in 1921. Some 30,000 people died before a ceasefire was
signed in 1994.
Despite years of internationally mediated negotiations since the 1994
ceasefire, Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yet signed a final peace
deal and the risk of a new conflict remains palpable.
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: Elections followed the proclamation of
independence and Levon Ter-Petrosian became president. He was
re-elected in 1996 but resigned in February 1998 and was replaced by
Robert Kocharian, a native of Nagorny Karabakh and thus technically a
citizen of Azerbaijan. He was re-elected in 2003 for a second and
final five-year mandate.
A constitutional reform voted by referendum in November 2005 gave more
powers to parliament and the government.
The 2008 disputed presidential election won by Serzh Sarkisian ended
in clashes between police and demonstrators, leaving 10 people dead.
In the 2012 legislative elections, Sarkisian's Republican party won 44
percent and an absolute majority with 68 seats in the 131-seat
National Assembly. Critics said the vote was marred by fraud, while
European election observers praised the polls as competitive and
peaceful but said they were undermined by a series of democratic
failings.
ECONOMY: The economy relies mainly on farming and forestry, with some
industry and substantial remittances from citizens working abroad.
Russia is Armenia's main trade partner and ally, but trade embargoes
imposed by Turkey and Azerbaijan have hit the country hard.
Although it has some mineral resources, it is heavily dependent on
imported energy. Economic activity was badly disrupted by a major
earthquake in 1988 and by the conflict with Azerbaijan.
According to 2012 government estimates -- GDP: $3064 per capita;
inflation: 3,2 percent; unemployment: 16.2 percent; economic growth:
7,1 percent; budget deficit: -1,7 percent of GDP.
mkh-im/mm
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130215/factfile-armenia
From: Baghdasarian
Feb 15 2014
Factfile on Armenia
Armenia, which holds a presidential election on Monday, is a small
mountainous landlocked republic in the southern Caucasus. Until 1991
it was part of the Soviet Union.
GEOGRAPHY: Wedged between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey,
Armenia has an area of 29,800 square kilometres (11,500 square miles).
Only 10 percent of the land surface is below 1,000 metres (3,300 feet)
altitude.
CAPITAL: Yerevan (1.2 million inhabitants).
POPULATION: Three million. Between eight and nine million people of
Armenian origin live abroad, many from families who emigrated during
the massacres carried out by the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
RELIGION: Largely Christian with the majority belonging to the
Armenian Apostolic Church. Some Russian Orthodox, Protestants and
Muslims.
LANGUAGE: Armenian.
HISTORY: Armenia, which in the fourth century AD became the first
country to officially embrace Christianity, has been occupied by
foreign powers for most of its history. It was divided between the
Ottoman and Russian empires when World War I broke out. Major
massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire -- viewed by Armenia as
genocide -- occurred during the conflict.
After a short period of independence, the country was invaded by
Bolshevik troops at the end of the war and became a Soviet republic in
November 1920.
On the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia became an
independent state. The country initially faced an alarming decline in
economic conditions, but in recent years has seen economic growth.
However, poverty and unemployment rates remain high.
In February 1988 conflict broke out in Nagorny Karabakh, a region with
an ethnic Armenian majority which was attached to neighbouring
Azerbaijan in 1921. Some 30,000 people died before a ceasefire was
signed in 1994.
Despite years of internationally mediated negotiations since the 1994
ceasefire, Armenia and Azerbaijan have not yet signed a final peace
deal and the risk of a new conflict remains palpable.
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: Elections followed the proclamation of
independence and Levon Ter-Petrosian became president. He was
re-elected in 1996 but resigned in February 1998 and was replaced by
Robert Kocharian, a native of Nagorny Karabakh and thus technically a
citizen of Azerbaijan. He was re-elected in 2003 for a second and
final five-year mandate.
A constitutional reform voted by referendum in November 2005 gave more
powers to parliament and the government.
The 2008 disputed presidential election won by Serzh Sarkisian ended
in clashes between police and demonstrators, leaving 10 people dead.
In the 2012 legislative elections, Sarkisian's Republican party won 44
percent and an absolute majority with 68 seats in the 131-seat
National Assembly. Critics said the vote was marred by fraud, while
European election observers praised the polls as competitive and
peaceful but said they were undermined by a series of democratic
failings.
ECONOMY: The economy relies mainly on farming and forestry, with some
industry and substantial remittances from citizens working abroad.
Russia is Armenia's main trade partner and ally, but trade embargoes
imposed by Turkey and Azerbaijan have hit the country hard.
Although it has some mineral resources, it is heavily dependent on
imported energy. Economic activity was badly disrupted by a major
earthquake in 1988 and by the conflict with Azerbaijan.
According to 2012 government estimates -- GDP: $3064 per capita;
inflation: 3,2 percent; unemployment: 16.2 percent; economic growth:
7,1 percent; budget deficit: -1,7 percent of GDP.
mkh-im/mm
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130215/factfile-armenia
From: Baghdasarian