Country	Armenia
Capital	Yerevan
Continent	Asia
Currency	Dram(AMD)
Languages	Armenian

Locaion

Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey

Geographic Co ordinates

40 00 N, 45 00 E

Land Boundries

Total:1,254 km
Border countries:Azerbaijan-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km

Geography - note

landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range

Population

2,966,802 (July 2010 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 137

Nationality

Noun: Armenian(s)
Adjective:Armenian

Ethnic groups

Armenian 97.9%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.3%, Russian 0.5%, other 0.3% (2001 census)

Religions

Armenian Apostolic 94.7%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi (monotheist with elements of nature worship) 1.3%

Languages

Armenian 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% (2001 census)

Country Name

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

Government Type

republic

Capital

Name: Yerevan
Geographic coordinates:40 10 N, 44 30 E
Time difference:UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time:+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions

11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan

Independence

21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National Holiday

Independence Day, 21 September (1991)

Constitution

adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995; amendments adopted through a nationwide referendum 27 November 2005

Legal system

based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state:President Serzh SARGSIAN (since 9 April 2008)
Head of government:Prime Minister Tigran SARGSIAN (since 9 April 2008)
Cabinet:Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
(For more information visit the World Leaders website)
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 19 February 2008 (next to be held in February 2013); prime minister appointed by the president based on majority or plurality support in parliament; the prime minister and Council of Ministers must resign if the National Assembly refuses to accept their program
Election results:Serzh SARGSIAN elected president; percent of vote - Serzh SARGSIAN 52.9%, Levon TER-PETROSSIAN 21.5%, Artur BAGHDASARIAN 16.7%

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (131 seats; members elected by popular vote, 90 members elected by party list and 41 by direct vote; to serve five-year terms)
Elections:last held on 12 May 2007 (next to be held in the spring of 2012)
Election results: percent of vote by party - HHK 33.9%, Prosperous Armenia 15.1%, ARF (Dashnak) 13.2%, Rule of Law 7.1%, Heritage Party 6%, other 24.7%; seats by party - HHK 64, Prosperous Armenia 18, ARF (Dashnak) 16, Rule of Law 9, Heritage Party 7, independent 17

Judicial branch

Constitutional Court; Court of Cassation (Appeals Court)

Political Parties and Leaders

Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN]; Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Hrant MARKARIAN]; Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN]; People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN]; Prosperous Armenia [Gagik TSARUKIAN]; Republican Party of Armenia or HHK [Serzh SARGSIAN]; Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Aylentrank (Impeachment Alliance) [Nikol PASHINIAN]; Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN]

International organization participation

ACCT (observer), ADB, BSEC, CE, CIS, CSTO, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIF (associate member), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

Chief of mission:Ambassador Tatoul MARKARIAN
Chancery: 2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone:[1] (202) 319-1976
FAX: [1] (202) 319-2982
Consulate(s) general: Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US

Chief of mission:Ambassador Marie L. YOVANOVITCH
Embassy: 1 American Ave., Yerevan 0082
Mailing address:American Embassy Yerevan, US Department of State, 7020 Yerevan Place, Washington, DC 20521-7020
Telephone:[374](10) 464-700
FAX:[374](10) 464-742

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange; the color red recalls the blood shed for liberty, blue the Armenian skies as well as hope, and orange the land and the courage of the workers who farm it

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Government - Armenia - Government President - Armenia Ministry Of Education
Newspapers - News agency ARKA AZG Daily ArmInfo news agency
                             ArmeniaNow.com Armenpress Asbarez Armenian News
                             Azatutyun (ArmeniaLiberty) Golos Armenii The Armenian Times daily
Tourism -         Official Government Tourist Board

Google News

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Transfers from Armenia abroad totaled $29.8 ... Armenian, Turkish Actors Set Record For Longest Handshake - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Public Radio of Armenia Armenian, Turkish Actors Set Record For Longest Handshake RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Ajinyan and Barish said they wanted to show that the historical conflicts between Armenia and Turkey cannot prevent representatives of the two peoples from having a conversation. Armenia holds Turkey responsible for the World War I-era mass killings of ... 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Trend.az The genocide committed by Armenians against residents of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly is one of the most terrible events in world history, Azerbaijani ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova said at an event dedicated to Human Rights Day on Tuesday. European Parliament hosts int'l conference on Khojaly massacreAzerNews all 3 news articles » Armenia to join the European Cinema Support Fund in 2014 - Public Radio of Armenia Armenia to join the European Cinema Support Fund in 2014 Public Radio of Armenia Armenia will join the Eurimages– the European Cinema Support Fund – in 2014, Director of the Cinema Center of Armenia Gevorg Gevorgyan told reporters today. Eurimages is the cultural support fund of the Council of Europe. Established in 1989, it ... Armenia's national security council secretary to meet CIS counterparts in Russia - Arka News Agency Arka News Agency Armenia's national security council secretary to meet CIS counterparts in Russia Arka News Agency YEREVAN, December 10. /ARKA/. Armenian delegation headed by the secretary of National Security Council Artur Baghdasaryan will head to Russia on December 10-12 to participate in the meeting of security council secretaries of CIS countries, the press ...