Armenia - Economic Indicators

Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan; note - Armenia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both

40 00 N, 45 00 E

Asia

slightly smaller than Maryland

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

highland continental, hot summers, cold winters

Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley

highest point: Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m

small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite

arable land 15.8%; permanent crops 1.9%; permanent pasture 42%

2,740 sq km (2012)

most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than five times as many people as Gyumri, the second largest city in the country

occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts

soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; deforestation; pollution of Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras Rivers; the draining of Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan), a result of its use as a source for hydropower, threatens drinking water supplies; restart of Metsamor nuclear power plant in spite of its location in a seismically active zone

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

3,045,191 (July 2017 est.)

Armenian 98.1%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.1%, other 0.7% (2011 est.)

Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurdish (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1%

Armenian Apostolic 92.6%, Evangelical 1%, other 2.4%, none 1.1%, unspecified 2.9% (2011 est.)

-0.21% (2017 est.)

12.9 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

-5.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)

most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than five times as many people as Gyumri, the second largest city in the country

YEREVAN (capital) 1.044 million (2015)

24.4 years (2015/16 est.)

25 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

1.64 children born/woman (2017 est.)

57.1% (2015/16)

4.5% of GDP (2014)

2.8 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

4.2 beds/1,000 population (2015)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 96.2% of population

rural: 78.2% of population

total: 89.5% of population

urban: 3.8% of population

rural: 21.8% of population

total: 10.5% of population (2015 est.)

0.2% (2016 est.)

3,300 (2016 est.)

<200 (2016 est.)

20.2% (2016)

2.6% (2016)

2.8% of GDP (2016)

parliamentary democracy

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

21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Independence Day, 21 September (1991)

civil law system

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN]

Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN]

Armenian Revolutionary Federation or ARF ("Dashnak" Party) [Hrant MARKARIAN]

Bright Armenia [Edmon MARUKYAN]

Civil Contract [Nikol PASHINYAN]

Heritage Party [Raffi HOVHANNISIAN]

People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN]

Prosperous Armenia [Gagik TSARUKYAN]

Republic [Aram SARGSYAN]

Republican Party of Armenia or RPA [Serzh SARGSIAN]

Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) [Artur BAGHDASARIAN]

Tsarukyan Alliance [Gagik TSARUKYAN]

Aylentrank (Impeachment Alliance) [Nikol PASHINIAN]

Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN]

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

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

Mount Ararat, eagle, lion; national colors: red, blue, orange

Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics, in exchange for raw materials and energy. Armenia has since switched to small-scale agriculture and away from the large agro industrial complexes of the Soviet era. Armenia has only two open trade borders - Iran and Georgia - because its borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey have been closed since 1991 and 1993, respectively, as a result of Armenia's ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenia joined the World Trade Organization in January 2003. The government has made some improvements in tax and customs administration in recent years, but anti-corruption measures have been largely ineffective. Armenia will need to pursue additional economic reforms and strengthen the rule of law in order to raise its economic growth and improve economic competitiveness and employment opportunities, especially given its economic isolation from Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Armenia's geographic isolation, a narrow export base, and pervasive monopolies in important business sectors have made it particularly vulnerable to volatility in the global commodity markets and the economic challenges in Russia. Armenia is particularly dependent on Russian commercial and governmental support, as most key Armenian infrastructure is Russian-owned and/or managed, especially in the energy sector. Remittances from expatriates working in Russia are equivalent to about 12-14% of GDP. Armenia joined the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union in January 2015, but has remained interested in pursuing closer ties with the EU as well, signing Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU in November 2017. Armenia’s rising government debt is leading Yerevan to tighten its fiscal policies – the amount is approaching the debt to GDP ratio threshold set by national legislation.

$27.21 billion (2017 est.)

$26.28 billion (2016 est.)

$26.23 billion (2015 est.)

$11.04 billion (2017 est.)

3.5% (2017 est.)

0.2% (2016 est.)

3.3% (2015 est.)

$9,100 (2017 est.)

$8,800 (2016 est.)

$8,800 (2015 est.)

17.4% of GDP (2017 est.)

17% of GDP (2016 est.)

18.4% of GDP (2015 est.)

fruit (especially grapes and apricots), vegetables; livestock

brandy, mining, diamond processing, metal-cutting machine tools, forging and pressing machines, electric motors, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, jewelry, software, food processing

5% (2017 est.)

1.507 million (2017 est.)

18.9% (2017 est.)

18.8% (2016 est.)

32% (2013 est.)

31.5 (2014 est.)

31.5 (2013 est.)

23% of GDP (2017 est.)

-3.4% of GDP (2017 est.)

56.7% of GDP (2017 est.)

56.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

calendar year

1.9% (2017 est.)

-1.4% (2016 est.)

6.5% (14 December 2016 est.)

10.5% (10 February 2015 est.)

16% (31 December 2017 est.)

17.36% (31 December 2016 est.)

$1.514 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$1.355 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$2.563 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$2.219 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$6.616 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$5.689 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$132.1 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$139.6 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$144.8 million (31 December 2010 est.)

$-398 million (2017 est.)

$-238 million (2016 est.)

$2.233 billion (2017 est.)

$1.891 billion (2016 est.)

unwrought copper, pig iron, nonferrous metals, gold, diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, brandy, cigarettes, energy

Russia 21%, Bulgaria 8.7%, Georgia 8.1%, Canada 7.9%, Germany 7.9%, Iraq 7.8%, China 5.7%, Iran 4.2%, Switzerland 4.2% (2016)

$3.361 billion (2017 est.)

$2.835 billion (2016 est.)

natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds, pharmaceuticals, cars

Russia 30.7%, China 11%, Iran 5.1%, Turkey 5%, Germany 5% (2016)

$2.242 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$2.204 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$9.17 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$8.987 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

$4.169 billion (2015 est.)

$4.087 billion (2014 est.)

$228 million (2015 est.)

$215 million (2014 est.)

drams (AMD) per US dollar -

487.9 (2017 est.)

480.49 (2016 est.)

480.49 (2015 est.)

477.92 (2014 est.)

415.92 (2013 est.)

7.393 billion kWh (2015 est.)

5.331 billion kWh (2015 est.)

1.424 billion kWh (2015 est.)

174 million kWh (2015 est.)

4.068 million kW (2015 est.)

58.8% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

9.2% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

31.9% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0.1% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2016 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2017 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

8,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2014 est.)

7,736 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

2.73 billion cu m (2015 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

2.05 billion cu m (2015 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

12 million Mt (2013 est.)

2 public TV networks operating alongside about 40 privately owned TV stations that provide local to near nationwide coverage; major Russian broadcast stations are widely available; subscription cable TV services are available in most regions; Armenian TV completed conversion from analog to digital broadcasting in late 2016; Public Radio of Armenia is a national, state-run broadcast network that operates alongside 21 privately owned radio stations; several major international broadcasters are available (2017)

.am

EK (2016)

11 (2013)

gas (high and medium pressure) 3,838 km (2017)

4.09% of GDP (2016)

4.25% of GDP (2015)

3.94% of GDP (2014)

4% of GDP (2013)

3.58% of GDP (2012)

Armenian Armed Forces: Ground Forces, Air Force and Air Defense; "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic": Nagorno-Karabakh Self-Defense Force (NKSDF) (2011)

18-27 years of age for voluntary or compulsory military service; 2-year conscript service obligation; 17 year olds are eligible to become cadets at military higher education institutes, where they are classified as military personnel (2012)

the dispute over the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region and the Armenian military occupation of surrounding lands in Azerbaijan remains the primary focus of regional instability; residents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan; Turkish authorities have complained that blasting from quarries in Armenia might be damaging the medieval ruins of Ani, on the other side of the Arpacay valley; in 2009, Swiss mediators facilitated an accord reestablishing diplomatic ties between Armenia and Turkey, but neither side has ratified the agreement and the rapprochement effort has faltered; local border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian borders; ethnic Armenian groups in the Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy from the Georgian Government

illicit cultivation of small amount of cannabis for domestic consumption; minor transit point for illicit drugs - mostly opium and hashish - moving from Southwest Asia to Russia and to a lesser extent the rest of Europe