Armenia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the modern-day republic. For other uses, see Armenia (disambiguation).
"Hayastan" and "Hayasdan" redirect here. For other uses, see Hayastan (disambiguation).
| Republic of Armenia
Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն
Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
| Anthem: Մեր Հայրենիք Mer Hayrenik "Our Fatherland" | ||||||
.svg) | ||||||
| Capital and largest city | Yerevan 40°11′N 44°31′E | |||||
| Official languages | Armenian[1] | |||||
| Spoken and written language | Eastern Armenian[2][3] | |||||
| Official script | Armenian alphabeta | |||||
| Ethnic groups ([4]) | ||||||
| Religion | Christianity (Armenian Apostolic Church) | |||||
| Demonym | Armenian | |||||
| Government | Unitary semi-presidentialrepublic[5] | |||||
| • | President | Serzh Sargsyan | ||||
| • | Prime Minister | Hovik Abrahamyan | ||||
| Legislature | National Assembly | |||||
| Formation and independence | ||||||
| • | Traditional date | 2492 BCE | ||||
| • | Hayasa-Azzi | 1500–1290 BCE | ||||
| • | Arme-Shupria[6][7] | 14th century–1190 BCE | ||||
| • | Urartu[8] | 860–590 BCE | ||||
| • | Orontid dynasty | 6th century BCE | ||||
| • | Kingdom of Greater Armenia united under the Artaxiad Dynasty[9] | 190 BCE[10] | ||||
| • | Arsacid dynasty | 52–428 | ||||
| • | Bagratid Armenia | 885–1045 | ||||
| • | Kingdom of Cilicia | 1198–1375 | ||||
| • | First Republic of Armeniadeclared | 28 May 1918 | ||||
| • | Independence from theSoviet Union | 23 August 1990b 21 September 1991c | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| • | Total | 29,743 km2 (141st) 11,484 sq mi | ||||
| • | Water (%) | 4.71[11] | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| • | 2016 estimate | 2,998,600[12] | ||||
| • | 2011 census |  3,018,854[13][14](134th) | ||||
| • | Density | 101.5/km2 (99th) 262.9/sq mi | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2015 estimate | |||||
| • | Total | $25.323 billion[15] | ||||
| • | Per capita | $8,468[15] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2015 estimate | |||||
| • | Total | $10.571 billion[15] | ||||
| • | Per capita | $3,535[15] | ||||
| Gini (2013) | 31.5[16] medium | |||||
| HDI (2014) | 0.733[17] high · 85th | |||||
| Currency | Dram (դր.) (AMD) | |||||
| Time zone | UTC (UTC+4) | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Calling code | +374 | |||||
| Patron saint | St. Gregory | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | AM | |||||
| Internet TLD | .am .հայ | |||||
| a. | Reformed orthography.[18] | |||||
| b. | Declared. | |||||
| c. | Referendum. | |||||
Armenia (
i/ɑːrˈmiːniə/, /-ˈmiːnjə/;[19] Armenian: Հայաստան, tr. Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn][a]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, tr. Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun), is asovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located in Western Asia,[20][21] it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic andAzerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
i/ɑːrˈmiːniə/, /-ˈmiːnjə/;[19] Armenian: Հայաստան, tr. Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn][a]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, tr. Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun), is asovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located in Western Asia,[20][21] it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic andAzerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia. In the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion.[22] In between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation.[23][24][25] The official date of state adoption of Christianity is 301 AD.[26] The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empiresaround the early 5th century. Under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the kingdom fell in 1045 and Armenia was soon after invaded by the Seljuk Turks. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries.
Between the 16th century and 19th century, the traditional Armenian homeland composed of Eastern Armenia and Western Armenia came under the rule of the Ottoman and Iranian empires, repeatedly ruled by either of the two over the centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, while most of the western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule. During World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. In 1918, after the Russian Revolution, all non-Russian countries declared their independence from the Russian empire, leading to the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union. In 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into fullUnion republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment.[27][28] The unique Armenian alphabet was invented byMesrop Mashtots in 405 AD.
Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991.