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Armenia
Last update: Monday 08th of February 2010
| Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani Hanrapetutyun Republic of Armenia | |||||
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| Motto: Armenian: Մեկ Ազգ , Մեկ Մշակույթ Transliteration: Mek Azg, Mek Mshakowyt "One Nation, One Culture" | |||||
| Anthem: Mer Hayrenik ("Our Fatherland") | |||||
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| Capital (and largest city) |  Yerevan1 | ||||
| Official languages | Armenian | ||||
| Government | Unitary republic | ||||
| - President | Robert Kocharian | ||||
| - Prime Minister | Andranik Margaryan | ||||
| Independence | from the USSR | ||||
| - Declared | August 23, 1990 | ||||
| - Recognised | September 21, 1991 | ||||
| - Finalised | December 25, 1991 | ||||
| - Traditional foundation of the Armenian nation | August 11, 2492 BC | ||||
| - Kingdom of Urartu established | 1000 BC | ||||
| - Kingdom of Armenia formed | 600 BC | ||||
| - Christianity officially adopted | 301 AD | ||||
| - Democratic Republic of Armenia established | May 28, 1918 | ||||
| Area | |||||
| - Total | 29,800 km² (141st) 11,506 sq mi | ||||
| - Water (%) | 4.71 | ||||
| Population | |||||
| - 2005 estimate | 3,215,800 (136th2) | ||||
| - 2001 census | 3,002,594 | ||||
| - Density | 101 /km² (98th) 262 /sq mi | ||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate | ||||
| - Total | $14.17 billion (127th) | ||||
| - Per capita | $4,270 (115th) | ||||
| HDI (2004) |  0.768 (medium) (80th) | ||||
| Currency | Dram (AMD) | ||||
| Time zone | UTC (UTC+4) | ||||
| - Summer (DST) | DST (UTC+5) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .am | ||||
| Calling code | +374 | ||||
| 1 Alternatively spelled as "Erevan", "Jerevan", or "Erivan". 2 Rank based on 2005 UN estimate of de facto population. | |||||
Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստան Hayastan, Հայք Hayq), officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked mountainous country in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, located in the Southern Caucasus. It shares borders with Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan to the south. A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state and one of the oldest and most historic civilizations in the world. It has a rich cultural heritage and was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Although today Armenia is constitutionally a secular state, the Christian faith plays a major role in both its history and the identification of the Armenian people.
Culturally, historically, and politically, Armenia is considered to be part of Europe. However, its location in the southern Caucasus means that it can also be considered to be at the arbitrary border between Europe and Asia; in other words, a transcontinental nation. However, both these classifications are entirely arbitrary, as there is no easily definable geographic difference between Asia and Europe.
Armenia is currently a member of more than thirty-five different international organizations, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, Asian Development Bank, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the World Trade Organization and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. It is a Partnership for Peace (PfP) member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and in a military alliance of CSTO. It is also an observer member of the Eurasian Economic Community, La Francophonie, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Armenia is also active in the international sports community with full membership in the Union of European Football Associations and International Ice Hockey Federation. The country is an emerging democracy and because of its strategic location, it lies among both the Russian and Western spheres of influence.