The Republic of Armenia is a country with a smallpulation of only 2,980,000 people and much of those inhabitants reside in the capital and largest city of Yerevan, which has approximately 1.1 million people. Armenia is located in western Asia (also known as Asia Minor) and occupies approximately 11,484 square miles of land, which is the 141st largest country in the world by geographic area. Armenia borders Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Georgia, and is a landlocked country. The geographic terrain of the country is largely mountainous, especially Mt. Aragats. Though Armenia doesn’t have a coastline, it does have numerous sizeable lakes which generate a lot of revenue toward the national economy through its thriving fishing industry. Armenia also is industrialized in its urban areas particularly the cities of Yerevan, Kumayri, Vanadzor, and Yejmiadzin, where most of the country’s population resides. Armenia is densely populated and thus there aren’t as many rural villages as there are in other countries throughout Asia Minor.

Armenia is somewhat ethnically diverse, as though the main ethnic group in the country is Armenian, there are also Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Russians, and Ukrainians from neighboring countries. Since the largest ethnic group in Armenia is Armenian, in turn, the most widely-spoken language is Armenian, though Russian and other Cyrillic languages are used as well. The country of Armenia was formerly known as Caucasia, and has a long history that dates back to as early as 1270 BC. However, in recent history, Armenia was victim to numerous battles between the Ottoman and Russian Empires over control of the region. The outcomes of such battles often varied, but Russia inevitably emerged victorious and became a Soviet republic in 1922 and remained as such until it declared independence from Moscow in 1991.

Though Armenia is becoming increasingly industrialized and much of the population resides in urbanized areas, agriculture still contributes immensely toward the national economy and more than half of the country’s labor force is employed in this sector. The main agricultural products that are produced in Armenia are grapes, vegetables, tropical fruits, and livestock. Armenia also has a strong mining sector where gold, bauxite, copper, molybdenum, zinc, and salt. Additionally, other industries that are present in Armenia include textiles, food processing, electronics, diamonds, and Armenian brandies and wines. However, the Armenian economy has experienced little growth since their independence from USSR, and it has been plagued by high unemployment and high inflation rates. The Armenian GDP per-capita is still well-below the world standard, and is only $4,863 per year, which ranks it as the 108th highest in the world.

Despite the fact that Armenia has been plagued with relatively economic instability, the country has experienced some political stability since the Republic’s inception in 1991. The government is much like any other republic and includes an executive branch that is headed by the president, who is elected by the popular vote of the constituents to serve a five-year term. Additionally, the government is comprised of a national assembly that has 131 representatives. The president’s assisted with the daily operations of the government by a prime minister, whom he/she is responsible for appointing. The current President of Armenia, since his election in 1998, is President Robert Kocharian, and Armenia’s prime minister is Andranik Margaryan, who was appointed by President Kocharian in May of 2000.