Armenia (2001) | French Guiana (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 provinces (marzer, singular - marz) and 1 city* (k'aghak'ner, singular - k'aghak'); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan* | none (overseas department of France) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
23.23% (male 394,194; female 380,911) 15-64 years: 67.04% (male 1,094,646; female 1,141,760) 65 years and over: 9.73% (male 135,477; female 189,112) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.3% (male 29,262/female 27,947)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 67,895/female 58,534) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 6,038/female 5,830) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 7 (2000 est.) | 11 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
7 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
29,800 sq km land: 28,400 sq km water: 1,400 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly smaller than Indiana |
Background | An Orthodox Christian country, Armenia was incorporated into Russia in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated exclave, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the exclave in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | 11.47 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$360 million expenditures: $566 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | Yerevan | Cayenne |
Climate | highland continental, hot summers, cold winters | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 378 km |
Constitution | adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
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 |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Currency | dram (AMD) | - |
Death rate | 9.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $836 million (January 2001) | $1.2 billion (1988) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael C. LEMMON embassy: 18 Marshal Bagramian Avenue, Yerevan mailing address: American Embassy Yerevan, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7020 telephone: [374] (2) 52-16-11 FAX: [374] (2) 151-550 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Arman KIRAKOSIAN chancery: 2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1976 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2982 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) in French Guiana |
Economic aid - recipient | $245.5 million (1995) | NA |
Economy - overview | Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-2000. Armenia also managed to slash inflation and to privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in recent years have been largely offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia's severe trade imbalance, importing three times its exports, has been offset somewhat by international aid, domestic restructuring of the economy, and foreign direct investment. | The economy is tied closely to the much larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.201 billion kWh (1999) | 427.9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 6.668 billion kWh (1999) | 460.1 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
45.56% hydro: 23.25% nuclear: 31.19% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Debed River 400 m highest point: Aragats Lerr 4,095 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 m |
Environment - current issues | soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; energy blockade, the result of conflict with Azerbaijan, has led to deforestation when citizens scavenged for firewood; 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 without adequate (IAEA-recommended) safety and backup systems | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
- |
Ethnic groups | Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 2% (1989)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from Armenia |
black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | drams per US dollar - 554.29 (1 February 2001), 539.53 (2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998), 490.85 (1997), 414.04 (1996) | Euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Robert KOCHARIAN (since 30 March 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Andranik MARKARYAN (since 12 May 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; special election last held 30 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Robert KOCHARIAN elected president; percent of vote - Robert KOCHARIAN 59.5%, Karen DEMIRCHYAN 40.5% |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | $284 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and equipment, brandy, copper ore | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | Belgium 36%, Iran 15%, Russia 14%, US 7%, Turkmenistan, Georgia (1999) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 25% services: 35% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 45 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Highways | total:
8,431 km () paved: NA unpaved: NA (1997) |
total: 817 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | illicit cultivator of cannabis mostly for domestic consumption; increasingly used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs - mostly opium and hashish - to Western Europe and the US via Iran, Central Asia, and Russia | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | $913 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | Russia 17%, US 11%, Belgium 11%, Iran 10%, UK, Turkey (1999) | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) |
Independence | 21 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, gem cutting, jewelry manufacturing, software development, brandy | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 41.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1999 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (1999) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,870 sq km (1993 est.) | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | 1.5 million (1999) | 58,800 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 55%, services 25%, industry 20% (1999 est.) | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,254 km border countries: Azerbaijan-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land:
17% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 15% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
Languages | Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% | French |
Legal system | based on civil law system | French legal system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (131 seats; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 May 1999 (next to be held in the spring of 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - unity bloc 61 (Republican Party 41, People's Party of Armenia 20), Stability Group (independent Armenian deputies who have formed a bloc) 21, ACP 10, ARF (Dashnak) 8, Law and Unity Party 7, NDU 6, Law-Governed Party 6, independents 10, unfilled 2; note - seats by party change frequently |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.49 years male: 62.12 years female: 71.08 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.09 years
male: 73.77 years female: 80.58 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | registered in other countries: 3 |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army, Air Force and Air Defense Aviation, Air Defense Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops) | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $75 million (FY99) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4% (FY99) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
905,154 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
715,734 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
34,998 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 21 September (1991) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Armenian(s) adjective: Armenian |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
Net migration rate | -3.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 900 km (1991) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Armenia Party [Myasnik ALKHASYAN]; Armenian Communist Party or ACP [Vladimir DARBINYAN]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Hrant MARKARYAN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Azat ARSHAKYN, chairman]; Democratic Liberal Party [Ramkavar AZATAKAN, chairman]; Free Armenian's Mission [Ruben MNATSANIAN, chairman]; Law and Unity Party [Artashes GEGAMIAN, chairman]; Law-Governed Party [Artur BAGDASARIAN, chairman]; Mission Party [Artush PAPOIAN, chairman]; National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN]; National State Party [Samvel SHAGINIAN]; Pan-Armenian National Movement or PANM [Vano SIRADEGHYAN]; People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHYAN]; Republican Party or RPA [Andranik MARKARYAN]; Shamiram Women's Movement or SWM [Gayane SARUKHYAN]; Social Democratic (Hnchakian) Party [Ernst SOGOMONYAN]; Stability Group [Vartan AYVAZIAN, chairman]; Union of National Self-Determination or NSDU [Paruir HAIRIKIAN, chairman]; Unity Bloc [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN and Andranik MARKARYAN] (a coalition of the Republican Party and People's Party of Armenia) | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP (includes RPR) [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 3,336,100 (July 2001 est.) | 195,506 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.21% (2001 est.) | 2.1% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Degrad des Cannes |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Radios | 850,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
852 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 852 km 1.520-m gauge (779 km electrified) (2001) |
- |
Religions | Armenian Orthodox 94% | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.04 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
system inadequate; now 90% privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion domestic: the majority of subscribers and the most modern equipment are in Yerevan (this includes paging and mobile cellular service) international: Yerevan is connected to the Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional international service is available by microwave radio relay and landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and through the Moscow international switch and by satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 568,000 (1997) | 51,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,220 (1997) | 138,200 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1998) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (1998 est.)
note: official rate is 9.3% for 1998 |
22% (2001) |
Waterways | NA km | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |