Czech Republic (2001) | Armenia (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Brnensky, Budejovicky, Jihlavsky, Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Olomoucky, Ostravsky, Pardubicky, Plzensky, Praha*, Stredocesky, Ustecky, Zlinsky | 11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
16.09% (male 847,219; female 804,731) 15-64 years: 69.99% (male 3,592,984; female 3,590,802) 65 years and over: 13.92% (male 549,538; female 878,938) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.2% (male 374,597; female 363,115)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 1,104,100; female 1,150,282) 65 years and over: 10.1% (male 141,330; female 196,675) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock |
Airports | 114 (2000 est.) | 12 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
43 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
71 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 42 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total:
78,866 sq km land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total: 29,800 sq km
land: 28,400 sq km water: 1,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | After World War II, Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now a member of NATO, the Czech Republic has moved toward integration in world markets, a development that poses both opportunities and risks. | Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. It was incorporated into Russia in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area 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. |
Birth rate | 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$16.7 billion expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $358 million
expenditures: $458 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Prague | Yerevan |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | highland continental, hot summers, cold winters |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 | adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
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 |
Currency | Czech koruna (CZK) | dram (AMD) |
Death rate | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.94 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.3 billion (2000) | $839 million (June 2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Steven J. COFFEY embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663 FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John M. ORDWAY
embassy: 18 Baghramyan Ave., Yerevan 375019 mailing address: American Embassy Yerevan, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7020 telephone: [374](1) 521-611, 520-791, 542-177, 542-132, 524-661, 527-001, 524-840 FAX: [374](1) 520-800 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Alexsandr VONDRA chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
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 |
Disputes - international | Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918; individual Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II; Austria has minor dispute with Czech Republic over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities | Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies 16% of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; border with Turkey remains closed over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $245.5 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | Basically one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. The economy grew about 2.5% in 2000 and should achieve somewhat higher growth in 2001. Growth is led by exports to the EU, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. Uncomfortably high fiscal and current account deficits could be future problems. Unemployment is down to 8.7% as job creation continues in the rebounding economy; inflation is up to 3.8% but still moderate. The EU put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking, telecommunications and energy privatization will add to foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth. | 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 1995-2001. 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 has been offset somewhat by international aid, domestic restructuring of the economy, and foreign direct investment. |
Electricity - consumption | 52.898 billion kWh (2000) | 4.89 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 18.744 billion kWh (2000) | 704 million kWh
note: exports an unknown quantity to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 8.735 billion kWh (2000) | 300 million kWh
note: imports an unknown quantity from Iran (2000) |
Electricity - production | 67.642 billion kWh (2000) | 5.69 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
77.8% hydro: 3.43% nuclear: 18.77% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 36%
hydro: 31% nuclear: 32% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
lowest point: Debed River 400 m
highest point: Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests | soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; the energy crisis of the 1990s 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 in spite of its location in a seismically-active zone |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991) | Armenian 93%, Azeri 1%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 4% (2002)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from Armenia |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 37.425 (January 2001), 38.598 (2000), 34.569 (1999), 32.281 (1998), 31.698 (1997), 27.145 (1996) | drams per US dollar - 564.08 (January 2002), 555.08 (2001), 539.53 (2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998), 490.85 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Vaclav HAVEL (since 2 February 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Milos ZEMAN (since 17 July 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir SPIDLA (since 22 July 1998), Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 22 July 1998), Jan KAVAN (since 8 December 1999) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 20 January 1998 (next to be held NA January 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaclav HAVEL reelected president; Vaclav HAVEL received 47 of 81 votes in the Senate and 99 out of 200 votes in the Chamber of Deputies (second round of voting) |
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; election last held 19 February and 5 March 2003); prime minister appointed by the president; the prime minister and Council of Ministers must resign if the National Assembly refuses to accept their program election results: Robert KOCHARIAN reelected president; percent of vote - Robert KOCHARIAN 67.5%, Stepan DEMIRCHYAN 32.5% |
Exports | $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $338.5 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) | diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and equipment, brandy, copper ore |
Exports - partners | Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) | Belgium 23%, Russia 15%, US 13%, Iran 10% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia) | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $132.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.7% industry: 41.8% services: 54.5% (1999) |
agriculture: 29%
industry: 32% services: 39% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,350 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 9.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 40 00 N, 45 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe | landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
55,432 km paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 11,300 km
paved: 10,500 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 800 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.3% highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 35% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; domestic consumption - especially of locally produced synthetic drugs - on the rise | illicit cultivation of small amount of cannabis for domestic consumption; used as a transit point for illicit drugs - mostly opium and hashish - moving from Southwest Asia to Russia and to a lesser extent the rest of Europe |
Imports | $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $868.6 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) | natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds |
Imports - partners | Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) | Russia 15%, US 12%, Belgium 10%, Iran 9% (2000) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 21 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.6% (2000) | 3.8% (2001) |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | 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, food processing, brandy |
Infant mortality rate | 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 41.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2000 est.) | 3.1% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, COE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | more than 300 (2000) | 9 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,870 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | Constitutional Court; Court of Cassation (Appeals Court) |
Labor force | 5.203 million (1999 est.) | 1.4 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 est.) | agriculture 44%, services 14%, industry 42% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,881 km border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
total: 1,254 km
border countries: Azerbaijan-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km |
Land use | arable land:
41% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 34% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 17.52%
permanent crops: 2.3% other: 80.18% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Czech | Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% |
Legal system | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 and 19 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 19-20 June 1998 (next to be held by NA June 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - KDU-CSL 28, ODS 22, CSSD 15, ODA 7, US 4, KSCM 3, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 32.3%, ODS 27.7%, KSCM 11%, KDU-CSL 9.0%, US 8.6%; seats by party - CSSD 74, ODS 63, KSCM 24, KDU-CSL 20, US 18, CSNS 1 |
unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (131 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms; 75 members selected by direct vote, 56 by party list)
elections: last held 30 May 1999 (next to be held in the spring of 2003) note: electoral law was changed in 2002 so ratio in next elections will be 75 deputies elected by party list, 56 by direct election 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 (Communists) 10, ARF (Dashnak) 8, Law and Unity Party 7, NDU 6, Law-Governed Party 6, independents 11, ANM 1; note - seats by party change frequently as deputies switch parties or announce themselves independent |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
74.73 years male: 71.23 years female: 78.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 66.59 years
male: 62.27 years female: 71.12 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.2 billion (FY01) | $135 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY01) | 6.5% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,653,456 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 912,650 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,024,070 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 722,035 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
69,393 (2001 est.) |
males: 34,998 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) | Independence Day, 21 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun:
Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
noun: Armenian(s)
adjective: Armenian |
Natural hazards | flooding | occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina |
Net migration rate | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 3,550 km (2000) | natural gas 900 km (1991) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jan KASAL, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Daniel KROUPA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Vaclav KLAUS, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia or KSC [Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of CSNS [Jan SULA, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Milos ZEMAN, chairman]; Democratic Union or DEU [Ratibor MAJZLIK, chairman]; Freedom Union or US [Karel KUEHNL, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Cyril SVOBODA, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU); Republicans of Miroslav SLADEK or RMS [Miroslav SLADEK, chairman] | Armenian National Movement or ANM [Ararat ZURABIAN, chairman]; Agro-Technical People's Group (formerly Stability Group) (parliamentary bloc); Armenian Communist Party or ACP [Vladimir DARBINYAN, First Secretary]; Armenia Democratic Party [Aram SARGSIAN]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Armen RUSTAMIAN and Aghvan VARTANYAN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Khosrev HARUTYUNIAN]; Constitutional Rights Union [Hrant KHACHATRYAN]; Democratic Liberal Party/Ramkvar Azatakyan or DL/RA [Ruben MIRZAKHANIAN]; Law-Governed Party [Artur BAGDASARIAN, chairman]; National Accord Front [Ashot MANUTCHARIAN]; National Accord Party [Artashes GEGAMIAN, chairman]; National Democratic Alliance [Arshak ZADOYAN]; National Democratic Party [Shavarsh KOCHARIAN]; National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN]; People's Democratic Party [Gagik ASLANYAN]; People's Deputies Group [Hovhannes HOVHANISSIAN] (parliamentary bloc); People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHYAN]; Republic Party [Albert BAZEYAN, chairman]; Republican Party or RPA [Andranik MARKARYAN]; Shamiram Women's Movement or SWM [Shogher MATEVOSIAN]; Social Democratic (Hunchak) Party [George HAKOPIAN]; Social Democratic Union (formerly National Self-Determination Union) [Paruyr HAYRIKIAN]; Unity Bloc [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN and Andranik MARKARYAN] (a coalition of the Republican Party and People's Party of Armenia) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] | Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN] |
Population | 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) | 3,330,099
note: Armenia's first census since independence was conducted in October 2001, but official figures have not yet been released (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 55% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.07% (2001 est.) | -0.15% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 3,159,134 (December 2000) | 850,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
9,444 km standard gauge: 9,350 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2,843 km electrified; 1,929 km double track) narrow gauge: 94 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (2000) |
total: 852 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge: 852 km 1.520-m gauge (779 km electrified) (2001 est.) |
Religions | atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% | Armenian Apostolic 94%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi (Zoroastrian/animist) 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; growth in the use of mobile cellular telephones is particularly vigorous domestic: 86% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems now being enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
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 (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.869 million (2000) | 600,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.346 million (2000) | 50,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 3 (plus an unknown number of repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country | Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley |
Total fertility rate | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.53 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.7% (2000 est.) | 20%
note: official rate is 10.9% for 2000 (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |
NA km |