Fiji (2004) | Armenia (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 divisions and 1 dependency*; Central, Eastern, Northern, Rotuma*, Western | 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* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 142,412; female 136,754)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 283,690; female 283,027) 65 years and over: 4% (male 16,047; female 18,944) (2004 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, coconuts, cassava (tapioca), rice, sweet potatoes, bananas; cattle, pigs, horses, goats; fish | fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock |
Airports | 28 (2003 est.) | 7 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 19 (2004 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 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 18,270 sq km
land: 18,270 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
29,800 sq km land: 28,400 sq km water: 1,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Fiji became independent in 1970, after nearly a century as a British colony. Democratic rule was interrupted by two military coups in 1987, caused by concern over a government perceived as dominated by the Indian community (descendants of contract laborers brought to the islands by the British in the 19th century). A 1990 constitution favored native Melanesian control of Fiji, but led to heavy Indian emigration; the population loss resulted in economic difficulties, but ensured that Melanesians became the majority. Amendments enacted in 1997 made the constitution more equitable. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, but a coup in May 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government and gave a mandate to the government of Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE. | 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. |
Birth rate | 22.91 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 11.47 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $427.9 million
expenditures: $531.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$360 million expenditures: $566 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Suva (Viti Levu) | Yerevan |
Climate | tropical marine; only slight seasonal temperature variation | highland continental, hot summers, cold winters |
Coastline | 1,129 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | promulgated on 25 July 1990 and amended on 25 July 1997 to allow nonethnic Fijians greater say in government and to make multiparty government mandatory; entered into force 28 July 1998; note - the May 1999 election was the first test of the amended constitution and introduced open voting - not racially prescribed - for the first time at the national level | adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Fiji Islands
conventional short form: Fiji |
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 | Fijian dollar (FJD) | dram (AMD) |
Death rate | 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $188.1 million (2001 est.) | $836 million (January 2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador David L. LYON
embassy: 31 Loftus Street, Suva mailing address: P. O. Box 218, Suva telephone: [679] 331-4466 FAX: [679] 330-0081 |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Mr. Paula NAVUNISARAVI (Charge D'Affaires ad Interim)
chancery: 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 240, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-8320 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1996 |
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 | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $40.3 million (1995) | $245.5 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Fiji, endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports and a growing tourist industry - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Sugar processing makes up one-third of industrial activity. Long-term problems include low investment, uncertain land ownership rights, and the government's ability to manage its budget. Yet short-run economic prospects are good, provided tensions do not again erupt between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 483.7 million kWh (2001) | 6.201 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 520.1 million kWh (2001) | 6.668 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
45.56% hydro: 23.25% nuclear: 31.19% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Tomanivi 1,324 m |
lowest point:
Debed River 400 m highest point: Aragats Lerr 4,095 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Fijian 51% (predominantly Melanesian with a Polynesian admixture), Indian 44%, European, other Pacific Islanders, overseas Chinese, and other 5% (1998 est.) | 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 |
Exchange rates | Fijian dollars per US dollar - 1.8958 (2003), 2.1869 (2002), 2.2766 (2001), 2.1286 (2000), 1.9696 (1999) | drams per US dollar - 554.29 (1 February 2001), 539.53 (2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998), 490.85 (1997), 414.04 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda (since 18 July 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Laisenia QARASE (since 10 September 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from among the members of Parliament and is responsible to Parliament; note - there is also a Presidential Council that advises the president on matters of national importance and a Great Council of Chiefs, which consists of the highest ranking members of the traditional chief system elections: president elected by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ratu Josefa ILOILOVATU Uluivuda elected president by the Great Council of Chiefs; percent of vote - NA% |
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% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $284 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar, garments, gold, timber, fish, molasses, coconut oil | diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and equipment, brandy, copper ore |
Exports - partners | US 23.7%, Australia 18.4%, UK 13.6%, Samoa 6%, Japan 4.8% (2003) | Belgium 36%, Iran 15%, Russia 14%, US 7%, Turkmenistan, Georgia (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Fijian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield depicts a yellow lion above a white field quartered by the cross of Saint George featuring stalks of sugarcane, a palm tree, bananas, and a white dove | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5.012 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 22.4% services: 61% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
40% industry: 25% services: 35% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% (2003 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 S, 175 00 E | 40 00 N, 45 00 E |
Geography - note | includes 332 islands of which approximately 110 are inhabited | landlocked |
Highways | total: 3,440 km
paved: 1,692 km unpaved: 1,748 km (1999 est.) |
total:
8,431 km () paved: NA unpaved: NA (1997) |
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 |
Imports | NA (2001) | $913 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, food, chemicals | natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds |
Imports - partners | Australia 35.1%, Singapore 19.2%, New Zealand 17.2%, Japan 4.9% (2003) | Russia 17%, US 11%, Belgium 11%, Iran 10%, UK, Turkey (1999) |
Independence | 10 October 1970 (from UK) | 21 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 5% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, clothing, copra, gold, silver, lumber, small cottage 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 |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.99 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.36 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
41.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (2002 est.) | 1% (1999 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (1999) |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,870 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; High Court; Magistrates' Courts | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court |
Labor force | 137,000 (1999) | 1.5 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, including subsistence agriculture 70% (2001 est.) | agriculture 55%, services 25%, industry 20% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 10.95%
permanent crops: 4.65% other: 84.4% (2001) |
arable land:
17% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 15% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Fijian, Hindustani | Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% |
Legal system | based on British system | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (34 seats; 24 appointed by the President on the advice of the Great Council of Chiefs, nine appointed by the president, and one appointed by the council of Rotuma) and the House of Representatives (71 seats; 23 reserved for ethnic Fijians, 19 reserved for ethnic Indians, three reserved for other ethnic groups, one reserved for the council of Rotuma constituency encompassing the whole of Fiji, and 25 open seats; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 25 August through 1 September, 19 September 2001 (next to be held not later than September 2006) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - FLP 26.5%, SDL 27.5%, NFP 1.2%, MV 4.2%, NLUP 1.3%, UGP .3%, independents 1.4%; seats by party - FLP 27, SDL 32, MV 6, NFP 1, NLUP 2, UGP 1, independents 2 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.2 years
male: 66.74 years female: 71.79 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
66.49 years male: 62.12 years female: 71.08 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.7% male: 95.5% female: 91.9% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island group in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey |
Map references | Oceania | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation; rectilinear shelf claim added |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,372 GRT/7,453 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 1, passenger 1 foreign-owned: Australia 1, Singapore 1 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF): Land Forces, Naval Division | Army, Air Force and Air Defense Aviation, Air Defense Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34 million (2003) | $75 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY02) | 4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 239,221 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
905,154 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 131,349 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49:
715,734 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 9,302 (2004 est.) | males:
34,998 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, second Monday of October (1970) | Independence Day, 21 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Fijian(s)
adjective: Fijian |
noun:
Armenian(s) adjective: Armenian |
Natural hazards | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January | occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts |
Natural resources | timber, fish, gold, copper, offshore oil potential, hydropower | small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina |
Net migration rate | -3.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -3.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 900 km (1991) |
Political parties and leaders | Bai Kei Viti Party or BKV [Ratu Tevita MOMOEDONU]; Conservative Alliance Party/Matanitu Vanua or MV [Ratu Rakuita VAKALALABURE]; Dodonu Ni Taukei Party or DNT [Fereti S. DEWA]; Fiji Democratic Party or FDP [Felipe BOLE] (a merger of the Christian Democrat Alliance or VLV [Poesci Waqalevu BUNE], Fijian Association Party or FAP [Adi Kuini SPEED], Fijian Political Party or SVT (primarily Fijian) [Felipe BOLE], and New Labor Unity Party or NLUP [Tupeni BABA]); Fiji Labor Party or FLP [Mahendra CHAUDRHRY]; General Voters Party or GVP [leader NA] (became part of United General Party); Girmit Heritage Party or GHP [leader NA]; Justice and Freedom Party or AIM [leader NA]; Lio 'On Famor Rotuma Party or LFR [leader NA]; National Federation Party or NFP (primarily Indian) [Pramond RAE]; Nationalist Vanua Takolavo Party or NVTLP [Saula TELAWA]; Party of National Unity or PANU [Meli BOGILEKA]; Party of the Truth or POTT [leader NA]; United Fiji Party/Sogosogo Duavata ni Lewenivanua or SDL [Laisenia QARASE]; United General Party or UGP [Millis Mick BEDDOES] | 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) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 880,874 (July 2004 est.) | 3,336,100 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25.5% (1990-91) | 45% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.41% (2004 est.) | -0.21% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Lambasa, Lautoka, Levuka, Malau, Savusavu, Suva, Vuda | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 40, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 850,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 597 km
narrow gauge: 597 km 0.600-m gauge note: belongs to the government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation; used to haul sugarcane during harvest season (May to December) (2003) |
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 | Christian 52% (Methodist 37%, Roman Catholic 9%), Hindu 38%, Muslim 8%, other 2%
note: Fijians are mainly Christian, Indians are Hindu, and there is a Muslim minority (1986) |
Armenian Orthodox 94% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 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 (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern local, interisland, and international (wire/radio integrated) public and special-purpose telephone, telegraph, and teleprinter facilities; regional radio communications center
domestic: NA international: country code - 679; access to important cable links between US and Canada as well as between NZ and Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 102,000 (2003) | 568,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 109,900 (2003) | 6,220 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 4 (1998) |
Terrain | mostly mountains of volcanic origin | Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley |
Total fertility rate | 2.78 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (1999) | 20% (1998 est.)
note: official rate is 9.3% for 1998 |
Waterways | 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004) |
NA km |