Sierra Leone (2001) | Armenia (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 21.1% (male 356,587; female 346,648)
15-64 years: 68.3% (male 1,113,241; female 1,158,245) 65 years and over: 10.6% (male 147,156; female 204,571) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 15 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 8
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (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:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 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 | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. | 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 | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $402 million
expenditures: $482 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Yerevan |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | highland continental, hot summers, cold winters |
Coastline | 402 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
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 | leone (SLL) | dram (AMD) |
Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.16 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | $905 million (June 2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John M. ORDWAY
embassy: 18 Baghramyan Ave., Yerevan 375019 mailing address: American Embassy Yerevan, Department of State, 7020 Yerevan Place, 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 John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Arman KIRAKOSSIAN
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 | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | 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; ethnic Armenian groups in Javakheti region of Georgia seek greater autonomy, closer ties with Armenia |
Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | ODA $170 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. | 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 (copper, 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 1995-2003. Armenia also has managed to slash inflation, stabilize the local currency (the dram), and privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in the early and mid-1990s have been offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia is now a net energy exporter, although it does not have sufficient generating capacity to replace Metsamor, which is under international pressure to close. The electricity distribution system was privatized in 2002. Armenia's severe trade imbalance has been offset somewhat by international aid, domestic restructuring of the economy, and foreign direct investment. Economic ties with Russia remain close, especially in the energy sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | 5.784 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 704 million kWh; note - exports an unknown quantity to Georgia; includes exports to Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 463 million kWh; note - imports an unknown quantity from Iran (2001) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | 6.479 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 42.3%
hydro: 27% nuclear: 30.7% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Debed River 400 m
highest point: Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m |
Environment - current issues | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing | 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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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 | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians | 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 | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) | drams per US dollar - NA (2002), 555.08 (2001), 539.53 (2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
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 (next to be held NA 2008); 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 | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, energy |
Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | Belgium 21.5%, Russia 14.6%, Israel 10.3%, Iran 9.4%, US 8.2%, Switzerland 6.8%, Germany 6.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12.13 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 26% services: 44% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 12.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 40 00 N, 45 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
total: 15,918 km
paved: 15,329 km (includes 7,527 km of expressways) unpaved: 589 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 46.2% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds |
Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | US 15.3%, Russia 12.9%, Belgium 12.3%, Iran 10.3%, UAE 6.3%, Germany 5.5%, Italy 4.9% (2002) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 21 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 15% (2002 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | 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 | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 40.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 45.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 36.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | BSEC, CE, CIS, COE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 9 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,870 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Constitutional Court; Court of Cassation (Appeals Court) |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
1.4 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 45%, services 30%, industry 25% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 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:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 17.52%
permanent crops: 2.3% other: 80.18% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) | Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
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 25 May 2003 (next to be held in the spring of 2007) 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 - Republican Party 23.5%, Justice Bloc 13.6%, Rule of Law 12.3%, ARF (Dashnak) 11.4%, National Unity Party 8.8%, United Labor Party 5.7%; seats by party - Republican Party 23, Justice Bloc 14, Rule of Law 12, ARF (Dashnak) 11, National Unity 9, United Labor 6; note - seats by party change frequently as deputies switch parties or announce themselves independent |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 66.68 years
male: 62.41 years female: 71.17 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.4% female: 98% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | $135 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | 6.5% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 919,582 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 727,770 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 37,209 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Independence Day, 21 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Armenian(s)
adjective: Armenian |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina |
Net migration rate | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
-3.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,031 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] | Agro-Industrial Party [Vladimir BADALIAN]; Armenia Party [Myasnik MALKHASYAN]; Armenian National Movement or ANM [Alex ARZUMANYAN, chairman]; Armenian Ramkavar Liberal Party or HRAK [Ruben MIRZAKHANYAN, chairman]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Vahan HOVHANISSIAN]; Democratic Party [Aram SARKISYAN]; Justice Bloc (comprised of the Democratic Party, National Democratic Party, National Democratic Union, and the People's Party); National Democratic Party [Shavarsh KOCHARIAN]; National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN]; National Unity Party [Artashes GEGAMIAN, chairman]; People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHYAN]; Republic Party [Albert BAZEYAN and Aram SARKISYAN, chairmen]; Republican Party or RPA [Andranik MARKARYAN]; Rule of Law Party [Artur BAGDASARIAN, chairman]; Union of Constitutional Rights [Hrant KHACHATURYAN]; United Labor Party [Gurgen ARSENIAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | Yerkrapah Union [Manvel GRIGORIAN] |
Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 3,326,448
note: Armenia's first census since independence was conducted in October 2001; official results are not expected until late 2003 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 50% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | -0.07% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
total: 852 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge: 852 km 1.520-m gauge (779 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Armenian Apostolic 94%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi (Zoroastrian/animist) 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 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 (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic 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 (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 600,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | 50,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 3 (plus an unknown number of repeaters); (1998) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley |
Total fertility rate | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.56 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 20% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | NA km |