| 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 etymology: the etymology of the country's name remains obscure; according to tradition, the country is named after Hayk, the legendary patriarch of the Armenians and the great-great-grandson of Noah; Hayk's descendant, Aram, purportedly is the source of the name Armenia |
| Government type | parliamentary democracy; note - constitutional changes adopted in December 2015 transformed the government to a parliamentary system |
| Capital | name: Yerevan geographic coordinates: 40 10 N, 44 30 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: name likely derives from the ancient Urartian fortress of Erebuni established on the current site of Yerevan in 782 B.C. and whose impresive ruins still survive |
| Administrative divisions | 11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan |
| Independence | 21 September 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 321 B.C. (Kingdom of Armenia established under the Orontid Dynasty), A.D. 884 (Armenian Kingdom reestablished under the Bagratid Dynasty); 1198 (Cilician Kingdom established); 28 May 1918 (Democratic Republic of Armenia declared) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 21 September (1991) |
| Constitution | history: previous 1915, 1978; latest adopted 5 July 1995 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic or by the National Assembly; passage requires approval by the president, by the National Assembly, and by a referendum with at least 25% registered voter participation and more than 50% of votes; constitutional articles on the form of government and democratic procedures are not amendable; amended 2005, 2015, last in 2020; note - a constitutional referendum was rescheduled from 4 May 2020 to summer 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Legal system | civil law system |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Armenia dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 3 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Armen SARKISSIAN (since 9 April 2018) head of government: Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN (since 2 August 2021); Deputy Prime Ministers Mher GRIGORYAN and Tigran AVINYAN (since 16 January 2019); note - Prime Minister Nikol PASHINYAN resigned on 25 April 2021; he was reappointed by the President on 02 August 2021 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the National Assembly in 3 rounds if needed for a single 7-year term; election last held on 2 March 2018; prime minister elected by majority vote in 2 rounds if needed by the National Assembly; election last held on 14 January 2019 election results: Armen SARKISSIAN elected president in first round; note - Armen SARKISSIAN ran unopposed and won the Assembly vote 90-10; Nikol PASHINYAN was chosen as prime minister by the parliament automatically after his party won a landslide victory in the December 2018 elections note: After initially winning election on 8 May 2018, Nikol PASHINYAN resigned his post (but stayed on as acting prime minister) on 16 October 2018 to force a snap election (held on 9 December 2018) in which his bloc won more than 70% of the vote; PASHINYAN was reappointed prime minister on 14 January 2019 |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (minimum 101 seats, current - 132; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote; the quota for the proportion of women MPs on each party list must be at least one of three candidates; political parties must meet a 5% threshold and alliances a 7% threshold to win seats; members serve 5-year terms) elections: last held early on 20 June 2021 (next to be held in June 2026) election results: percent of vote by party - Civil Contract 53.9%, Armenia Alliance 21.0%, I Have Honour Alliance 5.2%; seats by party - Civil Contract 72 of 105 seats, Armenia Alliance 27, I Have Honour Alliance 6; composition - men 101, women 31, percent of women 23.5% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Court of Cassation (consists of the Criminal Chamber with a chairman and 5 judges and the Civil and Administrative Chamber with a chairman and 10 judges – with both civil and administrative specializations); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges) judge selection and term of office: Court of Cassation judges nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council, a 10-member body of selected judges and legal scholars; judges appointed by the president; judges can serve until age 65; Constitutional Court judges - 4 appointed by the president, and 5 elected by the National Assembly; judges can serve until age 70 subordinate courts: criminal and civil appellate courts; administrative appellate court; first instance courts; specialized administrative and bankruptcy courts |
| Political parties and leaders | Armenian National Congress or ANC (bloc of independent and opposition parties) [Levon TER-PETROSSIAN] Armenian Revolutionary Federation or ARF ("Dashnak" Party) [Hakob TER-KHACHATURYAN] Bright Armenia [Edmon MARUKYAN] Citizen's Decision [Suren SAHAKYAN] Civil Contract [Nikol PASHINYAN] Free Democrats [Khachatur KOKOBELYAN] Heritage Party [Raffi HOVANNISIAN] Prosperous Armenia or BHK [Gagik TSARUKYAN] Republic [Aram SARGSYAN] Republican Party of Armenia or RPA [Serzh SARGSIAN] Rule of Law Party (Orinats Yerkir) or OEK [Artur BAGHDASARIAN] Sasna Tser [Varuzhan AVETISYAN] |
| International organization participation | ADB, BSEC, CD, CE, CIS, CSTO, EAEC (observer), EAEU, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant since late July 2021) chancery: 2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1976 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2982 email address and website: armembassyusa@mfa.am https://usa.mfa.am/en/ consulate(s) general: Glendale (CA) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Lynne M. TRACEY (since 5 March 2019) embassy: 1 American Ave., Yerevan 0082 mailing address: 7020 Yerevan Place, Washington, DC 20521-7020 telephone: [374] (10) 464-700 FAX: [374] (10) 464-742 email address and website: acsyerevan@state.gov https://am.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange; the color red recalls the blood shed for liberty, blue the Armenian skies as well as hope, and orange the land and the courage of the workers who farm it |
| National symbol(s) | Mount Ararat, eagle, lion; national colors: red, blue, orange |
| National anthem | name: "Mer Hayrenik" (Our Fatherland) lyrics/music: Mikael NALBANDIAN/Barsegh KANACHYAN note: adopted 1991; based on the anthem of the Democratic Republic of Armenia (1918-1922) but with different lyrics |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
