Georgia vs. Armenia
Geography
| Georgia | Armenia | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea, between Turkey and Russia, with a sliver of land north of the Caucasus extending into Europe; note - Georgia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both | Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan; note - Armenia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both |
| Geographic coordinates | 42 00 N, 43 30 E | 40 00 N, 45 00 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 69,700 sq km land: 69,700 sq km water: 0 sq km note: approximately 12,560 sq km, or about 18% of Georgia's area, is Russian occupied; the seized area includes all of Abkhazia and the breakaway region of South Ossetia, which consists of the northern part of Shida Kartli, eastern slivers of the Imereti region and Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, and part of western Mtskheta-Mtianeti | total: 29,743 sq km land: 28,203 sq km water: 1,540 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina; slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Maryland |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,814 km border countries (4): Armenia 219 km, Azerbaijan 428 km, Russia 894 km, Turkey 273 km | total: 1,570 km border countries (4): Azerbaijan 996 km, Georgia 219 km, Iran 44 km, Turkey 311 km |
| Coastline | 310 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | warm and pleasant; Mediterranean-like on Black Sea coast | highland continental, hot summers, cold winters |
| Terrain | largely mountainous with Great Caucasus Mountains in the north and Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south; Kolkhet'is Dablobi (Kolkhida Lowland) opens to the Black Sea in the west; Mtkvari River Basin in the east; fertile soils in river valley flood plains and foothills of Kolkhida Lowland | Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Mt'a Shkhara 5,193 m lowest point: Black Sea 0 m mean elevation: 1,432 m | highest point: Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m lowest point: Debed River 400 m mean elevation: 1,792 m |
| Natural resources | timber, hydropower, manganese deposits, iron ore, copper, minor coal and oil deposits; coastal climate and soils allow for important tea and citrus growth | small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite |
| Land use | agricultural land: 35.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 5.8% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 27.9% (2018 est.) forest: 39.4% (2018 est.) other: 25.1% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 59.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 15.8% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.9% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 42% (2018 est.) forest: 9.1% (2018 est.) other: 31.2% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 4,330 sq km (2012) | 2,740 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | earthquakes | occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts |
| Environment - current issues | air pollution, particularly in Rust'avi; heavy water pollution of Mtkvari River and the Black Sea; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil pollution from toxic chemicals; land and forest degradation; biodiversity loss; waste management | soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; deforestation; pollution of Hrazdan 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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| Geography - note | note 1: strategically located east of the Black Sea; Georgia controls much of the Caucasus Mountains and the routes through them note 2: the world's four deepest caves are all in Georgia, including two that are the only known caves on earth deeper than 2,000 m: Krubera Cave at -2,197 m (-7,208 ft; reached in 2012) and Veryovkina Cave at -2,212 (-7,257 ft; reached in 2018) | landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range |
| Total renewable water resources | 63.33 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 7.769 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | settlement concentrated in the central valley, particularly in the capital city of Tbilisi in the east; smaller urban agglomerations dot the Black Sea coast, with Bat'umi being the largest | most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than five times as many people as Gyumri, the second largest city in the country |
Source: CIA Factbook
