Armenia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Republic of Armenia Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Flag Coat of arms Anthem: Մեր Հայրենիք (Armenian) Mer Hayrenik (transcription) Our Fatherland Sorry, your browser either has JavaScript disabled or does not have any supported player. You can download the clip or download a player to play the clip in your browser. Capital and largest city Yerevan 40°11′N 44°31′E / 40.183°N 44.517°E / 40.183; 44.517 Official languages Armenian Ethnic groups () 97.9% Armenian 1.3% Yazidis 0.5% Russian 0.3% other Demonym Armenian Government Semi-presidential republic  -  President Serzh Sargsyan  -  Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan  -  Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan Legislature National Assembly Formation and independence  -  Traditional date 11 August 2492 BC   -  Nairi 1200 BC   -  Kingdom of Ararat 840s BC   -  Orontid Dynasty 560 BC   -  Kingdom of Armenia formed 190 BC   -  Democratic Republic of Armenia established 28 May 1918   -  Independence from the Soviet Union Declared Recognised Finalised 23 August 1990 21 September 1991 21 December 1991  Area  -  Total 29,743 km2 (141st) 11,484 sq mi   -  Water (%) 4.71 Population  -  2010 estimate 3,262,200 (134th)  -  Density 108.4/km2 (99th) 280.7/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2012 estimate  -  Total $19.649 billion  -  Per capita $5,838 GDP (nominal) 2012 estimate  -  Total $10.066 billion  -  Per capita $2,990 Gini (2008) 30.9 medium HDI (2013)  0.729 high · 87th Currency Dram (դր.) (AMD) Time zone UTC (UTC+4) Drives on the right Calling code +374 Patron saint St. Gregory the Illuminator ISO 3166 code AM Internet TLD .am

Armenia (i/ɑrˈmiːniə/ Armenian: Հայաստան Hayastan), officially the Republic of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun), is a mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.

Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia was established in the 6th century BC, after the fall of Urartu; it became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion, in the early years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301 AD).

The modern Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. Armenians have their own unique alphabet invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD.

A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is an emerging democracy and as of 2011 was negotiating with the European Union to become an associate member. It has the right to be an EU member provided it meets necessary standards and criteria. The Government of Armenia holds European integration as a key priority in its foreign policy.