General Information
Official Name Republic of Armenia
Name in Official Language Hayastani Hanrapetutyun
Capital Yerevan
Religion Christianity (Armenian Apostolic Church)
Political System Presidential
Administrative Division 11 Provinces (Marzes)
Area 29.800 Square Kilometers (comparable with the territory of Belgium or Albania).
Altitude Average 1.800m, Lowest 380m
Highest Peak Mount Aragats, 4090m
Climate Dry Continental
Population 3.2 Million. Population of the capital – 1.1 Million.
National Minorities Russians, Yezidis, Kurds, Assyrians, Greeks, Ukrainians, Jews
Official Language Armenian (is part of Indo-European family of languages).
Languages Spoken Armenian, Russian
Currency Dram (AMD) (1AMD = 100Luma)
Exchange Rate 1USD = 300AMD (by December 2007)
Voltage AC 220V, 50Hz
ISO Country Code am
Time GMT + 4
Geography
Armenia is in the southwestern part of Caucasus, south of Georgia, West of Azerbaijan, North of Iran and East of Turkey. Armenia's territory is 29,800 sq. km (11,490 sq miles) comparable with the territory of Belgium. It is a mountainous, land locked country in Southwestern Asia. Most of Armenia's territory ranges from 1000 to 2500 meters above sea level.
Total area: 29 800 square kilometers (11 490 square miles)
Terrain: Rugged mountains and extinct volcanoes, one-third of the country is pastureland, forest and woodland cover 12 percent.
Highest point: Mt. Aragats, 13,419 ft (4,090 m); lowest point: Along Debed River, 1,280 ft (390 m).
Natural resources: Small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina.
Border countries: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Turkey
Related countries: Russia
Climate
Armenia is often described as a sunny country. The climate is highland continental, dry with four seasons. Temperatures can vary considerably between seasons. The summer is generally pleasant reaching 25C, though in the Ararat valley temperatures can climb to 40C.
Winters are cold with temperatures dipping to -5C in Yerevan, and colder in the Ararat Valley (-30) and the Lake Arpi area (-46C). Annual precipitation for the country as a whole average is 550 millimeters. The best time to visit Armenia is spring or the "velvet" season, autumn.
