Country Overview

Political Map
Topographical Map
Administrative Map (Regions)
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Administrative Map of the City of Yerevan City (Districts)

Armenia is a landlocked country with a total area of 29.74 km2 and a population of approximately 3.2 mln. Armenia is located between Europe and Asia in a region known as the South Caucasus. It is bounded in the north by Georgia, in the east by Azerbaijan, and by Turkey and Iran in the south. The greatest extend from North-West to South-East comprises 360 km, from West to East about 200 km.

It is a mountainous country, with the lowest point being 375m above the sea level (near the Debed River in the north of the country) and the highest recorded point being at 4095m (the northern peak of Mount Aragats). Overall, the average altitude across the country is 1850 m, but the variations in altitude (up to 3700 m, but more generally 1500-2000 m) have important effects on the climatic and landscape zones within the country.

The mountainous nature of Armenia results in a series of highly diverse landscapes, with variations in geological substrate, terrain, climate, soils and water resources. These landscapes support a great variety of habitats, which in their turn support distinctive flora and fauna. The climate varies from subtropical to continental; temperatures can range from -41^օC to +42^օC. In the southern plain regions the climate is arid and extremely continental. The climate of northern mountainous regions is milder and damper. Annual rainfall is about 570 mm, ranging from 114 mm in the semi-desert zone to about 900 mm in the high mountains.

One of the largest alpine and freshwater lakes of the world, Lake Sevan, is located at 1916 m above the sea level and occupies the one-sixth of the whole territory of the country.

Out of Armenia's territory settlement areas constitute 4.6 %, industrial facilities - 5.5 %, forests - 11.2 %, specially protected areas - 10 %. Per inhabitant of Armenia it makes 0,9 ha of land.

The Republic of Armenia is an independent, democratic, social and legal state. The Declaration of State Independence of the Republic of Armenia was adopted on 23 August 1990, and the referendum on the Declaration of Independence was held on 21 September 1991. On 21 December of the same year Armenia became a member of the CIS, on 2 March 1992 - a member of the United Nations, on 25 January 2001 - a member of the Council of Europe and on 5 February 2003 - a member of the World Trade Organisation. The Government of the country has executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

According to the Constitution and the Law on Administrative Territorial Division, the administrative-territorial units of the Republic of Armenia include the marzes (regions) and hamaynks (communities). The territory of the Republic of Armenia is divided into ten marzes, plus the City of Yerevan. Public administration in the marzes of the RoA is regulated the Presidential Decree on Public Administration in the Marzes of the Republic of Armenia and other legal acts. The distinctive features of local self-government and formation of local self-government bodies shall be specified by law. The Marzpets (Marz Governors) implement the government's regional policy, coordinate the activities of local branches of the executive authority, except as otherwise specified by law.

The marzes (regions) of the Republic of Armenia are: Aragatsotn Marz, Ararat Marz, Armavir Marz, Gegharkunik Marz, Kotayk Marz, Lori Marz, Shirak Marz, Syunik Marz, Tavush Marz and Vayotz Dzor Marz.

According to the Law on Local Self-Governing in the City of Yerevan adopted on 26.12.2008, Yerevan has the status of a self-government body. The Council is the highest self-governing body in the city of Yerevan. It carries out effective supervision and monitoring over certain parts of the activities of the Mayor of Yerevan. For an efficient implementation of local self-governance and territorial dministration, the city of Yerevan is divided into 12 administrative districts. Each district is managed by a Head of Administrative District appointed by the Mayor.

The districts of Yerevan are: Ajapnyak, Avan, Arabkir, Davtashen, Erebuni, Kentron, Malatya-Sebastya, Nor-Nork, Nork-Marash, Nubarashen, Shengavit, and Qanaqer-Zeytun.

Almost immediately after gaining independence, Armenia plunged into a period of deep economic and social crises resulting in mass impoverishment of the country's population. In an effort to reverse the country's decline and establish a liberal market regime, the Government of Armenia (GoA) introduced comprehensive reforms in the mid-1990s. These reforms, which included the adoption of a macro-economic stability model based on strict fiscal discipline, low inflation and minimum deficits, led to a turn-around in the economy.

Political Map of the Republic of Armenia

Source: www.geology.com

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