????????? ??????????????? Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun Republic of Armenia

Flag Coat of arms Anthem: ??? ???????? (Armenian) Mer Hayrenik   (transcription) "Our Fatherland"

Capital (and largest city) Yerevan1 40°16'N, 44°34'E Official languages Armenian2 Demonym Armenian Government Unitary Republic  -  President Serzh Sargsyan  -  Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan Formation and independence  -  Traditional[1] August 11 2492 BC   -  Urartu under Aramu 840s BC   -  Tigranes Orontid 560 BC   -  Kingdom of Armenia formed 190 BC   -  Armenian Apostolic Church 301 AD   -  Democratic Republic of Armenia established May 28, 1918   -  Independence from the Soviet Union Declared Recognised Finalised August 23, 1990 September 21, 1991 December 25, 1991  Area  -  Total 29,800 km? (141st) 11,506 sq mi   -  Water (%) 4.71 Population  -  2007 estimate 3,229,9003 (135th4)  -  2001 census 3,002,594   -  Density 101/km? (77th) 262/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate  -  Total $16.83 billion   -  Per capita $5,700  Gini (2003) 33.8 (medium)  HDI (2007) ? 0.775 (medium) (83rd) Currency Dram (AMD) Time zone UTC (UTC+4)  -  Summer (DST) DST (UTC+5) Internet TLD .am Calling code +374 Patron saint St. Bartholomew the Apostle, St. Gregory the Illuminator, St. Jude the Apostle, Virgin Mary 1 Alternatively spelled "Erevan", "Jerevan", or "Erivan". 2 The Eastern Armenian dialect is spoken in the Republic of Armenia 3 De jure population estimates by the National Statistics Service. 4 Rank based on 2005 UN estimate of de facto population. Armenia (Armenian: ???????? Hayastan), officially in English the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked mountainous country in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Southern Caucasus. It borders Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan to the south. A transcontinental country at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, Armenia has had and continues to have extensive socio-political and cultural connections with Europe.[2] A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its religion[3] in the early years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301).[4] The modern Republic of Armenia is constitutionally a secular state, although the Christian faith plays a major role in the history and identification of the Armenian people. Armenia is currently a member of more than 40 different international organisations, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Asian Development Bank, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the World Trade Organisation and the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. It is a member of the CSTO military alliance and also participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme. In 2004 its forces joined KFOR, a NATO-led international force in Kosovo. It is also an observer member of the Eurasian Economic Community, La Francophonie, and the Non-Aligned Movement. Armenia is also active in the international sports community with full membership in the Union of European Football Associations and International Ice Hockey Federation. The country is an emerging democracy and, because of its strategic location, lies among both the Russian and Western spheres of influence.