People and Society of Armenia

Armenia’s population peaked at nearly 3.7 million in the late 1980s but has declined sharply since independence in 1991, to just over 3 million in 2021, largely as a result of its decreasing fertility rate, increasing death rate, and negative net emigration rate. The total fertility rate (the average number of children born per woman) first fell below the 2.1 replacement level in the late 1990s and has hovered around 1.6-1.65 for over 15 years. In an effort to increase the country’s birth rate, the government has expanded its child benefits, including a substantial increase in the lump sum payment for having a first and second child and a boost in the monthly payment to mothers of children under two. Reversing net negative migration, however, remains the biggest obstacle to stabilizing or increasing population growth. Emigration causes Armenia not only lose individuals but also the children they might have. The emigration of a significant number of working-age people combined with decreased fertility and increased life expectancy is causing the elderly share of Armenia’s population to grow. The growing elderly population will put increasing pressure on the government’s ability to fund the pension system, health care, and other services for seniors. Improving education, creating more jobs (particularly in the formal sector), promoting labor market participation, and increasing productivity would mitigate the financial impact of supporting a growing elderly population. Armenia has a long history of migration, some forced and some voluntary. Its large diaspora is diverse and dispersed around the world. Widely varying estimates suggest the Armenian diaspora may number anywhere from 5-9 million, easily outnumbering the number of Armenians living in Armenia. Armenians forged communities abroad from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome to Russia and to the Americas, where they excelled as craftsmen, merchants, and in other occupations. Several waves of Armenian migration occurred in the 20th century. In the aftermath of the 1915 Armenian genocide, hundreds of thousands of survivors fled to communities in the Caucasus (including present day Armenia), Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Europe, and Russia and established new communities in Africa and the Americas. In the 1930s, the Soviets deported thousands of Armenians to Siberia and Central Asia. After World War II, the Soviets encouraged the Armenian diaspora in France, the Middle East, and Iran to return the Armenian homeland in order to encourage population growth after significant losses in the male workforce during the war. Following Armenian independence in 1991, the economic downturn and high unemployment prompted hundreds of thousands of Armenians to seek better economic opportunities primarily in Russia but also in the US, former Soviet states, and Europe. In the early 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Armenians fled from Azerbaijan to Armenia because of the ongoing Nagorno-Karbakh conflict, but many of them then emigrated again, mainly to Russia and the US. When the economy became more stable in the late 1990s, permanent emigration slowed, but Armenians continued to seek temporary seasonal work in Russia. The remittances families receive from relatives working abroad is vital to Armenian households and the country’s economy.

Nationality

noun: Armenian(s) adjective: Armenian

Ethnic Groups

Armenian 98.1%, Yezidi 1.1%, other 0.8%

Population

2,966,802

Population (Male / Female)

male: 1,456,415 female: 1,520,350

Population Distribution

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

Urban Population

urban population: 63.7% of total population rate of urbanization: 0.23% annual rate of change

Population in Major Urban Areas

1.095 million YEREVAN (capital)

Age Structure

0-14 years: 17.7% (male 275,589/female 250,630) 15-64 years: 67% (male 991,490/female 1,004,101) 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 189,336/female 265,619)

Median Age

total: 38.9 years male: 37.6 years female: 40.3 years

Sex Ratio at Birth

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female

Though there are many competent physicians in Armenia, medical care facilities are limited, especially outside the major cities. The U.S. Embassy maintains a list of English-speaking physicians in the area. Most prescription medications are available, but the quality varies. Elderly travelers and those with existing health problems may be at risk due to inadequate medical facilities.

Life Expectancy at Birth

total population: 76.7 years male: 73.4 years female: 80.1 years

Infant Mortality Rate

total: 11.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.1 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10 deaths/1,000 live births

Drinking Water Source

improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 100% of population total: 100% of population

Sanitation Facility Access

improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 84.6% of population total: 94.4% of population unimproved: urban: 0% of population rural: 15.4% of population total: 5.6% of population

Tobacco Use

total: 25.5% male: 49.4% female: 1.5%

Alcohol Consumption

total: 3.77 liters of pure alcohol beer: 0.52 liters of pure alcohol wine: 0.46 liters of pure alcohol spirits: 2.78 liters of pure alcohol other alcohols: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol

Literacy Definition

age 15 and over can read and write

Total School Life Expectancy

total: 13 years male: 13 years female: 14 years

Classroom

There are many schools near each other and the ages of those schools are different. There are old buildings and also very new ones built in the post-war period and the number of children studying there also differs. There are about 160 – 300 children at a school. A typical Armenian school classroom usually has desks for children, a desk for the teacher, a blackboard, domestic flowers on the windowsills, and wallpapers concerning the subjects taught in the classroom. Some classrooms also have bookshelves for different books. Many schools have different classrooms for different subjects and those classrooms are equipped with corresponding equipment. But this does not apply to every school. Many schools do not have audiovisual equipment. There is a computer room nearly in every school and, perhaps, this is the best and the most interesting classroom for the children.

Education Culture

Education plays a central role in the lives of most children and their families. Since the school program has become difficult to study during these last years parents spend a lot of time with their children to make them learn their lessons. The school program is so complicated that parents hire individual tutors for their children for each subject. The average child’s day is overloaded as he/she comes home from school and after having his/her lunch many go to a tutor.

Learning

A typical day at school starts with the bell ringing. Then the teacher enters the class and all the children greet him/her with bari aravot (good morning). Children who study in the primary grades usually have four lessons. Every lesson is 45 minutes long, and between each lesson there is 5 minutes break. After the second lesson, the break is a bit longer - 10 minutes long. Usually, pupils bring something to eat during the breaks. This can be apples, biscuits or sweets. There is also a buffet in every school where the pupils and teachers can buy sandwiches, patty, doughnuts, khachapuri (Georgian cuisine dish made from cheese and pastry in layers), zhengyalov hats (Armenian cuisine dish made from pastry and herbs (literal translation is bread with greens)), drink tea or coffee. Secondary education in Armenia is compulsory. The duration of secondary school in Armenia is 11 years (two years ago it was 10 years) and it has three levels. The first level is the primary school ( 1-4 grades) where children study from the age of 6 till 9. The second level is the Intermediate School (5-9 grades) where pupils study from the age of 10 till 15. Here children get general education. It is also called incomplete secondary education and after finishing it pupils obtain a Certificate of Basic Education. Having graduated from the intermediate school they can go either to High School to continue their education or to specialized secondary and technical secondary educational institutions. The third level is high or senior school (10-11 grades) and pupils study there from the age of 16 to 17. After graduating from high school pupils obtain a Certificate of Full Secondary Education. More than 75 percent of pupils move to high schools. Only pupils who have unsatisfactory grades or satisfactory grades and who are going to become musicians move to specialized secondary or technical secondary educational institutions. The grading system at schools has changed recently in Armenia. Before it had 5 grades like all the former Soviet countries. The mark “2” was equal to “unsatisfactory”, “3” was “satisfactory”, “4” -“good” and “5” was equal to “excellent”. Now there are 10 grades, from which 1,2, 3 are considered to be “unsatisfactory” marks; 4,5,6 are “satisfactory”; 7,8 are good; 9,10 are “excellent” marks. In Armenia, primary and intermediate schools are usually in the same building. High school can also be in the same building but this is not the case in all school buildings. The subjects taught in primary schools are mother language, fine arts, technology, mathematics, music, and physical culture, which children study from the first grade and the Russian and English languages from the second grade. In some schools in Armenia, the French or German language is taught instead of English. The primary language for the children who attend school is Armenian. They can speak Russian with their family members sometimes but they don’t speak English at home. Maybe this is because Armenia is a former Soviet country and also because children watch a lot of films and animated cartoons in Russian on TV. The number of students per teacher differs as it depends on the number of children in the grade. It can vary from 15 to 30. The headmaster of the school has all the authority of the school, all the teachers and children are under his/her supervision while the teachers are responsible for their classes only. Children don’t wear uniforms at school, everybody is free to wear whatever he/she wants. Children usually don’t have their lunch at school if they don’t have extracurricular activities. They just come home after school and have their lunch at home. In case they have extracurricular activities they buy whatever there is in the buffet and have their lunch there after school.

To School

Children usually go to school near their house. Depending on the distance some go there on foot others by public minibusses since there is no transportation provided by the school system or state. If the child is in elementary school i.e. too little to go to school alone, usually one of his parents, or relatives takes him to school and then meets him to take him back home when the classes are over. In villages, children don’t take transportation to school as there are no public or state transportations inside any village in Armenia. So for village children, the only choice to get to school is on foot.

• Armenian Apostolic94.0%
• other Christian4.0%
• Yezidi (Zoroastrian/animist)2.0%

Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%

Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurmanji (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1.1%; note - Russian is widely spoken

• Armenian
• Russian

Crime Information

Crime against foreigners is relatively rare in Armenia. Break-ins-- particularly of vehicles-- and theft are the most common crimes, but there have been instances of violent crime. While the incidence of violent crime remains lower than in most U.S. cities, you should exercise caution. Several U.S. investors have also reported being involved in disputes over property ownership, and have had to seek legal recourse through long, and often unsuccessful, court proceedings.<br /> <br /> Do not buy counterfeit and pirated goods, even if they are widely available. Not only are the bootlegs illegal to bring back into the United States, but if you purchase them you may also be breaking local law.

Criminal Penalties

While you are traveling in Armenia, you are subject to its laws even if you are a U.S. citizen. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different than our own, and criminal penalties vary from country to country. There are some things that might be legal in the country you visit, but still illegal in the United States; for instance, you can be prosecuted under U.S. law if you buy pirated goods. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime prosecutable in the United States. If you break local laws in Armenia, your U.S. passport won’t help you avoid arrest or prosecution. It is very important to know what is legal and what is not where you are traveling. Armenia strictly enforces its laws relating to the possession, trafficking, and use of illegal drugs, including marijuana. Further, Armenia prohibits the receipt of packages that contain illegal drugs, including small amounts of marijuana. Persons arrested for violating Armenia’s drug laws may be detained for lengthy periods of time while the investigations proceed, and if convicted, face significant prison sentences. Authorities of Armenia are required to notify the U.S. Embassy of your arrest. If you are concerned the Department of State may not be aware of your situation, you should request that police or prison officials notify the U.S. Embassy.