Armenia Military, Economy and Transportation

Armenia Military

Economics

Economy overview: Under the old Soviet centralized planning system, a modern industrial sector developed in Armenia, machine tools, textiles and other industrial goods were supplied to the fraternal republics in exchange for raw materials and energy resources. After the collapse of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia became a country dominated by small-scale agriculture, far from the large agro-industrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector has been in need of investments and modern technologies for a long time. Industrial privatization has been slow, but has been given a new boost with the current administration. Armenia is a food importer, the reserves of minerals (gold, bauxite) are insignificant. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians, and the destruction of the centralized system of the economy in the former Soviet Union led in the early 1990s. to a serious economic crisis. However, in 1994 the Armenian government launched an extensive IMF-supported economic program that led to positive economic growth in 1995-2000. Armenia has also managed to drastically reduce inflation and privatize most small and medium enterprises. The chronic shortage of energy resources, from which Armenia has suffered in recent years, has been largely compensated by the operation of the nuclear power plant in Metsamor. The large trade deficit (imports are three times higher than exports) has been offset somewhat by international aid, domestic economic restructuring and foreign direct investment. See businesscarriers.com to know more about Armenia Economics and Business.
GDP: Purchasing Power Parity $10 billion (2000 est.)
Real GDP growth rate: 5% (2000 est.).
GDP per capita: at purchasing power parity – $ 3,000 (2000 est.),
Composition of GDP by sectors of the economy: agriculture: 40%; industry: 25%; services: 35% (1999 est.).
Proportion of population below the poverty line: 45% (1999 est.).
Percentage distribution of household income or consumption: for the poorest 10% of households: n/a; by top 10% of households: no data.
Inflation rate at consumer prices: 1% (1999).
Labor force: 1.5 million people (1999).
Employment structure: agriculture 55%, services 25%, manufacturing, mining, construction 20% (1999 est.).
Unemployment rate: 20% (1998 est.); note: according to official figures, 9.3% (1998).
Budget: revenues: $360 million; expenditures: $566 million, including capital expenditures – NA (1999 est.).
Spheres of economy: production of machine tools, forging presses, electric motors, tires, knitwear, knitwear, footwear, silk fabrics, chemicals, trucks, tools; microelectronics, gemstone cutting, jewelry production, computer software development, brandy production.
Growth in industrial production: 5% (2000).
Electricity generation: 6.668 billion kWh (1999).
Sources of electricity generation: fossil fuels: 45.56%; hydropower: 23.25%; nuclear fuel: 31.19%; others: 0% (1999).
Electricity consumption: 6.201 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity export: 0 kWh (1999).
Electricity import: 0 kWh (1999).
Agricultural products: fruits (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock.
Exports: $284 million (free on board, 2000 est.)
Export items: industrial diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and equipment, brandy, copper ore.
Export partners: Belgium 36%, Iran 15%, Russia 14%, USA 7%, Turkmenistan, Georgia (1999).
Imports: $913 million (free on board, 2000 est.)
Imports: natural gas, oil, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds.
Import partners: Russia 17%, USA 11%, Iran 10%, Belgium 11%, UK, Turkey (1999).
External debt: $836 million (January 2001). Economic aid recipient: $245.5 million (1995)
Donor of economic assistance:
Currency: AMD.
Currency code: AMD.
Exchange rate: AMD / USD – 554.29 (February 1, 2001), 539.53 (2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998), 490.85 (1997), 414.04 (1996).
Fiscal year: calendar year.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications Telephone lines: 568,000 (1997).
Mobile Cell Phones: 6,220 (1997).
Telephone system: the system is not adequate, currently 90% privately owned, therefore being modernized and expanded; domestic: the majority of subscribers and the most modern equipment are concentrated in Yerevan (including paging and mobile cellular communications); international: Yerevan is connected through Iran with the fiber optic cable of the Trans-Asian-Euro-Europe connection (TAE); as well as via microwave radio relay and terrestrial line with other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and through the international switchboard in Moscow and satellite with the rest of the world; ground satellite stations – 1 In-tepsat.
Broadcast stations: AM -9, FM -6, shortwave -1 (1998).
Radio receivers: 850,000 (1997).
Television broadcast stations: 4 (1998).
TVs: 825,000 (1997).
Internet country code: am
Internet providers: 1 (1999).
Number of users: 30,000 (2000).

Transport

Transport Railways: total: 852 km for transport; does not include industrial lines; broad gauge: 852 km (1.520 m gauge, 779 km electrified) (2001).
Roads: total: 8,431 km; coated: no data; uncoated: no data (1997 est.).
Waterways: no data.
Pipelines: for natural gas – 900 km (1991).
Ports and harbours: none.
Airports: 7 (2000 est.).
Airports with paved runways:
Airports with unpaved runways: total: 7; over 3,047 m: 1; from 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2; from 914 to 1523 m:3; less than 914 m: 1 (2000 est.).

Armed Forces

Branches of the armed forces: ground forces, air force and air defense aviation, air defense forces, security forces (internal and border troops).
Enlistment age: 18 years old.
Total Military Manpower: Male 15 to 49: 905,154 (2001 est.).
Eligible for military service: males aged 15 to 49: 715,734 (2001 est.).
Number of persons reaching military age each year: male: 34,998 (2001 est.).
Military spending in dollar terms: $75 million (1999)
Military spending as part of GDP: 4% (1999).

International Issues

International Issues International Disputes: Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in their long separatist conflict with the Azerbaijani government; traditional claims regarding former Armenian territories in Turkey are no longer being made.
Illicit drugs: Illicit cultivation of cannabis, mainly for domestic consumption; Armenia is increasingly being used as a transit point for illicit drugs (mainly opium and hashish) bound for Western Europe and the US via Iran, Central Asia and Russia. ?

Armenia Military