Demographics of Armenia

Armenia is a primarily Oriental Orthodox country. Armenia is considered the first nation to adopt Christianity, which was first preached in Armenia by two Apostles of Jesus, St. Bartholomew and St. Thaddeus in the 1st century. The Armenian Apostolic Church can trace its roots back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. The country formally adopted the Christian faith in 301 A.D. Over 90% of Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, a form of Oriental (Non- Chalcedonian) Orthodoxy, which is a very ritualistic, conservative church, roughly comparable to the Coptic and Syrian churches. Armenia also has a population of evangelical Protestants and Catholics. The Yazidi Kurds, who live in the western part of the country, practice their own religion. Any ethnic Azeris living in the country practice Islam, but most fled to Azerbaijan during the Karabagh War. Conversely, Armenia received a large influx of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, where there were numerous pogroms against Armenians.

Whether Armenians are Europeans or not is a bone of contention, as the people of Caucasia have become increasingly disregarded as being Europeans over the past couple of centuries. This process was arguably accelerated as the term "European" increasingly was used to refer to citizens of the European Union rather than peoples of ethnic European origins, but the recent (2004) inclusion of Armenia in the EU "New Neighborhood", which is expected to lead to membership in the long term, will once again swing the pendulum in the direction of Europe.

Demographic data from the CIA World Factbook

Population

2,982,904 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 21.6% (male 339,453/female 305,214)

15-64 years: 67.5% (male 938,734/female 1,074,240)

65 years and over: 10.9% (male 131,519/female 193,744) (2005 est.)

Median age

Total: 30.07 years

Male: 27.45 years

Female: 32.84 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.25% (2005 est.)

Birth rate

11.76 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate

8.16 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate

-6.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.17 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.9 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 23.28 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 28.51 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 17.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 71.55 years

Male: 67.97 years

Female: 75.75 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.32 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2003 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 2,600 (2003 est.)

Deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Armenian(s)

Adjective: Armenian

Ethnic groups

Armenian 93%, Azeri 1%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 4% (2002)

Note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from Armenia

Religions

Armenian Apostolic 94%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi (Zoroastrian/animist) 2%

Languages

Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 98.6%

Male: 99.4%

Female: 98% (2003 est.)