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General Information
Area: 29,743 sq km (11,484 sq miles).
Population: 3,330,099 (official estimate 2002).
Population Density: 111.9 per sq km.
Capital: Yerevan. Population: 1,248,700 (official estimate 1999).
GEOGRAPHY: Armenia lies on the southern slopes of the Armenian Mountains in the Lesser Caucasus and is bordered by Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran. Its highest peak is Mount Aragats, 4090m (13,415ft), and even its deepest valleys lie 450-700m (1200-1870ft) above sea level. Its biggest lake is Lake Sevan in the east.
Government: Republic. Gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Head of State: President Robert Kocharian since 1998. Head of Government: Prime Minister Andranik Markaryan since 2000.
Language: Armenian. Russian is usually understood, but rarely used; Kurdish is sometimes used in broadcasting as 56,000 Kurds inhabit Armenia.
Religion: Armenia is the oldest Christian nation in the world, its conversion dating from the year AD 310. The Armenian Apostolic Church developed separately from both the Catholic and Orthodox branches of Christianity. It remains the dominant church, although there are Catholic and Protestant communities and a Russian Orthodox minority.
Time: GMT + 3 (GMT + 4 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz.
Telephone
IDD is available to Yerevan. Country code: 374. Yerevan city code: 1. Outgoing calls to other CIS countries can be made by dialling with the appropriate codes, but only with difficulty. Outgoing international calls to other countries must be made through the operator. Some hotels and many businesses now have satellite links.
Mobile telephone
GSM 900 network is in use. The main network operators include Armentel (website: www.armentel.com). Coverage is limited to Yerevan and the west of the country.
Internet
ISPs include Arminco (website: www.arminco.com) and Yerphi, set up and run by the Yerevan Physics Institute Computer Center (website: www.yerphi.am).
Post
International postal services are available to most countries but may be slow and unreliable. The main post office is located at 22 Sarya Str, Yerevan; post office opening hours are Mon-Fri 0900-1700.
Press
The main newspapers are Hayastan, Aravot, Azg and Yerkir, all of which are published only in Armenian (Russian editions have been discontinued since the Russian minority in the republic has dropped from eight per cent to less than two per cent in recent years). Golos Armenii (The Voice of Armenia) and Respublika Armenia survive as the main Russian-language papers. Noyan Tapan, an English-language weekly circulated primarily among the foreign missions and small foreign business community, is published by an independent information agency based in Yerevan.
BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.
BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice):
Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov):
Fax
Faxes can be sent from InfoCom offices and travel agencies.
Telegram
Telegrams can be sent from post offices and larger hotels.
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