Demographics of Armenia

Demographics trends

After registering a steady increase all through the Soviet period, the population of Armenia declined from 3.604 million in 1991 to 3.211 million in 2003. The latest estimate is 2.872 million on October 12, 2011.

Armenia is the only republic of the former Soviet Union that has a nearly homogeneous population. It is also the second-most densely populated post-Soviet state after Moldova. Ethnic minorities include Russians, Assyrians, Ukrainians, Yazidi Kurds, Iranians, Greeks, Georgians, and Belarusians. There are also smaller communities of Vlachs, Mordvins, Ossetians, Udis, and Tats. Minorities of Poles and Caucasus Germans also exist though they are heavily Russified.

Most Armenians are Christian, primarily of Apostolic Church rite. 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. It is a very ritualistic, conservative church, roughly comparable to the Coptic and Syrian churches. Armenia also has a population of Catholics and evangelical Protestants.

The country's population has declined due to increased emigration since the break-up of the Soviet Union. The rates of emigration and population decline, however, have decreased in recent years, and there has been a moderate influx of Armenians returning to Armenia.

Vital statistics

¹ The numbers of life births and deaths until 1959 were calculated from the birth rate and death rate, respectively ² The high number of deaths in 1988 is related to the Spitak earthquake While in the 19th century the death rate was equal to the rate of other Europeans (excluding England) and lower than the death rate among the Indo—Portuguese, Hindus and Muslims. ³ The population estimate for 2012 has been recalculated on the basis of the 2011 Census.

Fertility Rate (The Demographic Health Survey)

Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and CBR (Crude Birth Rate):

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (12.10.2011) (Census):

Languages

Armenian 97.7%, Kurdish 1%, Russian 0.9%, and other 0.4% (2001 census).

Armenian is the only official language.

Armenia is a member of the La Francophonie due to a small percentage of people studying enough French.

The largest communities of the ethnic Armenian diaspora are fluent in Russian and English.

Religions

According to the Census of 2011 the religion in Armenia is the following: Christianity 2,862,366 (94.8%) of whom 2,797,187 Armenian Apostolic (92.5%), 29,280 Evangelical, 13,996 Armenian and Roman (Latin) Catholic, 8,695 Jehovah's Witness, 8,587 Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Greek), 2,874 Molokan (non-Orthodox Russians), 1,733 Assyrian Church of the East (Nestorian), 733 Protestant, 241 Mormon, Yazidism (0.8%), Paganism (0.2%), 812 Islam, 5,299 Other Religion (0.2%), 121,587 No Response (4%).

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

3,014,000 (October 2014 est.) information from the National Statistic Service of Armenia country comparison to the world: 137

Urbanization

Urban population: 64.1% of total population (2011) Rate of urbanization: 0.34% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.14 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.15 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female Total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 3.76 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 212 Male: 3.78 deaths/1,000 live births Female: 3.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births Country comparison to the world: 113 Male: 15.39 deaths/1,000 live births Female: 12.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.74 children born/woman (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 177

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 0,2% (2012 est.) People living with HIV/AIDS: 3,500 (2012 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths: 200 (2012 est.)

Nationality

Noun: Armenian(s) Adjective: Armenian

Ethnic groups

Armenian 98%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.2%, other 0.8% (2011 est.)