Armenia                                                                                

Formal Name: Republic of Armenia.

Short Form: Armenia.

Term for Citizens: Armenian(s).

Capital: Erevan.

Date of Independence: September 23, 1991.

Geography

Size: Approximately 29,800 square kilometers.

Topography: Dominated by Lesser Caucasus range, running across north and then turning southeast to Iran. Armenian Plateau to the southwest of mountains. Plateau, major feature of central Armenia, slopes gradually downward into Aras River valley, which forms border with Turkey to west and Iran to south.

Climate: Mountains preclude influence from nearby seas; temperature and precipitation generally determined by elevation: colder and wetter in higher elevations (north and northeast). In central plateau, wide temperature variation between winter and summer.

Society

Population: By official 1994 estimate, population 3,521,517; in 1994 annual growth rate about 1.1 percent; 1991 population density 112.6 persons per square kilometer.

Ethnic Groups: In 1989 census, Armenians 93.7 percent, Azerbaijanis 2.6 percent, Kurds 1.7 percent, Russians 1.6 percent, and other 0.4 percent.

Languages: Official state language Armenian, spoken by 96 percent of population. Russian first language of 2 percent, second language for about 40 percent of population.

Religion: Approximately 94 percent of population belongs to Armenian Apostolic Church. Other religions include Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant denominations, and Islam.

Education and Literacy: Education compulsory through secondary school. Literacy estimated at 100 percent. In early 1990s, substantial changes, begun in previous centralized Soviet system, emphasized national heritage.

Health: Nominal continuation of Soviet-era guarantee of universal care, but health care system deteriorated under stress of independence and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Severe shortage of basic medical supplies in early 1990s, and many clinics and Economy

Gross National Product (GNP): Estimated at US$2.7 billion in 1992, or US$780 per capita. Growth rate in 1992 was - 46 percent. Economic growth crippled after 1989 by Azerbaijani blockade of fuel and other materials and by demands of NagornoKarabakh conflict.

Industry and Mining: Dominant light manufacturing products include footwear, woven clothing, and carpets. Nonferrous metallurgy, machine building, electronics, petrochemicals, fertilizers, and building materials most important heavy industries. Mining resource base broad, including copper, molybdenum, gold, silver, and iron ore, but little developed.

Agriculture: After privatization in 1990, assumed larger share of economy; most land privately owned by 1993. Farms small but relatively productive. Main crops grains, potatoes, vegetables, grapes, berries, cotton, sugar beets, tobacco, figs, and olives.

Energy: Nearly all energy supplied from abroad, causing severe shortage under blockade of early 1990s. Natural gas, delivered from Turkmenistan via Georgia pipeline, frequently blocked. Hydroelectric plants main domestic source; natural gas supply from Russia intermittent because of pipeline damage.

Exports: In 1990 worth US$2.1 billion. Principal items textiles, shoes, carpets, machines, chemical products, processed foods, and metal products. Postcommunist export markets shifted toward Turkey and Iran, but traditional ties with Russia and Eastern Europe remained. License controls eased in 1992. Total export trade, severely constricted by blockade, about US$135.6 million in 1993.

Imports: In 1990 worth US$2.8 billion. Principal items light industrial products, industrial raw materials, fuels, and energy. Principal import suppliers Russia, Turkmenistan, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Nearly all energy and much food must be imported.

Balance of Payments: Estimated in 1992 as US$137 million deficit.

Exchange Rate: Dram introduced November 1993, to become exclusive national currency early 1994. May 1994 rate about 390 drams per US$1. Second national unit, luma (100 to the dram), introduced February 1994.

Inflation: Dram devalued as Russian ruble devalued, early 1994, against United States dollar. Prices raised in steep periodic increments, including 30 percent rise March 1994. Prices in 1993 rose 130 percent as fast as wages.

Fiscal Year: Calendar year.

Fiscal Policy: Highly centralized government system, with no regional authority. Indexation of salaries and prices and currency devaluation used to balance supply and demand. Taxes added and changed 1992-93 to improve national income

hospitals closed.

Transportation and Telecommunications

Highways: In 1991 about 11,300 kilometers of road, of which 10,500 had hard-surface.

Railroads: In 1992 total mainline track about 825 kilometers, none of which standard gauge. International lines to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey. Domestic lines run by Armenia Railways. Service disrupted in early 1990s.

Civil Aviation: Ten usable airports, six with hardsurface runways. Zvartnots Airport, near Erevan, only airport accommodating large jets. State Airlines Company of Armenia national airline.

Inland Waterways: None.

Ports: None.

Pipelines: Natural gas pipeline 900 kilometers in 1991; service disrupted in early 1990s.

Telecommunications: Direct-dial telephone system with 200 circuits and international service in 1991. Radio and television controlled by State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting. Armenian and Russian television broadcasts available to 100 percent of population via International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat) satellite. Thirteen radio stations broadcast domestically in Armenian, Kurdish, and Russian.

Azerbaijan

Formal Name: Republic of Azerbaijan.

Short Form: Azerbaijan.

Term for Citizens: Azerbaijani(s).

Capital: Baku.

Date of Independence: October 18, 1991.

Geography

Size: Approximately 86,600 square kilometers.

Topography: About half mountainous; surrounded by mountain ranges, most notably Greater Caucasus range to north. Flatlands in center and along Caspian Sea coast.

Climate: Dry, semiarid steppe in center and east, subtropical in southeast, cold at high mountain elevations to north, temperate on Caspian Sea coast.

Society

Population: Mid-1994 estimate 7,684,456; 1994 annual growth rate 1.4 percent. Density in 1991 approximately eightythree people per square kilometer.

Ethnic Groups: Azerbaijanis 82.7 percent, Russians 5.6 percent, Armenians 5.6 percent, and Lezgins (Daghestanis) 3.2 percent, per 1989 census (Armenians and Russians much less in early 1990s).

Languages: Azerbaijani 82 percent, Russian 7 percent, and Armenian 5 percent, per 1989 census (Armenian much less in early 1990s).

Religion: In 1989 Muslim 87 percent (about 70 percent of which Shia), Russian Orthodox 5.6 percent, and Armenian Apostolic 5.6 percent (much less in early 1990s). Many mosques reopened or established after religious restrictions of Soviet period.

Education and Literacy: Compulsory education through eighth grade. In 1970 literacy estimated at 100 percent (ages nine to forty-nine). After 1991 major reform program was begun to modify Soviet system, eliminate ideology, increase use of Azerbaijani language, and reintroduce traditional religious instruction.

Health: Nominally universal health care available but facilities limited, especially after independence. Sanitation, pharmacies, health care delivery, and research and development at relatively low level; medicines and equipment in short supply.

Economy

Gross National Product (GNP): In 1992 estimated at US$18.6 billion, or US$2,480 per capita. Average growth rate 1.9 percent in 1980-91. Production dropped throughout early 1990s because of adjustments to post-Soviet system and because of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Agriculture: Main crops grapes, cotton, tobacco, citrus fruits, and vegetables. Livestock, dairy products, and wine also produced. Slow privatization hinders productivity increase, and production of most crops decreased in early 1990s. Irrigation and other equipment outmoded, although irrigation critical for many crops.

Industry and Mining: Principal industries oil extraction, oil equipment manufacture, petrochemicals, and construction. Besides oil, large natural gas deposits and some iron ore, bauxite, cobalt, and molybdenum. Oil production in decline since 1980s.

Energy: Abundant hydroelectric potential, but majority of electric power generated by oil-fired plants. Domestic natural gas production meets 35 percent of domestic needs. Foreign assistance sought to rejuvenate oil extraction industry.

Exports: In 1992 estimated at US$926 million with Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations and US$821 million outside CIS, of which 61 percent refined oil and gas products, 25 percent machinery and metal products, and 7 percent light industrial products (textiles and food products). Largest export markets Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, and Hungary.

Imports: In 1992 estimated at US$300 million outside CIS, of which 36 percent machine parts, 21 percent processed foods, and 12 percent nonfood light industrial products. Largest import sources Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Balance of Payments: In 1992 trade surplus approximately US$24 million.

Exchange Rate: Manat, established in 1992 at ten rubles to the manat, was used together with ruble until end of 1993, after which manat became sole currency. October 1993 exchange rate US$1=120 manat.

Inflation: Estimated at 1,200 percent for 1993.

Fiscal Year: Calendar year.

Fiscal Policy: State budget consists of central government budget and budgets of sixty-eight local and regional government budgets. Tax system revised in 1992 to improve state income, and budgetary expenditures tightly controlled to minimize budget deficits.

Transportation and Telecommunications

Highways: In 1990 about 36,700 kilometers of roads, of which 31,800 hard-surface. Generally poorly maintained.

Railroads: 2,090 kilometers of rail line in 1990. Lines connect Baku with Tbilisi, Makhachkala (Daghestan), and Erevan; rail line in Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic goes to Tabriz (Iran). Operating costs high because of poor equipment condition. Service disrupted by Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in early 1990s.

Civil Aviation: Total thirty-three usable airports, twenty-six with permanent-surface runways. Longest runway at Baku International Airport. National airline, Azerbaijan Airlines, founded in 1992.

Inland Waterways: Most rivers not navigable.

Ports: Baku center of Caspian shipping lines to Iran and Turkmenistan.

Pipelines: In 1994 crude oil pipeline 1,130 kilometers, petroleum products pipeline 630 kilometers, and natural gas pipeline 1,240 kilometers.

Telecommunications: In 1991 total telephone lines 644,000 (nine per 100 persons). Connections to CIS countries by cable and microwave. Connections to other countries through Moscow. International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat) station in Baku gives access to 200 countries through Turkey. Turkish and Iranian television stations received through satellite; domestic and Russian broadcasts received locally.

Georgia

Formal Name: Republic of Georgia.

Short Name: Georgia.

Term for Citizens: Georgian(s).

Capital: Tbilisi.

Date of Independence: April 9, 1991.

Geography

Size: Approximately 69,875 square kilometers.

Topography: Extremely varied; Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus ranges dominate northern and eastern regions. Many rivers flow through mountain gorges into Black Sea and Caspian Sea. Narrow lowland area along Black Sea. Plains region in east.

Climate: Subtropical, humid along coast. Mountains protect from northern influences and create temperature zones according to elevation. Eastern plains, isolated from sea, have continental climate. Year-round snow in highest mountains.

Society

Population: Mid-1994 estimate 5,681,025. Annual growth rate 0.81 percent in 1994. Density seventy-nine per square kilometer in 1994.

Ethnic Groups: In early 1990s, Georgians 70.1 percent, Armenians 8.1 percent, Russians 6.3 percent, Azerbaijanis 5.7 percent, Ossetians 3 percent, and Abkhaz 1.8 percent.

Languages: In early 1990s, official language, Georgian, spoken by 71 percent of population. Russian spoken by 9 percent, followed by Armenian with 7 percent and Azerbaijani with 6 percent.

Religion: In 1993 Georgian Orthodox 65 percent, Muslim 11 percent, Russian Orthodox 10 percent, and Armenian Apostolic 8 percent.

Education and Literacy: Free and compulsory through secondary school. Previous Soviet system modified to eliminate ideology and strengthen Georgian language and history. Some teaching continues in minority languages. Nineteen institutions of higher learning. Literacy estimated at 100 percent by 1980s.

Health: Universal free health care, among best systems in Soviet period, but under severe stress after 1991. Reform program blocked by civil war and political instability in early 1990s. Facilities overtaxed by refugee and emergency care requirements.

Economy

Gross National Product (GNP): Estimated at US$4.7 billion in 1992, or approximately US$850 per person. Economic growth negative in early 1990s because of destruction of infrastructure, unavailability of inputs, and failure of economic reorganization.

Agriculture: Very productive with irrigation of western lowlands, but efficiency hindered by post-Soviet misallocation of land and materials. Tea and citrus fruits produced in subtropical areas; also grain, sugar beets, fruits, wine, cattle, pigs, and sheep. Over half of cultivated land privatized as of end of 1993.

Industry and Mining: Industry heavily dependent on inputs from other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) republics and from abroad. Main products semifinished metals, vehicles, textiles, and chemicals. Coal, copper, and manganese principal minerals.

Energy: Scant domestic fuel reserves; 95 percent imported (mostly oil and natural gas) in 1990. Coal output dropped sharply through early 1990s. Hydroelectric potential high, but mainly untapped. Power output does not meet domestic needs.

Exports: Estimated at US$32.6 million in 1992. Major exports citrus fruits, tea, machinery, ferrous and nonferrous metals, and textiles. Main markets Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Turkey.

Imports: Estimated at US$43.8 million in 1992. Major imports machinery and parts, fuels, transportation equipment, and textiles. Main suppliers Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

Balance of Payments: Estimated as US$23.7 million deficit in 1992.

Exchange Rate: Coupon introduced in early 1993. November 1994 exchange rate 1,625,000 coupons per US$1.

Inflation: Estimated in January 1993 at 50 percent monthly.

Fiscal Year: Calendar year.

Fiscal Policy: Centralized decision making, but large underground economy limits economic control. Extensive manipulation of tax structure in 1992-93 to shrink large budget deficits. Deficits remained high as revenue estimates fell short. Enterprise privatization slow.

Transportation and Telecommunications

Highways: In 1990 about 35,100 kilometers of roads, of which 31,200 hard-surface. Four main highways radiate from Tbilisi, roughly in the cardinal directions, to Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Black Sea. Tbilisi hub of Caucasus region's highway system.

Railroads: 1,421 kilometers of track in 1993. Main links with Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. Substantial disruption in 1992-93 by civil war and fuel shortages. Tbilisi hub of Caucasus region's rail transport.

Civil Aviation: National airline, Orbis, provides direct flights from Tbilisi to some West European cities. Passenger and cargo service limited by fuel shortages in 1991-94. Nineteen of twenty-six airports with permanent-surface runways in 1993; longest runway, at Novoalekseyevka near Tbilisi, about 2,500 meters.

Inland Waterways: None navigable by commercial shipping.

Ports: Batumi, Poti, and Sukhumi on Black Sea, with international shipping connections to other Black Sea ports and Mediterranean ports.

Pipelines: In 1992 approximately 370 kilometers of pipeline for crude oil, 300 kilometers for refined products, and 440 kilometers for natural gas. Subject to disruption.

Telecommunications: About 672,000 telephone lines in use in 1991, twelve per 100 persons; long waiting list for installation. International links overland to CIS countries and Turkey; lowcapacity satellite earth station in operation. Three television stations and numerous radio stations broadcast in Georgian and Russian.