Armenia People - 2022

Population

3,000,756 (2022 est.)

Nationality

noun: Armenian(s)

adjective: Armenian

Ethnic groups

Armenian 98.1%, Yezidi (Kurd) 1.2%, other 0.7% (2011 est.)

Languages

Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurdish (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1%; note - Russian is widely spoken (2011 est.)

major-language sample(s):
Աշխարհի Փաստագիրք, Անփոխարինելի Աղբյւր Հիմնական Տեղեկատվւթյան. (Armenian)

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Armenian audio sample:

Religions

Armenian Apostolic 92.6%, Evangelical 1%, other 2.4%, none 1.1%, unspecified 2.9% (2011 est.)

Demographic profile

Armenia’s population peaked at nearly 3.7 million in the late 1980s but has declined sharply since independence in 1991, to just over 3 million in 2021, largely as a result of its decreasing fertility rate, increasing death rate, and negative net emigration rate.  The total fertility rate (the average number of children born per woman) first fell below the 2.1 replacement level in the late 1990s and has hovered around 1.6-1.65 for over 15 years.  In an effort to increase the country’s birth rate, the government has expanded its child benefits, including a substantial increase in the lump sum payment for having a first and second child and a boost in the monthly payment to mothers of children under two.  Reversing net negative migration, however, remains the biggest obstacle to stabilizing or increasing population growth.  Emigration causes Armenia not only lose individuals but also the children they might have. 

The emigration of a significant number of working-age people combined with decreased fertility and increased life expectancy is causing the elderly share of Armenia’s population to grow.  The growing elderly population will put increasing pressure on the government’s ability to fund the pension system, health care, and other services for seniors.  Improving education, creating more jobs (particularly in the formal sector), promoting labor market participation, and increasing productivity would mitigate the financial impact of supporting a growing elderly population.

Armenia has a long history of migration, some forced and some voluntary.  Its large diaspora is diverse and dispersed around the world.  Widely varying estimates suggest the Armenian diaspora may number anywhere from 5-9 million, easily outnumbering the number of Armenians living in Armenia.  Armenians forged communities abroad from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome to Russia and to the Americas, where they excelled as craftsmen, merchants, and in other occupations. 

Several waves of Armenian migration occurred in the 20^th century.  In the aftermath of the 1915 Armenian genocide, hundreds of thousands of survivors fled to communities in the Caucasus (including present day Armenia), Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Europe, and Russia and established new communities in Africa and the Americas.  In the 1930s, the Soviets deported thousands of Armenians to Siberia and Central Asia.  After World War II, the Soviets encouraged the Armenian diaspora in France, the Middle East, and Iran to return the Armenian homeland in order to encourage population growth after significant losses in the male workforce during the war. 

Following Armenian independence in 1991, the economic downturn and high unemployment prompted hundreds of thousands of Armenians to seek better economic opportunities primarily in Russia but also in the US, former Soviet states, and Europe.  In the early 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Armenians fled from Azerbaijan to Armenia because of the ongoing Nagorno-Karbakh conflict, but many of them then emigrated again, mainly to Russia and the US.  When the economy became more stable in the late 1990s, permanent emigration slowed, but Armenians continued to seek temporary seasonal work in Russia.  The remittances families receive from relatives working abroad is vital to Armenian households and the country’s economy.

Age structure

0-14 years: 18.64% (male 297,320/female 265,969)

15-24 years: 11.63% (male 184,258/female 167,197)

25-54 years: 43.04% (male 639,101/female 661,421)

55-64 years: 14.08% (male 195,754/female 229,580)

65 years and over: 12.6% (male 154,117/female 226,607) (2020 est.)

2022 population pyramid

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 49.6

youth dependency ratio: 30.6

elderly dependency ratio: 19.1

potential support ratio: 5.2 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 36.6 years

male: 35.1 years

female: 38.3 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.38% (2022 est.)

Birth rate

11.1 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Death rate

9.51 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Net migration rate

-5.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Population distribution

most of the population is located in the northern half of the country; the capital of Yerevan is home to more than five times as many people as Gyumri, the second largest city in the country

Urbanization

urban population: 63.7% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.23% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

1.092 million YEREVAN (capital) (2022)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.11 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.11 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.85 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

25.2 years (2019 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

26 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 12.18 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 13.72 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 10.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.13 years

male: 72.86 years

female: 79.68 years (2022 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.65 children born/woman (2022 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

57.1% (2015/16)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

11.3% of GDP (2019)

Physicians density

4.4 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density

4.2 beds/1,000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 84.6% of population

total: 94.4% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 15.4% of population

total: 5.6% of population (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

N/A

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

20.2% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 3.77 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.52 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 2.78 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 25.5% (2020 est.)

male: 49.4% (2020 est.)

female: 1.5% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

2.6% (2015/16)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 0%

women married by age 18: 5.3%

men married by age 18: 0.4% (2016 est.)

Education expenditures

2.8% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99.8%

male: 99.8%

female: 99.7% (2020)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 13 years

male: 13 years

female: 14 years (2021)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 24%

male: 25.4%

female: 22.1% (2020 est.)