2,989,091 (2023 est.)
noun: Armenian(s)
adjective: Armenian
Armenian 98.1%, Yezidi 1.1%, other 0.8% (2022 est.)
Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurmanji (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1.1%; note - Russian is widely spoken (2011 est.)
major-language sample(s):
Աշխարհի Փաստագիրք, Անփոխարինելի Աղբյւր Հիմնական Տեղեկատվւթյան. (Armenian)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Armenian audio sample:
Armenian Apostolic Christian 95.2%, other Christian 1.6%, other 0.9%, none 0.6%, unspecified 1.7% (2022 est.)
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 20th 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.
0-14 years: 17.98% (male 282,055/female 255,313)
15-64 years: 67.53% (male 999,784/female 1,018,891)
65 years and over: 14.49% (2023 est.) (male 178,824/female 254,224)
2023 population pyramid: 
total dependency ratio: 49.6
youth dependency ratio: 30.6
elderly dependency ratio: 19.1
potential support ratio: 5.2 (2021 est.)
total: 38.3 years (2023 est.)
male: 36.9 years
female: 39.8 years
-0.4% (2023 est.)
10.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
9.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-5.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
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
urban population: 63.7% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.23% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
1.095 million YEREVAN (capital) (2023)
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
25.2 years (2019 est.)
27 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 13.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.2 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 76.4 years (2023 est.)
male: 73.1 years
female: 79.9 years
1.65 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.8 (2023 est.)
57.1% (2015/16)
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.)
12.2% of GDP (2020)
4.4 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
4.2 beds/1,000 population (2014)
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.)
20.2% (2016)
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.)
total: 25.5% (2020 est.)
male: 49.4% (2020 est.)
female: 1.5% (2020 est.)
2.6% (2015/16)
64.8% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 0%
women married by age 18: 5.3%
men married by age 18: 0.4% (2016 est.)
2.8% of GDP (2021 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8%
male: 99.8%
female: 99.7% (2020)
total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 14 years (2021)
NOTE: The information regarding Armenia on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Armenia 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Armenia 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.
