Armenia, or as locals call it – Hayastan, is a relatively small, landlocked country in Transcaucasia, between the Black and Caspian Seas, on the southeastern edge of Europe and at the gateway to the Middle East and Asia. Armenia is usually compared to the State of Maryland, which is slightly larger. Its neighboring countries are Georgia and Azerbaijan in the North, and Turkey and Iran in the South. The Republic of Armenia occupies a territory of 29 800 square km, lying at an average altitude of 1800 meters above sea level. About half of Armenia’s territory is at least 2,000 m above sea level, and only 3% of the country lies below 650 m. The lowest points are in the valleys of the Arax and Debet Rivers in the Far North, while the highest is Mount Aragats, an extinct composite volcano at the height of 4,090 m. Armenia has only one lake – Sevan, the largest in the Caucasus region. The capital is Yerevan.

The current population of Armenia is 2,933,876 as of Monday, June 4, 2018, based on the latest United Nations estimates.

The Republic of Armenia is a sovereign, democratic, social state governed by the rule of law. In the Republic of Armenia, the power belongs to the people.
The people exercise their power through free elections, referenda, as well as through state and local self-government bodies and officials provided for by the Constitution.
State power is exercised in conformity with the Constitution and the laws, based on the separation and balance of the legislative, executive and judicial powers.The President of the Republic is the head of the State. The President observes the compliance with the Constitution. In the course of exercising his or her powers, the President of the Republic is impartial and is guided exclusively by statewide and nationwide interests. The President of the Republic performs his or her functions through the powers prescribed by the Constitution.

The President of the Republic is elected by the National Assembly for a term of seven years.

The Prime Minister is the head of government and most senior minister within the Armenian government.

The climate in Armenia is mountainous and continental. Summer is dry and sunny, while winter is cold and short. Clear sunny days are mostly dominant in a year. The summers are hot here, the temperature fluctuates between +22 C to +36 C. The winters are mainly cold, the average temperature is between -15 C to -1 C. The mountain peaks are covered with eternal snow, while their slopes are lined by alpine meadows. The best time to visit Armenia is in spring or in autumn. Daily weather forecasts can be found at http://www.meteo.am.

The Armenian banking system consists of 21 commercial banks, the activity of which is controlled by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia. The banks in Yerevan are open from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays and from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturdays, without lunch breaks. ATMs can be found on all the main streets of Yerevan.

Armenia has two major airports. Zvartnots International Airport is the main airport in the country conveniently located 12 km southwest of downtown Yerevan, the capital city. There are frequent flights from across the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Europe, as well as transit flights to any international airport of the globe.The second airport is situated in Gyumri.

The official language is Armenian, a separate branch of the Indo-European language family. The Armenian letters are radically different from the letters of other languages. State buildings and public places are also marked with Latin-letter signboards. Besides Armenian, Russian is also widely used, and many can communicate in English, too.

The state religion in Armenia is Christianity which was adopted in 301 AD.
The Armenians living in Armenia belong to the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox church. The head of the church is the Catholicos, who resides in Holy Echmiadzin.

The country code is 374, Yerevan city code is 10.
Outgoing international calls can be made by dialing 00 followed by the country code, the city code and the number.

There are 3 mobile operators – “Beeline”, “VivaCell”, “Ucom”, functioning over almost the entire territory of Armenia. Phone cards can be purchased at Zvartnots International Airport, at the offices of these operators or at the big stores, with a passport copy. The cards provide 3G connection and high speed Internet.

For making calls to a landline number in Yerevan from your local mobile number it is necessary to dial 010 followed by the six-digit number.

Armenia Standard Time is 4 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+4). Starting from 2012 Armenia has abolished daylight saving time.

Post offices are open every day from 9 AM to 7 PM. Sunday is a day-off. One of the central post offices is located at the Republic Square, opposite the Government building .