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E-mailAbout the size of Maryland (29,800 square kilometers), Armenia is a landlocked, mountainous country situated in the Caucasus Region, surrounded by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. In September 1991, Armenian voters opted for independence from the Soviet Union. However, the break-up of the Soviet Union brought an end to the commercial ties and protected markets which had helped make Armenia among the most prosperous of the former Soviet republics.
Armenia’s early years of independence were characterized by severe economic decline and energy shortages. This situation precipitated a new humanitarian crisis, while the country was still recovering from the economic and social fallout of the 1988 earthquake, which had left over 25,000 people dead and 500,000 homeless. To a large extent, the crises that Armenia experienced during the early- to mid-1990’s have abated. However, political and economic institutions and practices are nascent and progress towards structural reform has been inconsistent.
While there has been positive economic growth in recent years, Armenia has only recently recovered to its pre-independence income levels. Armenia’s internal political landscape remains unstable, and its relations with its neighboring Azerbaijan and Turkey remain problematic due to the unresolved conflict over Nagorno Karabakh. Finally, there is not an adequate social safety net to meet the basic needs of country’s vulnerable groups, including those who have been negatively impacted by Armenia’s transition process.
Notwithstanding the above mentioned conditions, since its independence Armenia has emerged as a strategically important republic in the Caucasus, whose progress towards a democratic political order and free market economy is critical to U.S. interests in the region.
Since 1998, USAID has shifted its program emphasis from humanitarian to a longer-term developmental approach to facilitate Armenia’s transition to a free market democracy. Currently, the Mission has strategic objectives in the following five principal areas: private sector growth, energy sector, democracy/governance, health and social sectors, peace and security/cross-border activities. In these areas, the Mission is carrying out an ambitious program that balances the needs for macro-level reform and sustainability with the immediate demands to improve the quality of life of the Armenian populace.
Since 1999, USAID/Armenia’s funding has averaged approximately $53 million annually. These figures establish Armenia as one of the largest per capita recipients of U.S. assistance in the world.
