Armenia vs. Azerbaijan
Geography
| Armenia | Azerbaijan | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Southwestern Asia, between Turkey (to the west) and Azerbaijan; note - Armenia views itself as part of Europe; geopolitically, it can be classified as falling within Europe, the Middle East, or both | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range |
| Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 45 00 E | 40 30 N, 47 30 E |
| Map references | Asia | Asia |
| Area | total: 29,743 sq km land: 28,203 sq km water: 1,540 sq km | total: 86,600 sq km land: 82,629 sq km water: 3,971 sq km note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991 |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | about three-quarters the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than Maine |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,570 km border countries (4): Azerbaijan 996 km, Georgia 219 km, Iran 44 km, Turkey 311 km | total: 2,468 km border countries (5): Armenia 996 km, Georgia 428 km, Iran 689 km, Russia 338 km, Turkey 17 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (713 km) |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
| Climate | highland continental, hot summers, cold winters | dry, semiarid steppe |
| Terrain | Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley | large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland, much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) to the west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Aragats Lerrnagagat' 4,090 m lowest point: Debed River 400 m mean elevation: 1,792 m | highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,466 m lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m mean elevation: 384 m |
| Natural resources | small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, bauxite | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, bauxite |
| Land use | agricultural land: 59.7% (2018 est.) arable land: 15.8% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1.9% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 42% (2018 est.) forest: 9.1% (2018 est.) other: 31.2% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 57.6% (2018 est.) arable land: 22.8% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 2.7% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 32.1% (2018 est.) forest: 11.3% (2018 est.) other: 31.1% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 2,740 sq km (2012) | 14,277 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts | droughts |
| Environment - current issues | soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; deforestation; pollution of Hrazdan and Aras Rivers; the draining of Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan), a result of its use as a source for hydropower, threatens drinking water supplies; restart of Metsamor nuclear power plant in spite of its location in a seismically active zone | local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil spills, from the use of DDT pesticide, and from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton; surface and underground water are polluted by untreated municipal and industrial wastewater and agricultural run-off |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note | landlocked in the Lesser Caucasus Mountains; Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan) is the largest lake in this mountain range | both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked |
| Total renewable water resources | 7.769 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 34.675 billion cubic meters (2017 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 | highest population density is found in the far eastern area of the county, in and around Baku; apart from smaller urbanized areas, the rest of the country has a fairly light and evenly distributed population |
Source: CIA Factbook
