Censuses of Armenia

The first Armenian census after the dissolution of the Soviet Union was conducted by the Republic of Armenia in 2001-2002. The Azgayin Zhoghov (National Assembly) adopted the law "On Census" in 1999, but the government lacked the necessary funds to carry out the count immediately. According to Armenian law, a census must take place every 10 years.

It is worth noting the demographic trends in modern Armenia during its history. While Armenians formed a consistent majority, Azerbaijanis were historically the second largest population in the republic under Soviet rule (forming about 10% by 1939). However, due to hostilities with neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh virtually all Azeris emigrated from Armenia. Conversely, Armenia received a large influx of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, thus giving Armenia a more homogeneous character. This forceful population exchange also had an impact on the Christian Udi people of Azerbaijan, many of whom were perceived as Armenians due to close cultural ties between both peoples. The number of Udis residing in Armenia has increased from 19 in 1989 to about 200 by 2006.

Additionally since independence, several other ethnic groups have emigrated especially Russians (who decreased from 51,555 persons in 1989 to 14,660 in 2001), Ukrainians (8,341 in 1989 to 1,633 in 2001), Greeks (4,650 in 1989 to 1,176 in 2001), and Belarusians (1,061 in 1989 to 160 in 2001). The numbers of Yazidis, Kurds, and Assyrians have remained consistent for the most part (though approximately 2,000 Assyrians have left Armenia between 1989 and 2001). Georgians have also historically been counted among the largest ethnic groups in modern Armenia, though it is likely that their numbers have dropped substantially since the 1989 Soviet census when they numbered 1,364 persons.

Soviet Armenia censuses

Year	Total	Urban	Rural	Armenians	Azerbaijanis	Russians	Yazidis/Kurds	Ukrainians	Assyrians	Greeks	Georgians	Belarusians	Others
1926	878,929	165,908 (18.8%)	713,021 (81.1%)	743,571 (84.5%)	83,1811 (9.4%)	19,548 (2.2%)	15,2622 (1.7%)	2,826 (0.3%)	N/A	2,980 (0.3%)	274 (0.03%)	360 (0.04%)	10,927 (1.2%)
1939	1,282,338	N/A	N/A	1,061,997 (82.8%)	130,896 (10.2%)	51,464 (4%)	20,481 (1.5%)	5,496 (0.4%)	3,280 (0.2%)	4,181 (0.3%)	652 (0.05%)	458 (0.03%)	3,433 (0.2%)
1959	1,763,048	N/A	N/A	1,551,610 (88%)	107,748 (6.1%)	56,477 (3.2%)	25,627 (1.4%)	5,593 (0.3%)	N/A	4,976 (0.2%)	816 (0.04%)	805 (0.04%)	9,396 (0.5%)
1970	2,491,873	1,481,532 (59.4%)	1,010,341 (40.5%)	2,208,327 (88.6%)	148,189 (5.9%)	66,108 (2.6%)	37,486 (1.5%)	8,390 (0.3%)	5,544 (0.2%)	5,690 (0.2%)	1,439 (0.05%)	1,179 (0.04%)	9,521 (0.3%)
1979	3,037,259	1,992,539 (65.7%)	1,038,208 (34.3%)	2,724,975 (89.7%)	160,841 (5.2%)	70,336 (2.3%)	50,822 (1.6%)	8,900 (0.2%)	6,183 (0.2%)	5,653 (0.1%)	1,314 (0.04%)	1,183 (0.03%)	7,052 (0.2%)
1989	3,304,776	2,229,540 (67.8%)	1,058,137 (32.2%)	3,083,616 (93.3%)	84,860 (2.5%)	51,555 (1.5%)	56,127 (1.6%)	8,341 (0.2%)	5,963 (0.1%)	4,650 (0.1%)	1,364 (0.04%)	1,061 (0.03%)	7,239 (0.2%)

¹ Azerbaijanis were simply referred to as "Turks" in the 1926 census, though it should be noted that Turks from Turkey were counted separately as "Ottoman Turks." Figure also includes the Azerbaijani subgroup of Karapapaks who were distinguished as a separate ethnic group in the 1926 census but were counted as ethnic Azerbaijanis in subsequent censuses.

² Includes numbers of both Yazidi and Kurdish populations which were counted separately in the 1926 census but were combined in subsequent censuses.

Republican Armenia censuses

Year	Total	Urban	Rural	Armenians	Yazidis	Russians	Assyrians	Ukrainians	Kurds	Greeks	Others
2001	3,213,011	2,066,153 (64.3%)	1,146,858 (35.7%)	3,145,354 (97.9%)	40,620 (1.2%)	14,660 (0.4%)	3,409 (0.1%)	1,633 (0.05%)	1,519 (0.04%)	1,176 (0.03%)	4,640 (0.1%)

See also

• Demographics of Armenia