Armenians

Armenians (Armenian: հայեր, romanized: hayer, [hɑˈjɛɾ]) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.[44][45][46] Armenians constitute the main population of the Republic of Armenia and the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora of around five million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry living outside modern Armenia. The largest Armenian populations today exist in Russia, the United States, France, Georgia, Iran, Germany, Ukraine, Lebanon, Brazil, Syria, and Turkey. The present-day Armenian diaspora was formed mainly as a result of the Armenian genocide with the exceptions of Iran, former Soviet states, and parts of the Levant.[47]

Quick facts: Total population, Regions with significant po... ▼

Armenians
Հայեր Hayer

Flag of Armenia
Total population
c. 8 million[1] to 11–16 million[2]
Regions with significant populations
Armenia     2,961,514[3][4]
Russia	1,182,388[5]–2,900,000[6]
United States	1,000,366[7]–1,500,000[8]
France	250,000[9]–750,000[10]
Georgia  •  Abkhazia[lower-alpha 1]	168,191[11] 41,864[12]
Azerbaijan  •  Artsakh[lower-alpha 2]	50-1,000
Lebanon	150,000[13]
Iran	120,000[14]
Germany	90,000–110,000[15]
Ukraine[lower-alpha 3]	100,000 (2001)[16]
Brazil	100,000[17][18]
Greece	80,000[19]
Argentina	70,000[20]
Turkey	60,000[21] 300,000–5,000,000 (Hidden Armenians)[22][23]
Canada	68,855[24]
Uzbekistan	50,000–70,000[25]
Poland	40,000–80,000[26][27][28]
Belgium	40,000[29]
Spain	40,000[30]
Bulgaria	30,000[31]
Syria[lower-alpha 4]	25,000–30,000[32][33]
Kazakhstan	25,000[34]
Australia	22,526[35]
United Kingdom	18,000–20,000[36][37][38]
United Arab Emirates	8,000–10,000[39]
Netherlands	5,689[n]–8,374[m] (2021)[40][41]
Israel and  Palestine	2,000–10,000[42][43]
Languages
Armenian, Armenian Sign
Religion
Christianity Armenian Apostolic Church · Catholic · Protestant Armenian Native Faith
Related ethnic groups
Hemshin, Hayhurum, Lom
^ n: by legal nationality ^ m: by nationality, naturalisation and descendant background

Armenian is an Indo-European language.[45][48] It has two mutually intelligible spoken and written forms: Eastern Armenian, today spoken mainly in Armenia, Artsakh, Iran, and the former Soviet republics; and Western Armenian, used in the historical Western Armenia and, after the Armenian genocide, primarily in the Armenian diasporan communities. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots.

Most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church, a non-Chalcedonian Christian church, which is also the world's oldest national church. Christianity began to spread in Armenia soon after Jesus' death, due to the efforts of two of his apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew.[49] In the early 4th century, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first state to adopt Christianity as a state religion,[50] followed by the first pilgrimages to the Holy Land where a community established the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem.[42][51]