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Armenian diaspora
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The Armenian diaspora is a term used to describe the communities of Armenians living outside of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Of the total Armenian population living worldwide (in 2004 estimated to be 9,000,000), only about 3,000,000 live in Armenia and about 130,000 in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian diaspora population is estimated to be 8,000,000. (See chart of population breakdown by country). Only one-fifth of the world's Armenian population lives in the former Soviet republic of Armenia, and their pre-World War I homeland until the 1920s once covered five or six times that of present-day Armenia, including the eastern regions of Turkey, parts of Iran and Syria.
Armenians of the Middle East Immediately after the Armenian Genocide, the Armenians of the diaspora lived in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.

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Encyclopedia
The Armenian diaspora is a term used to describe the communities of Armenians living outside of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Of the total Armenian population living worldwide (in 2004 estimated to be 9,000,000), only about 3,000,000 live in Armenia and about 130,000 in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian diaspora population is estimated to be 8,000,000. (See chart of population breakdown by country). Only one-fifth of the world's Armenian population lives in the former Soviet republic of Armenia, and their pre-World War I homeland until the 1920s once covered five or six times that of present-day Armenia, including the eastern regions of Turkey, parts of Iran and Syria.
History Although an Armenian diaspora existed since the Armenian loss of statehood in 1375 (when the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia fell to the Mamelukes), it grew in size only after the Armenian Genocide.
Although many Armenians perished, others managed to escape, and established themselves in various Eastern European cities, such as Moscow, Russia; Sochi, Russia; Odessa, Ukraine; Sevastopol, Crimea (Ukraine); Tbilisi, Georgia; Batumi, Georgia; Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Others emigrated to the The Balkans, such as Bulgaria and Athens, Greece.
Yet others emigrated to Middle Eastern cities, such as and Aleppo, Syria and Beirut, Lebanon.
Armenians of the Middle East Immediately after the Armenian Genocide, the Armenians of the diaspora lived in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. Some emigrated to Greece and further. However, as the financial situation of the refugee Armenians improved, the camps grew into towns, and these towns became cities.
This was the case of many of the Armenian-populated regions in Lebanon like Anjar and Bourj Hammoud. In time, the Armenians organized themselves by building churches, schools, community centers, etc. Various political parties and benevolent unions, such as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF or Dashnaktsutiun), the Social-Democrat Hunchakian party (Hunchak), Liberal Democratic (Ramgavar) Party and the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), were established wherever there was a considerable number of Armenians.
Following the expansion of Pan-Arabism in Egypt and Syria, Islamism in Iran, and the Lebanese Civil War, tens of thousands of Armenians emigrated from the Middle East and established themselves in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia.
Some Armenians fought for Iraq in the army under Saddam Hussein in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, two countries known to have large Armenian communities until the 2000s. The Armenian community in Iraq has dwindled after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and a scattering number of Armenians remain in east Asia. The Iranian Armenian community also shrank in size since the 1970s.
Israel has a small Armenian community centered on the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem. A smaller community exists in Israel proper.
Cyprus meanwhile has a small but vocal Armenian community, particularly in the southern portion of the island where the majority population is Greek-Cypriot and Orthodox Christian. During British administration, they were governed as part of the Greek-Cypriot population, and due to the current division of the island operate de facto in a similar fashion today. Like the Latins and the Lebanese Maronites, Armenian-Cypriots have special minority status in Cyprus and are exempt from the military, though some elements of the community have been vocal about removing this exemption. While the Armenian community is guaranteed a seat in the House of Parliament, it is possible that any future solution between the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot populations might see the Armenian-Cypriot community take on a greater role in the power-sharing arrangement of the island, as they form the third-largest ethnic group and are considerably larger than others.
Armenians in Europe and the Americas
Several million Armenians settled in Western Europe (i.e. France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands) and in the Americas (North and South) as early as in the 1890s.
Following the expansion of Pan-Arabism in Egypt and Syria, Islamism in Iran, and the Lebanese Civil War, many Armenians emigrated from the Middle East and established themselves in the United States, Canada, France, and Brazil where in the city of São Paulo their district names a São Paulo Metro underground train station, and elsewhere, where they founded lobbies to support the Republic of Armenia and extend the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.
An estimated 10,000 Armenians are said to reside in Mexico.
Armenians in the Soviet Era
Substantial Armenian communities also exist in the Russian Far East as well as in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. Some of these groups were encouraged to settle in the area by both Tsarist and Soviet authorities while others had no choice but to come, being part of Stalin's population deportations.
Other Diaspora Armenians
Armenian communities can also be found in India, New Zealand, Sub-Saharan Africa (Sudan, South Africa, and Ethiopia), and as far east as Singapore, Burma and Hong Kong. Armenian exile communities even once thrived in China, Japan and the Philippines, but the status of Armenian culture in these countries has all but disappeared.
Political and religious conflicts
In the 1940s and 1950s, the Soviet Union was trying to extend its influence throughout the world, and especially in the Middle East. The Social-Democrat Henchagian party, being ideologically close to communism, supported the Soviet Union in its struggle to expand in the Middle East. Partisans of the AGBU, supposedly being politically neutral, also supported the Soviet Union, because Armenia was part of Soviet Union. The ARF, despite its socialist background was a nationalistic party, objected, as it propagated the idea of a free, independent, and united Armenia. As the ARF struggled to preserve the flag, coat of arms, and national anthem of the Independent Armenian Republic of 1918-1922, others chose to support Soviet Armenia, seeing it as the only place in the world where Armenians could live safely as Armenians.
There was also a conflict between the leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenians had 2 Catholicoses. One of them was located in Echmiadzin, Armenia and was supported by the Soviet authorities and in the Armenian diaspora by the Hunchaks, the Ramgavars and the Armenian communists, while the other was located in Antelias, Lebanon and was supported by the Dashnaks, as they thought that the Catholicosate of Echmiadzin was a tool for propagation of communism. In the 1950s, during the climax of this conflict, there were armed clashes between partisans of the 2 "sides", and also assassination attempts, acts of desecration, etc.
Armenian Reconciliation in the Diaspora
Tensions eased out as in 1965, all the conflicting majour parties came together with joint communique and plan of action to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. They also agreed to set aside acrominious aspects between them specially in the highly politicized and partisan media of the time.
In 1975 the inter-Armenian relations became even closer as during the Lebanese Civil War, the Armenians had to stick together in a pact of "positive neutrality" in order to overcome opposing forces and keep the Armenians as far as possible away from the conflict between the Lebanese.
Armenians per country Note: Most of this data is based on estimates. Many - especially in the United States - identify with multiple ethnics or cultures mostly being their decent and the country they are currently living in.
Armenians per country | Rank | Country or territory | Centres of Armenian population (Capital italicized) | Armenian population (official census) | Population of Armenians (current estimates - most reliable/probable bold (used for sorting)) | Dialect(s) spoken | Country page of Armenian presence | List of famous Armenians |
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| 1 | Armenia | The entire country | |
Armenian Statistical Service, 2001: 3,145,354
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CIA, July 2008: 2,906,245
[97.9% of est. 2,968,586 people living in Armenia] Eastern | | | 2 | Russia | Moscow, North Caucasus (mainly Krasnodar Krai), Vladivostok | |
2002: 1,130,491 |
3,000,000 both | Armenians in Russia | List of Armenian-Russians | | 3 | United States | Los Angeles, Glendale, Fresno, Boston, Watertown, Detroit, Chicago, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Las Vegas, Nevada | |
US, 2000: 385,488
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3noor project: 1,000,000
Armenien Embassy in Canada : 1,000,000
1,500,000 both | Armenians in the United States | List of Armenian Americans | | 4 | Iran | Tehran, Isfahan (New Julfa quarter), Tabriz, Urmia, Fereydan/Peria, Bourvari, Maku, Khoy, Northern Iran | | |
Tore Kjeilein: 170,000
[Language]
Tore Kjeilein: 200,000
Encyclopedia of the Orient: 400,000
Tore Kjeilein: 502,500
[Religion]
[500,000 Armenian Orthodox + 2,500 Armenian Catholics] Eastern | Armenians in Iran | List of Armenian-Iranians | | 5 | France | Paris, Marseille, Lyon | | |
3noor project: 250,000
bbc news, 12 October 2006: 500,000
both | Armenians in France | List of Armenian-French people | | 6 | Georgia | Tbilisi, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Abkhazia | |
State Department for Statistics of Georgia, 2004: 248,900
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CIA, July 2008: 263,959
[5.7% of est. 4,630,841 people living in Georgia]
NationMaster.com:265,704
[5.7% of est. 4,661,473 people living in Georgia]
400,000 Eastern | Armenians in Georgia, Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti, Armenians in Abkhazia | List of Famous Armenians in Georgia | | 7 | Syria | Damascus, Aleppo, Kamishli | | |
looklex Encyclopedia: 190,000
[160,000 Armenian Orthodox + 30,000 Armenian Catholics]
looklex Encyclopedia: 320,000
Western | Armenians in Syria | List of Syrian Armenians | | 8 | Lebanon | Beirut, Bourj Hammoud, Anjar, Antelias | | |
looklex Encyclopedia: 140,000
[120,000 Armenian Orthodox + 20,000 Armenian Catholics]
looklex Encyclopedia: 300,000
Western | Armenians in Lebanon | List of Lebanese Armenians | | 9 | Argentina | Buenos Aires, Córdoba | | |
ArmeniaDiaspora.com: 130,000
Western | Armenians in Argentina | Notable Armenians in Argentina | | 10 | Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (de jure part of Azerbaijan) | The entire country | |
National Statistical Service of Nagorno-Karabach Republic, 2005: 137,380
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NationMaster.com: 119,424
[According to NationMaster almost all Armenians in de jure Azerbaijan live in Nagorno-Karabakh and 1.5% of 7,961,619 people in Azerbaijan are Armenian] Eastern | Armenians in Azerbaijan
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh Republic | Famous Armenians from Azerbaijan | | 11 | Ukraine | Kiev, Odessa, Crimea, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Luhansk, Kharkiv | |
State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, 2001: 99,900
| Eastern | Armenians in Ukraine | | | 12 | Poland | Gliwice, Gdansk, Kraków | | |
ArmeniaDiaspora.com: 94,000 both | Armenians in Poland | Notable Poles of Armenian descent | | 13 | Turkey | Istanbul, with remaining communities in Vakifli and Sason as well as Hamshenis who have retained their Armenian dialect (Homshetsi) in the Artvin Province. | | |
bolsohays.com:40,000 to 70,000
[Hamshenis are not included] Western | Armenians in Turkey | List of Armenian Patriarchs of Constantinople | | 15 | Uzbekistan | | | |
ArmeniaDiaspora.com: 70,000 Eastern | Armenians in Uzbekistan | | 16 | Germany | Berlin, Köln, Mannheim, Hamburg, Hanau | | |
ArmeniaDiaspora.com: 42,000
68,000 both | Armenians in Germany | | 17 | Canada | Montreal, Laval, Toronto, Cambridge, Vancouver | |
Canada's national statistical agency, 2001: 40,505
[27,175 reported "Armenian" as their only ethnicy; 13,330 reported multiple ethnicies]
Canada's national statistical agency, 2006: 50,500
[32,530 reported "Armenian" as their only ethnicy; 17,970 reported multiple ethnicies]
[41,265 are more than 15 years old] |
120,000 both | Armenians in Canada | List of Armenian Canadians | | 18 | Greece | Athens, Thessaloniki, Piraeus | | 35,000 (estimates to 55,000) | both | Armenians in Greece | | 19 | Brazil | Greater São Paulo area | | 40,000 (there are estimates up to 80,000) | Western | Armenians in Brazil | | 20 | Australia | Melbourne, Sydney | | 45,000 to 60,000 | both | Armenians in Australia | Notable Armenian Australians | | - | Abkhazia (de jure part of Georgia) | Sukhumi, Gagra and Gulripsh districts | 44,869 (2003 census) | | Western | Armenians in Abkhazia | | 21 | Spain | Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia | | | Western | Armenians in Spain | | 22 | Turkmenistan | | | 30,000-44,000 | Eastern | Armenians in Turkmenistan | | 23 | Afghanistan | Fayzabad, Mazari Sharif, Maymana, Herat | | 35,000 | Eastern | Armenians in Afghanistan | | 24 | Bulgaria | Sofia, Plovdiv | | | both | Armenians in Bulgaria | | 25 | Belarus | | | 25,000 | Eastern | Armenians in Belarus | | 26 | Kazakhstan | | | | Eastern | Armenians in Kazakhstan | | 27 | Iraq | Baghdad, Mosul, Zakho, Basra, Avzrog, Kirkuk. | | | Western | Armenians in Iraq | List of Notable Armenian-Iraqis | | 28 | Uruguay | | | | Western | Armenians in Uruguay | | 29 | United Kingdom | London, Manchester | | | both | Armenians in the United Kingdom | List of notable British-Armenians | | 30 | Hungary | Budapest and Pest county | | 15,000 to 30,000 | Western | Armenians in Hungary | | 31 | Czech Republic | | | | Western | Armenians in the Czech Republic | | 32 | Serbia | | | 10,000 | Western | Armenians in the Serbia | | 33 | Israel
| Jerusalem (Armenian Quarter) | | | Western | Armenians in Israel | | 34 | Egypt | Cairo, Alexandria | | | Western | Armenians in Egypt | List of Egyptian Armenians | | 35 | Sweden | Stockholm, Uppsala | | | both | Armenians in Sweden | | 36 | Moldova | | | | Eastern | Armenians in Moldova | | 37 | Netherlands | Amsterdam, Dordrecht, The Hague, Leiden, Rotterdam | | 6,000 to 10,000 | Western | Armenians in the Netherlands | | 38 | Tajikistan | | | | Eastern | Armenians in Tajikistan | | 39 | Latvia | | | | Eastern | Armenians in Latvia | | 40 | Switzerland | Zurich | | | Western | Armenians in Switzerland | | 41 | Kuwait | | | | Western | Armenians in Kuwait | | - | Jordan | Amman | | | Western | Armenians in Jordan | | 42 | Kyrgyzstan | | | | Eastern | Armenians in Kyrgyzstan | | 43 | United Arab Emirates | Dubai, Abu Dhabi | | | Western | Armenians in the United Arab Emirates | | 44 | Denmark | Aarhus, Copenhagen, Odense | | 4,300 | Western | Armenians in Denmark | | 45 | Austria | | | 3,000 to more of 7,000 | Western | Armenians in Austria | | 46 | Nicaragua | | | 2,907 | Western | Armenians in Nicaragua | | 47 | Cyprus | Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca | | | Western | Armenians in Cyprus | | 48 | Venezuela | | | | Western | Armenians in Venezuela | | 49 | Lithuania | | | 2,736 | Eastern | Armenians in Lithuania | | 50 | Italy | Milan, Rome, Venice | | 2,500 to 4,000 | Western | Armenians in Italy | | 51 | Estonia | | | 2,300 | Eastern | Armenians in Estonia | | 52 | Romania | | | 1,780 to 3,000 | Western | Armenians in Romania | List of Notable Romanians of Armenian Descent | | 53 | Norway | | | 1,000-2,000 | Western | Armenians in Norway | | 54 | Finland | | | 1,000-2,000 | Western | Armenians in Finland | | 55 | Chile | | | 1,000 | Western | Armenians in Chile | | 56 | Sudan | | | 1,000-1,500 | Western | Armenians in Sudan | | 57 | Thailand | | | 1,000 | Western | Armenians in Thailand | | 58 | Honduras | | | 900 | Western | Armenians in Honduras | | 59 | New Zealand | | | 600-1,000 | Western | Armenians in New Zealand | | 60 | Mexico | Guadalajara, Puebla, Tijuana | | 560 (there are estimates up to 15,000) | Western | Armenians in Mexico | | 61 | Albania | Tirana, Durrës | | 576 | Western | Armenians in Albania | | 62 | India | Kolkata | | 500 to 900 | both | Armenians in India | | 63 | Myanmar | Mandalay, Yangon | |
1881: 466 | both | Armenians in Burma | | 64 | Qatar | | | 400 | Western | Armenians in Qatar | | 65 | Colombia | | | 400–500? | Western | Armenians in Colombia | | 66 | Monaco | | | 400 | Western | Armenians in Monaco | | 67 | Peru | Lima, Arequipa | | 200-250? | Western | Armenians in Peru | | 68 | South Africa | | | 200-400? | Western | Armenians in South Africa | | 69 | Pakistan | | | 200 | Western | Armenians in Pakistan | | 70 | Cuba | | | 165 | Western | Armenians in Cuba | | 71 | Ethiopia | | | 100 to 300 | Western | Armenians in Ethiopia | | 72 | Japan | | | 30-60 | Western | Armenians in Japan | | 73 | Dominican Republic | | | 72 | Western | Armenians in the Dominican Republic | | 74 | Bahrain | | | 74 to 120 | Western | Armenians in Bahrain | | 75 | Ireland | | | 76 | Western | Armenians in Ireland | | 76 | Costa Rica | | | 78 | Western | Armenians in Costa Rica | | 77 | Singapore | | | 80 | Western | Armenians in Singapore | | 78 | Zimbabwe | | | 82 to 230 | Western | Armenians in Zimbabwe | | 79 | Indonesia | | | 84 | Western | Armenians in Indonesia | | 80 | Slovakia | | | 78 | Western | Armenians in Slovakia | | 81 | Bangladesh | | | 50-80 | Western | Armenians in Bangladesh | | 82 | Guatemala | | | | Western | Armenians in Guatemala | | 83 | Côte d'Ivoire | | | | Western | Armenians in Côte d'Ivoire | | 84 | Hong Kong | | | | Western | Armenians in Hong Kong | | 85 | China | | | | Western | Armenians in China | | 86 | Ghana | | | 15 | Western | Armenians in Ghana | | 87 | Senegal | | | 15 | Western | Armenians in Senegal | | 88 | Luxembourg | | | 10 | Western | Armenians in Luxembourg | | 89 | Vietnam | | | 8 | Western | Armenians in Vietnam | | 90 | South Korea | | | | Western | Armenians in South Korea | | 91 | Zambia | | | | Western | Armenians in Zambia | | 92 | Philippines | | | 8-30 | Western | Armenians in the Philippines | | 93 | Swaziland | | | 8 | Western | Armenians in Swaziland | | 94 | Bolivia | | | 12 | Western | Armenians in Bolivia | | 95 | Puerto Rico | | 7 | | Western | Armenians in Puerto Rico | | 96 | | | | 5 | Western | Armenians in Bahamas | |
See also
External links
- Armenian Memorial dedicated to the victims of 1915 - Recording and referencing of the Names by area - Contact between the descendants
Armenian Diaspora Political Organizations
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