Armenia Provinces

Armenia is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus, bordered by Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east and the Nakhchivan exclave to the south-west, Iran to the south and Turkey to the west. It is divided into ten provinces, known as marzer, and the capital Yerevan, which has a province's standing of its own. The provinces are the tier that the census, the regional governors and the country's statistics are organised around.

The quiz: Name to place, on the map
Grouped by: Yerevan and the provinces around it, the north, and the south and east
In the game: 11 provinces

Start

What you are looking at

The ten provinces and Yerevan, with the borders of today. Yerevan is a small city province squeezed between Kotayk, Armavir and Ararat, and the other four provinces of the central group are all packed round it in the Ararat plain and the foothills of Mount Aragats. At the other extreme, Syunik is the long southern province that runs down to the Iranian border, and Gegharkunik wraps around Lake Sevan, the largest lake in the Caucasus.

The groups are not an official classification. They are the three parts the country is usually described in, and a way to learn the map a piece at a time: the crowded centre, the north along the Georgian border, and the south and east.

How to place one

Start with the capital. Yerevan is the tiny province in the west of the centre, and Kotayk, Armavir and Ararat are the three that touch it.
Follow the western border. Armavir and Ararat run along Turkey, with Aragatsotn above Armavir and Shirak above that, in the north-west corner.
Go along the top. Shirak, Lori and Tavush are the three northern provinces on the Georgian border, from west to east.
Finish in the east and south. Gegharkunik is the broad province around Lake Sevan, with Vayots Dzor below it and Syunik at the bottom.

Every province, by group

Central5 provinces: Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Kotayk, Yerevan
North3 provinces: Lori, Shirak, Tavush
South and East3 provinces: Gegharkunik, Syunik, Vayots Dzor

Worked examples

Yerevan

The capital

Yerevan is the smallest province by far and sits inside the area of Kotayk, Armavir and Ararat. Kotayk is its neighbour to the north and east.

Gegharkunik

The lake

Gegharkunik is the large eastern province that holds Lake Sevan. Kotayk is its western neighbour, and Vayots Dzor and Syunik lie to its south.

Syunik

The southern tip

Syunik is the long province at the very bottom of the country, between Azerbaijan to the east and the Nakhchivan exclave to the west, ending at the Iranian border.

Frequently asked questions

How many provinces does Armenia have?

Ten, called marzer, and the city of Yerevan, which is governed as a province of its own. This game draws all eleven.

Why are there small gaps inside the border?

A few pockets inside the border are Azerbaijani exclaves, and a small piece of Gegharkunik lies apart from the rest. They are drawn as the source draws them.

Does Armenia group its provinces into regions?

Not in a way this game relies on. The groups here are the three parts the country is commonly described in, and they will not match every list you find.