Yerevan is the capital of Armenia, located on the Hrazdan River in western Armenia, in the South Caucasus. It became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia in 1918; its traditional 782 BCE foundation date refers to the ancient Urartian fortress of Erebuni.
How to use this article: Check the population boundary, understand the river and terrain, compare the key historical dates, or locate the three central landmarks.
Yerevan at a glance
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Country | Republic of Armenia |
| Region | South Caucasus |
| Setting | Northeastern edge of the Ararat plain, on the Hrazdan River |
| Modern capital role | Since the First Republic, established in 1918 |
| Population | 1,141,100 permanent residents, January 1, 2025; city proper |
| Local government | One municipality with 12 administrative districts |
| Nickname | Pink City, associated with pink volcanic tuff |
What the population figure includes
Armenia’s Statistical Committee, Armstat, estimated 1,141,100 permanent residents on January 1, 2025. This covers Yerevan’s municipal territory across its 12 administrative districts, rather than a wider metropolitan area.
The estimate updates the 2022 census using population records. Armstat’s permanent-population category includes residents temporarily absent; it is not a count of everyone physically present on a particular day. Figures from other years or definitions should not be treated as directly interchangeable.
Where is Yerevan?
Yerevan lies in the western part of Armenia, near the northeastern edge of the Ararat plain. Armenia is one of the three sovereign states usually grouped as the South Caucasus, alongside Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The Hrazdan River and the city’s terrain
The city occupies both banks of the Hrazdan River, whose gorge cuts through the urban landscape. The municipality describes elevations of roughly 2,950–3,940 feet (900–1,200 meters), so Yerevan is better understood as a city spread across slopes and terraces than as a flat settlement at one elevation.
Its continental climate brings hot, dry summers and cold winters. The open plain and surrounding highlands explain the contrast between broad views from elevated neighborhoods and the enclosed landscape along the river.
Mount Ararat is across the border
Mount Ararat forms the familiar distant backdrop in many views of Yerevan, but the mountain lies in present-day Turkey. Its importance in Armenian identity, including its appearance on Armenia’s coat of arms, should be distinguished from its location within modern state borders.
For regional orientation, Georgia lies north of Armenia; Tbilisi is Georgia’s capital, while Yerevan is Armenia’s. The two capitals belong to separate countries within the same broader region.
From Erebuni to the modern capital
What 782 BCE means
Yerevan traditionally dates its foundation to 782 BCE, when King Argishti I founded the Urartian fortress of Erebuni on Arin Berd, within today’s southeastern city. Cuneiform inscriptions underpin the connection; Encyclopaedia Iranica discusses both the evidence and the ancient chronology.
That foundation date does not establish an unchanged city across every intervening century. Ancient Erebuni, later settlements, and the modern municipality have different footprints and histories. It also does not mean Yerevan has been Armenia’s capital since antiquity.
The dates that explain today’s capital
| Date | Significance |
|---|---|
| 782 BCE | Conventional foundation date of Erebuni, associated with Yerevan’s ancient origins. |
| 1918 | Yerevan becomes capital of the First Republic of Armenia, proclaimed on May 28. |
| 1920 | The city becomes the capital of Soviet Armenia. |
| 1924 | Alexander Tamanyan’s general plan is approved, shaping the modern city center. |
| 1991 | Armenia regains independence; Yerevan continues as its capital. |
Table downloads (2)
- Yerevan quick facts, with population dated separately (8 × 2)View tableDownload CSV
- Ancient origins and modern capital status are separate milestones (6 × 2)View tableDownload CSV
The modern capital role therefore begins with the First Republic, following the collapse of Russian imperial rule in the region. It continued through Soviet government and renewed independence, rather than beginning with Erebuni’s construction.
Why Yerevan is Armenia’s national center
Government: Yerevan is the seat of Armenia’s national government and parliament. Government House on Republic Square is one visible expression of that role; national institutions extend well beyond the square itself.
Culture and education: Museums, universities, research institutes, and performing-arts institutions give the city a national audience. The Matenadaran’s preservation and study of manuscripts, for example, connects the capital with Armenian history far beyond the modern city.
Economy: Yerevan Municipality identifies the city as Armenia’s largest economic, scientific, and cultural center. Its activities include services, trade, food processing, and information technology, supported by road and rail connections and an international airport.
These overlapping functions explain its national importance more clearly than its age alone. Yerevan is simultaneously a place where government operates, businesses concentrate, and institutions preserve and produce culture.
Why is Yerevan called the Pink City?
The nickname comes from the widespread use of pink volcanic tuff, a building stone formed from volcanic ash and rock fragments. Its rosy tones are especially noticeable in the city’s civic architecture. Basalt, other stone colors, concrete, and glass also appear across Yerevan; the nickname describes a characteristic material rather than every building.
Much of the familiar central city reflects twentieth-century planning. Tamanyan’s work helped give Yerevan its monumental squares and avenues, while subsequent construction added further layers to the capital.
Republic Square, the Cascade, and the Matenadaran
- Republic Square: The central civic square brings together government buildings and major museums. Its ensemble makes the relationship between national administration and public architecture easy to see.
- The Cascade: This monumental stairway rises toward higher ground north of the center. Sculpture gardens and galleries associated with the Cafesjian Center for the Arts make it an arts complex as well as a landmark.
- The Matenadaran: The Mesrop Mashtots institute studies and preserves ancient manuscripts. Its collection entered UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register in 1997, a documentary-heritage designation distinct from World Heritage Site status.
Republic Square and the Cascade are separate places. Together with the Matenadaran, they offer a concise orientation to the city’s governmental, architectural, and scholarly roles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Yerevan in Europe or Asia?
The UN’s M49 statistical classification places Armenia in Western Asia. Descriptions of European cultural or political connections use different criteria; the Armenia Europe-or-Asia explainer separates those conventions.
Are Yerevan and Erevan different cities?
No. Erevan is an alternative rendering of the same city’s name, used in some reference works and transliteration traditions. Yerevan is the spelling used on Armenia’s English-language government website.
What Did We Learn Today?
Yerevan’s identity becomes clearer when three distinctions stay separate: Erebuni’s ancient foundation and the modern capital role beginning in 1918; the municipality’s dated population and broader urban estimates; and Mount Ararat’s Armenian symbolism and its location in Turkey. The river setting, tuff architecture, and national institutions connect those distinctions to the city visible today.
Sources & Data Notes
Population uses Armstat’s January 1, 2025 permanent-population estimate for Yerevan’s 12 municipal districts, based on the 2022 census, not a metropolitan estimate or a new census count. The bulletin reports 1,141.1 thousand, rendered here as 1,141,100; the linked PDF is hosted by e-Research. The 782 BCE date follows the conventional Erebuni chronology, without assuming an unchanged urban footprint or uninterrupted capital status. Elevation conversions are rounded.
- Government of Armenia: general information, capital, and independence.
- Yerevan Municipality: location and administration, history and city planning, and economic functions; Central Bank of Armenia: Yerevan-2800, the First Republic’s capital.
- Armstat: Permanent Population Figures of the Republic of Armenia, January 1, 2025, especially page 9 and the methodological appendix.
- Encyclopaedia Iranica: EREVAN, ancient origins and historical development.
- Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: Ararat, location in Turkey.
- Armenia Travel: Yerevan, the Pink City nickname and architectural context.
- Visit Yerevan: Republic Square; Cafesjian Center for the Arts: institutional history and the Cascade.
- UNESCO: Mashtots Matenadaran ancient manuscripts collection.
- UN Statistics Division: M49 geographic classifications.
