Azerbaijan

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Introduction - Azerbaijan:
Country	Azerbaijan
Background	Azerbaijan - a nation with a Turkic and majority-Muslim population - was briefly independent from 1918 to 1920; it regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its territory and must support some 600,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous, and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijans undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled.
Location - Azerbaijan:
Location	Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range
Geographic coordinates	40 30 N, 47 30 E
Map references	Asia
Area	total: 86,600 sq km land: 86,100 sq km water: 500 sq km note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region; the regions autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991
Area comparative	slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries	total: 2,013 km border countries: Armenia (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-proper) 432 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km
Coastline	0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km est.)
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)
Climate	dry, semiarid steppe
Terrain	large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland) (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) in west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, bauxite
Land use	arable land: 20.62% permanent crops: 2.61% other: 76.77% (2005)
Irrigated land	14,550 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards	droughts
Environment current issues	local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil spills, from the use of DDT pesticide, and from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton
Environment international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography note	both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked
People - Azerbaijan:
Population	8,120,247 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure	0-14 years: 25.4% (male 1,086,271/female 975,100) 15-64 years: 67.7% (male 2,695,428/female 2,799,047) 65 years and over: 7% (male 211,438/female 352,963) (2007 est.)
Median age	total: 27.6 years male: 26 years female: 29.4 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate	0.688% (2007 est.)
Birth rate	17.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate	8.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate	-2.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.15 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.114 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.963 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.599 male(s)/female total population: 0.968 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate	total: 58.31 deaths/1,000 live births male: 64.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 65.96 years male: 61.86 years female: 70.66 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate	2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Hiv aids adult prevalence rate	less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
Hiv aids people living with hiv aids	1,400 (2003 est.)
Hiv aids deaths	less than 100 (2001 est.)
Nationality	noun: Azerbaijani(s), Azeri(s) adjective: Azerbaijani, Azeri
Ethnic groups	Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9% (1999 census) note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region
Religions	Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.) note: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower
Languages	Azerbaijani (Azeri) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% (1999 census)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.8% male: 99.5% female: 98.2% (1999 census)
Government - Azerbaijan:
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Azerbaijan conventional short form: Azerbaijan local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi local short form: Azarbaycan former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type	republic
Capital	name: Baku (Baki, Baky) geographic coordinates: 40 23 N, 49 52 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions	59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika) rayons: Abseron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu, Agdas Rayonu, Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, Astara Rayonu, Balakan Rayonu, Barda Rayonu, Beylaqan Rayonu, Bilasuvar Rayonu, Cabrayil Rayonu, Calilabad Rayonu, Daskasan Rayonu, Davaci Rayonu, Fuzuli Rayonu, Gadabay Rayonu, Goranboy Rayonu, Goycay Rayonu, Haciqabul Rayonu, Imisli Rayonu, Ismayilli Rayonu, Kalbacar Rayonu, Kurdamir Rayonu, Lacin Rayonu, Lankaran Rayonu, Lerik Rayonu, Masalli Rayonu, Neftcala Rayonu, Oguz Rayonu, Qabala Rayonu, Qax Rayonu, Qazax Rayonu, Qobustan Rayonu, Quba Rayonu, Qubadli Rayonu, Qusar Rayonu, Saatli Rayonu, Sabirabad Rayonu, Saki Rayonu, Salyan Rayonu, Samaxi Rayonu, Samkir Rayonu, Samux Rayonu, Siyazan Rayonu, Susa Rayonu, Tartar Rayonu, Tovuz Rayonu, Ucar Rayonu, Xacmaz Rayonu, Xanlar Rayonu, Xizi Rayonu, Xocali Rayonu, Xocavand Rayonu, Yardimli Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala Rayonu, Zardab Rayonu cities: Ali Bayramli Sahari, Baki Sahari, Ganca Sahari, Lankaran Sahari, Mingacevir Sahari, Naftalan Sahari, Saki Sahari, Sumqayit Sahari, Susa Sahari, Xankandi Sahari, Yevlax Sahari autonomous republic: Naxcivan Muxtar Respublikasi
Independence	30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday	Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918)
Constitution	adopted 12 November 1995
Legal system	based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal
Executive branch	chief of state: President Ilham ALIYEV (since 31 October 2003) head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 4 November 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Abbas ABBASOV (since 10 November 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2008); prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly election results: Ilham ALIYEV elected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV 76.8%, Isa GAMBAR 14%
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 6 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Yeni 58, Azadliq coalition 8, CSP 2, YES 2, Motherland 2, other parties with single seats 7, independents 42, undetermined 4
Judicial branch	Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders	Azadliq coalition (Musavat, APF, and DPA); Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF [Ali KARIMLI, leader of Reform faction; Mirmahmud MIRALI-OGLU, leader of Classic faction]; Civic Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLY]; Civic Union Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan or CPA [Ramiz AHMADOV]; Compatriot Party [Mais SAFARLI]; Democratic Party for Azerbaijan or DPA [Rasul QULIYEV]; Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAILOV]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat HACIYEVA]; Motherland Party; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; Yeni Azerbaijan Party; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA [Etibar MAMMADLI]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Araz ALIZADE] note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties
Political pressure groups and leaders	Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement; Union of Pro-Azerbaijani Forces (UPAF); Karabakh Liberation Organization
International organization participation	AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the us	chief of mission: Ambassador Hafiv Mir Jalal PASHAYEV chancery: 2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 337-3500 FAX: [1] (202) 337-5911 Consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
Diplomatic representation from the us	chief of mission: Ambassador Anne E. DERSE embassy: 83 Azadliyg Prospecti, Baku AZ1007 mailing address: American Embassy Baku, US Department of State, 7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050 telephone: [994] (12) 4980-335 through 337 FAX: [994] (12) 4656-671
Flag description	three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band
Economy - Azerbaijan:
Economy overview	Azerbaijans number one export is oil. Azerbaijans oil production declined through 1997, but has registered an increase every year since. Negotiation of production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with foreign firms, which have committed $60 billion to long-term oilfield development, should generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development. Oil production under the first of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November 1997. A consortium of Western oil companies began pumping 1 million barrels a day from a large offshore field in early 2006, through a $4 billion pipeline it built from Baku to Turkeys Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. By 2010 revenues from this project will double the countrys current GDP. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its long-term prospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced. Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijans economic progress: the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector, the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and the pervasive corruption. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance, while trade is building with Turkey and the nations of Europe. Long-term prospects will depend on world oil prices, the location of new pipelines in the region, and Azerbaijans ability to manage its oil wealth.
Gdp purchasing power parity	$59.71 billion (2006 est.)
Gdp official exchange rate	$14.25 billion (2006 est.)
Gdp real growth rate	34.5% (2006 est.)
Gdp per capita ppp	$7,500 (2006 est.)
Gdp composition by sector	agriculture: 14.1% industry: 45.7% services: 40.2% (2002 est.)
Labor force	5.191 million (2006 est.)
Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 41% industry: 7% services: 52% (2001)
Unemployment rate	1.2% official rate (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 27.8% (1995)
Distribution of family income gini index	36.5 (2001)
Inflation rate consumer prices	8% (2006 est.)
Investment gross fixed	44.9% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $6.008 billion expenditures: $5.804 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Public debt	10.4% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture products	cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats
Industries	petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore; cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles
Industrial production growth rate	50% (2006 est.)
Electricity production	20.35 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity consumption	20.57 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity exports	510 million kWh (2004)
Electricity imports	2.15 billion kWh (2004)
Oil production	477,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil consumption	120,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil exports	NA bbl/day
Oil imports	NA bbl/day
Oil proved reserves	7 billion bbl (1 January 2005)
Natural gas production	5.01 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas consumption	9.94 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas exports	0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas imports	4.93 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas proved reserves	849.5 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
Current account balance	$2.737 billion (2006 est.)
Exports	$12.51 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports commodities	oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs
Exports partners	Italy 30.1%, France 11.7%, Czech Republic 10.1%, Germany 7.9%, US 7.7%, UK 4.4% (2006)
Imports	$5.176 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports commodities	machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals
Imports partners	Russia 19.6%, UK 12.6%, Turkey 9.9%, Germany 8.7%, Singapore 6.2%, China 4.9% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$1.8 billion (2006 est.)
Debt external	$2.483 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid recipient	ODA, $140 million (2000 est.)
Currency code	Azerbaijani manat (AZM)
Exchange rates	Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 0.8934 (2006), 4,727.1 (2005), 4,913.48 (2004), 4,910.73 (2003), 4,860.82 (2002) note: on 1 January 2006 Azerbaijan revalued its currency, with 5,000 old manats equal to 1 new manat
Communications - Azerbaijan:
Fiscal year	calendar year
Telephones main lines in use	1.189 million (2006)
Telephones mobile cellular	3.324 million (2006)
Telephone system	general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable expansion and modernization; teledensity of 14 main lines per 100 persons is low (2002) domestic: the majority of telephones are in Baku and other industrial centers - about 700 villages still without public telephone service; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan international: country code - 994; the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; satellite earth stations - 2 (2005)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998)
Television broadcast stations	2 (1997)
Internet country code	.az
Internet hosts	880 (2006)
Internet users	829,100 (2006)
Transportation - Azerbaijan:
Airports	36 (2006)
Airports with paved runways	total: 27 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2006)
Airports with unpaved runways	total: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2006)
Heliports	1 (2006)
Pipelines	gas 3,190 km; oil 2,436 km (2006)
Railways	total: 2,122 km broad gauge: 2,122 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2006)
Roadways	total: 59,141 km paved: 29,210 km unpaved: 29,931 km (2004)
Merchant marine	total: 84 ships (1000 GRT or over) 405,395 GRT/436,666 DWT by type: cargo 26, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 43, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 3 registered in other countries: 4 (Georgia 2, Malta 2) (2006)
Ports and terminals	Baku (Baki)
Military - Azerbaijan:
Military branches	Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces
Military service age and obligation	men between 18 and 35 are liable for military service; 18 years of age for voluntary military service; length of military service is 18 months and 12 months for university graduates (2006)
Manpower available for military service	males age 18-49: 1,961,973 females age 18-49: 2,033,186 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service	males age 18-49: 1,314,955 females age 18-49: 1,676,408 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually	males age 18-49: 82,358 females age 18-49: 78,067 (2005 est.)
Refugees and internally displaced persons	refugees (country of origin): 2,800 (Russia) IDPs: 580,000-690,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2006)
Military expenditures percent of gdp	2.6% (2005 est.)
Disputes international	Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s has militarily occupied 16% of Azerbaijan; over 800,000 mostly ethnic Azerbaijanis were driven from the occupied lands and Armenia; about 230,000 ethnic Armenians were driven from their homes in Azerbaijan into Armenia; Azerbaijan seeks transit route through Armenia to connect to Naxcivan exclave; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia have ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on an even one-fifth allocation and challenges Azerbaijans hydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters; bilateral talks continue with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan and Georgia continue to discuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas