2005 Edition

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 26.4% (male 1,063,731/female 1,028,684) 15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,533,762/female 2,665,381) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 245,758/female 374,658) (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products

cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats

Airports

50 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

27 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 15 (2004 est.)

Area

land

86,100 sq km

total

86,600 sq km

water

500 sq km note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Maine

Background

Azerbaijan - a nation with a Turkic and majority-Muslim population - 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 571,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled. Geography Azerbaijan

Birth rate

20.4 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Budget

expenditures

$2.801 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

revenues

$2.715 billion

Capital

Baku (Baki)

Climate

dry, semiarid steppe

Coastline

0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km, est.)

Constitution

adopted 12 November 1995

Country name

conventional long form

Republic of Azerbaijan

conventional short form

Azerbaijan

former

Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic

local long form

Azarbaycan Respublikasi

local short form

none

Currency (code)

Azerbaijani manat (AZM)

Currency code

AZM

Current account balance

$-2.899 billion (2004 est.)

Death rate

9.86 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Debt - external

$1.832 billion (2004 est.)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Reno L. HARNISH III

embassy

83 Azadlyg Prospecti, Baku AZ1007

FAX

[9] (9412) 656-671

mailing address

American Embassy Baku, Department of State, 7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050

telephone

[9] (9412) 98-03-35, 36, 37

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Hafiz PASHAYEV

FAX

[1] (202) 337-5911

telephone

[1] (202) 337-3500

Disputes - international

Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s has militarily occupied 16% of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; 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; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratify Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on an even one-fifth allocation and challenges Azerbaijan's 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 cannot resolve the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas

Distribution of family income - Gini index

36 (1995)

Economic aid - recipient

ODA, $140 million (2000 est.)

Economy - overview

Azerbaijan's number one export is oil. Azerbaijan's oil production declined through 1997 but has registered an increase every year since. Negotiation of production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with foreign firms, which have thus far 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. 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. One obstacle to economic progress is the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector. A second obstacle is the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. 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 Azerbaijan's ability to manage its oil wealth.

Electricity - consumption

17.37 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports

505 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports

1.558 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production

17.55 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

89.7%

hydro

10.3%

nuclear

0%

other

0% (2001)

Elevation extremes

highest point

Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m

lowest point

Caspian Sea -28 m

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 as a 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, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

Exchange rates

Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 4,913.48 (2004), 4,910.73 (2003), 4,860.82 (2002), 4,656.58 (2001), 4,474.15 (2000)

Executive branch

cabinet

Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly

chief of state

President Ilham ALIYEV (since 31 October 2003)

election results

Ilham ALIYEV elected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV 76.8%, Isa GAMBAR 14%

elections

president elected by popular vote to a five-year term; election last held 15 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008); prime minister and first deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly

head of government

Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 4 November 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Abbas ABBASOV (since 10 November 2003)

Exports

$3.168 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs

Exports - partners

Italy 26.6%, Czech Republic 11.9%, Germany 8.1%, Indonesia 6.4%, Romania 6.2%, Georgia 6%, Russia 5.3%, Turkey 5.2%, France 4.1% (2004)

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications Azerbaijan

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

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

14.1%

industry

45.7%

services

40.2% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

9.8% (2004 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$30.01 billion (2004 est.)

Geographic coordinates

40 30 N, 47 30 E

Geography - note

both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked People Azerbaijan

Government type

republic

Heliports

2 (2004 est.) Military Azerbaijan

Highways

paved

25,890 km

total

28,030 km

unpaved

2,130 km (2002)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

less than 0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

less than 100 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

1,400 (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 27.8% (1995)

Illicit drugs

limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; small government eradication program; transit point for Southwest Asian opiates bound for Russia and to a lesser extent the rest of Europe This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005 ======================================================================

Imports

$3.622 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals

Imports - partners

Russia 16.1%, UK 12.5%, Turkey 10.5%, Germany 7.8%, Ukraine 5.6%, Netherlands 4.9%, US 4.1%, Italy 4% (2004)

Independence

30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Industrial production growth rate

4% (2004 est.)

Industries

petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles

Infant mortality rate

female

79.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

male

83.58 deaths/1,000 live births

total

81.74 deaths/1,000 live births

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.6% (2004 est.)

International organization participation

AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)

Internet country code

.az

Internet hosts

586 (2004)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

2 (2000)

Internet users

300,000 (2002) Transportation Azerbaijan

Investment (gross fixed)

65.1% of GDP (2004 est.)

Irrigated land

14,550 sq km (1998 est.)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Labor force

5.09 million (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture and forestry 41%, industry 7%, services 52% (2001)

Land boundaries

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

total

2,013 km

Land use

arable land

19.63%

other

77.66% (2001)

permanent crops

2.71%

Languages

Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.)

Legal system

based on civil law system

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

election results

percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NAP and allies 108, APF "Reform" 6, CSP 3, PNIA 2, Musavat Party 2, CPA 2, APF "Classic" 1, Compatriot Party 1 note: PNIA, Musavat, and APF "Classic" parties refused to take their seats

elections

last held 4 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2005) note: 100 members of the current parliament were elected on the basis of single mandate constituencies, while 25 were elected based on proportional balloting; as a result of a 24 August 2002 national referendum on changes to the constitution, all 125 members of the next parliament will be elected from single mandate constituencies

Life expectancy at birth

female

67.66 years (2005 est.)

male

59.24 years

total population

63.35 years

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

female

98.2% (1999 est.) Government Azerbaijan

male

99.5%

total population

98.8%

Location

Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range

Manpower available for military service

males age 18-49: 1,961,973 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 18-49: 1,314,955 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually

males

82,358 (2005 est.)

Map references

Asia

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Median age

female

29 years (2005 est.)

male

26.09 years

total

27.53 years

Merchant marine

by type

cargo 26, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 41, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 2

registered in other countries

3 (2005)

total

81 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 253,004 GRT/318,922 DWT

Military branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$121 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.6% (FY99) Transnational Issues Azerbaijan

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; law passed December 2001 raises maximum conscription age from 28 to 35 (December 2001)

National holiday

Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918)

Nationality

adjective

Azerbaijani

noun

Azerbaijani(s)

Natural gas - consumption

6.72 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports

1 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - production

5.72 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

62.3 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Natural hazards

droughts

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina

Net migration rate

-4.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

140,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports

NA

Oil - imports

NA

Oil - production

312,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

589 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Pipelines

gas 4,451 km; oil 1,518 km (2004)

Political parties and leaders

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, chairman]; Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAILOV]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat HACIYEVA]; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; New Azerbaijan Party or NAP [vacant]; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA [Etibar MAMMADLI, chairman]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Araz ALIZADE and Ayaz MUTALIBOV] 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)

Population

7,911,974 (July 2005 est.)

Population below poverty line

49% (2002 est.)

Population growth rate

0.59% (2005 est.)

Ports and harbors

Baku (Baki)

Public debt

18.9% of GDP (2004 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios

175,000 (1997)

Railways

broad gauge

2,957 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2004)

total

2,957 km

Refugees and internally displaced persons

IDPs

571,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2004)

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

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$875 million (2004 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female

total population

0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telephone system

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

general assessment

inadequate; requires considerable expansion and modernization; teledensity of 10 main lines per 100 persons is low (2002)

international

country code - 994; the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; a satellite connection to Turkey enables Baku to reach about 200 additional countries, some of which are directly connected to Baku by satellite providers other than Turkey (1997)

Telephones - main lines in use

923,800 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular

870,000 (2002)

Television broadcast stations

2 (1997)

Televisions

170,000 (1997)

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

Total fertility rate

2.44 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate

1.2% (official rate) (2004 est.)