People

Population: 7,9 million (July 2004 est.).

Population growth rate: 0.52% (2004)

Life expectancy at birth: 63.3 years.

Religions: Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.).

Ethnic groups: Azeri 90%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2%, other 2.3% (1998 est.). Note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.

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

Nationality: Azerbaijani(s).

People

Population: 7,9 million (July 2004 est.).

Population growth rate: 0.52% (2004)

Life expectancy at birth: 63.3 years.

Religions: Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.).

Ethnic groups: Azeri 90%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2%, other 2.3% (1998 est.). Note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.

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

Nationality: Azerbaijani(s).

People

Population: 7,9 million (July 2004 est.).

Population growth rate: 0.52% (2004)

Life expectancy at birth: 63.3 years.

Religions: Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.).

Ethnic groups: Azeri 90%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2%, other 2.3% (1998 est.). Note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region.

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

Nationality: Azerbaijani(s).

Geography

Country name: Republic of Azerbaijan (local: Azarbaycan Respublikasi).

Capital: Baku (Baki).

Government type: republic. Constitution adopted 12 November 1995.

Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika).

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 area: 86,600 km². 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.

Highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m.

Climate: dry, semiarid steppe.

Ports and harbors: Baku (Baki).

Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies about one-sixth of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; 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; talks resume with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed in 2004 as both sides await an ICJ decision on contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan protests Georgian constructions at the Red Bridge crossing and several other small segments of boundary, which remain unresolved until delimitation.

Geography

Country name: Republic of Azerbaijan (local: Azarbaycan Respublikasi).

Capital: Baku (Baki).

Government type: republic. Constitution adopted 12 November 1995.

Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika).

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 area: 86,600 km². 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.

Highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m.

Climate: dry, semiarid steppe.

Ports and harbors: Baku (Baki).

Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies about one-sixth of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; 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; talks resume with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed in 2004 as both sides await an ICJ decision on contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan protests Georgian constructions at the Red Bridge crossing and several other small segments of boundary, which remain unresolved until delimitation.

Geography

Country name: Republic of Azerbaijan (local: Azarbaycan Respublikasi).

Capital: Baku (Baki).

Government type: republic. Constitution adopted 12 November 1995.

Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika).

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 area: 86,600 km². 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.

Highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m.

Climate: dry, semiarid steppe.

Ports and harbors: Baku (Baki).

Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies about one-sixth of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; 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; talks resume with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed in 2004 as both sides await an ICJ decision on contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan protests Georgian constructions at the Red Bridge crossing and several other small segments of boundary, which remain unresolved until delimitation.

Geography

Country name: Republic of Azerbaijan (local: Azarbaycan Respublikasi).

Capital: Baku (Baki).

Government type: republic. Constitution adopted 12 November 1995.

Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika).

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 area: 86,600 km². 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.

Highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m.

Climate: dry, semiarid steppe.

Ports and harbors: Baku (Baki).

Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies about one-sixth of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; 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; talks resume with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed in 2004 as both sides await an ICJ decision on contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan protests Georgian constructions at the Red Bridge crossing and several other small segments of boundary, which remain unresolved until delimitation.

Geography

Country name: Republic of Azerbaijan (local: Azarbaycan Respublikasi).

Capital: Baku (Baki).

Government type: republic. Constitution adopted 12 November 1995.

Administrative divisions: 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika).

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 area: 86,600 km². 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.

Highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m.

Climate: dry, semiarid steppe.

Ports and harbors: Baku (Baki).

Disputes - international: Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies about one-sixth of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; 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; talks resume with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed in 2004 as both sides await an ICJ decision on contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan protests Georgian constructions at the Red Bridge crossing and several other small segments of boundary, which remain unresolved until delimitation.

Economy

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.

Currency: Azerbaijani manat (AZM). Azerbaijani manats / US dollar = 4,910.73 (2003).

GDP (purchasing power parity): US$ 26.34 billion (2003 est.).

GDP growth rate: 9.9 % (2003 est.).

GDP per capita (purchasing power parity): US$ 3,400 (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line: 49 % (2002 est.)

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