Azerbaijan

republicIndependence 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

Azerbaijan as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 123 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBaku (Baky)

LocationSouthwestern Asia, between Armenia and Turkmenistan, bordering the

Populationas each edition published it

7.68 million July 1994 est. · 7.45m in 1992

Population growth% a year

1.41% 1994 est. · 1.5% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 27.1 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 70.6 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2.7 children per woman 1994 est. · 2.9 in 1992

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

34.8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 45 in 1992

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$2,040 1993 est. · $22,100 in 2025

GDP real growth% a year

-13.3% 1993 est. · -25% in 1993

Geography

Southwestern Asia, between Armenia and Turkmenistan, bordering the | Caspian Sea

25 fields

Coastline

0km

(landlocked)Maritime claims: NA

Land boundaries

2,013km

total · Armenia (west) 566 km, Armenia (southwest) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran (south) 432 km, Iran (southwest) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km

Irrigated land

14,010sq km

(1990)

Location

Southwestern Asia, between Armenia and Turkmenistan, bordering the Caspian Sea

Map references

Africa, Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States, Commonwealth of Independent States - European States, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

86,600 sq km

land area

86,100 sq km

comparative area

slightly larger than Maine

note

includes the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh regions;
regions' autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991

note

Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km, est.)

note

Azerbaijani claims in Caspian Sea unknown; 10-nm fishing zone provided for in 1940 treaty regarding trade and navigation between Soviet Union and Iran

International disputes

violent and longstanding dispute with ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh over its status, lesser dispute concerns Nakhichevan;
some Azerbaijanis desire absorption of and/or unification with the ethnic Azeri portion of Iran

Terrain

large, flat Kur-Araz Lowland (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag (Karabakh) Upland in west;
Baku lies on Abseron (Apsheron) Peninsula that juts into Caspian Sea

Natural resources

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

arable land

18%

permanent crops

meadows and pastures

25%

forest and woodland

other

53%

current issues

local scientists consider the Abseron (Apsheron) Peninsula (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, water, and soil pollution;
soil pollution results from the use of DDT as a pesticide and also from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton

natural hazards

subject to drought; some coastal areas threatened by rising levels of the Caspian Sea

international agreements

signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

People

22 fields

Population

7,684,456

(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 1.41% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth

23.04Death

6.58Net migration

-2.38

Ethnic divisions(1989)

Azeri 82.7%Russian 5.6%Armenian 5.6%Dagestani 3.2%other 2.9% (1989)

Religions

Muslim 87%Russian Orthodox 5.6%Armenian Orthodox 5.6%other 1.8%

Labor force

2.789million

Literacy

age · -49 can read and write (1970)

Infant mortality rate

34.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

70.85 years

male

67.08 years

female

74.8 years (1994 est.)

noun

Azerbaijani(s)

adjective

Azerbaijani

note

Armenian share is now approximately 0.3% because most Armenians have fled the ethnic violence since 1989 census;
Russian percentage is probably half what it was for the same reason

Languages

Azeri 82%, Russian 7%, Armenian 5%, other 6%

total population

100%

male

100%

female

100%

by occupation

agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and construction 26%, other 42% (1990)

Government

Republic

34 fields

Legislature, 50 seatsone dot, one seat

Popular Front 25opposition elements 25

conventional long form

Azerbaijani Republic

conventional short form

Azerbaijan

local long form

Azarbaycan Respublikasi

local short form

none

former

Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic

Administrative divisions

1 autonomous republic (avtomnaya respublika); Nakhichevan (administrative center at Nakhichevan)

note

all rayons except for the exclave of Nakhichevan are under direct republic jurisdiction

Constitution

adopted NA April 1978; writing a new constitution mid-1993

chief of state

President Heydar ALIYEV (since 18 June 1993 after President ELCIBEY left Baku for Nakhichevan);
election last held 3 October 1993 (next to be held NA);
results - Heydar ALIYEV won 97% of vote

head of government

Prime Minister Surat HUSEYNOV (since 30 June 1993)

cabinet

Council of Ministers; appointed by the president and confirmed by the Mejlas

National Assembly (Milli Mejlis)

elections last held 30 September and 14 October 1990 for the Supreme Soviet (next expected to be held NA 1994 for the National Assembly);
seats for Supreme Soviet - (360 total) Communists 280, Democratic Bloc 45 (grouping of opposition parties), other 15, vacant 20;
note - on 19 May 1992 the Supreme Soviet was prorogued in favor of a Popular Front-dominated National Council;
seats - (50 total) Popular Front 25, opposition elements 25

Political parties and leaders

Azerbaijan Popular Front (APF), Ebulfez ELCIBEY, chairman;
Musavat Party, Isa GAMBAR, chairman;
National Independence Party, Etibar MAMEDOV, chairman;
Social Democratic Party (SDP), Araz ALIZADE, chairman;
Communist Party, Ramiz AKHMEDOV, chairman;
People's Freedom Party, Yunus OGUZ, chairman;
Independent Social Democratic Party, Arif YUNUSOV and Leila YUNOSOVA, cochairmen;
New Azerbaijan Party, Heydar ALIYEV, chairman;
Boz Gurd Party, Iskander HAMIDOV, chairman;
Azerbaijan Democratic Party, Sardar MAMEDOV, chairman;
Azerbaijan Democratic Independence Party, Qabil HUSELNLI, chairman;
Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, Ali Akram, chairman

Other political or pressure groups

self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement

Member of

BSEC, CCC, CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, IBRD, ICAO, IDB, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NACC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

chief of mission

Ambassador Hafiz Mir Jalal Ogly PASHAYEV

chancery

Suite 700, 927 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005

chief of mission

Ambassador Richard KAZLAURICH

embassy

Hotel Intourist, Baku

mailing address

use embassy street address

telephone

7-8922-92-63-06 through 09, extension 441, 442, 446, 447, 448, 450

Flag

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 is less developed industrially than either Armenia or | Georgia, the other Transcaucasian states.

26 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$2,040

(1993 est.)

Real growth rate

-13.3%

(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate -7% (1993)

Inflation, consumer prices

20%per month

(average 1993); above 50% per month (February 1994)

Unemployment rate

0.7%

includes officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of underemployed workers (December 1993)

Azerbaijan is less developed industrially than either Armenia or Georgia, the other Transcaucasian states. It resembles the Central Asian states in its majority Muslim population, high structural unemployment, and low standard of living. The economy's most prominent products are oil, cotton, and gas.

Production from the Caspian oil and gas field has been in decline for several years. With foreign assistance, the oil industry might generate the funds needed to spur industrial development. However, civil unrest, marked by armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Muslim Azeris and Christian Armenians, makes foreign investors wary.

Azerbaijan accounted for 1.5% to 2% of the capital stock and output of the former Soviet Union. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the ex-Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its prospects somewhat.

Old economic ties and structures have yet to be replaced. A particularly galling constraint on economic revival is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said to consume 25% of Azerbaijan's economic resources.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $15.5 billion (1993 estimate from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated to 1993 using official Azerbaijani statistics, which are very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)

revenues

$NA

expenditures

$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports

$355 million to outside the FSU countries (f.o.b., 1993)

commodities

oil and gas, chemicals, oilfield equipment, textiles, cotton (1991)

partners

mostly CIS and European countries

Imports

$240 million from outside the FSU countries (c.i.f., 1993)

commodities

machinery and parts, consumer durables, foodstuffs, textiles (1991)

partners

European countries

External debt

$NA

capacity

6,025,000 kW

production

22,300 kWh

consumption per capita

2,990 kWh (1992)

Industries

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

iculture

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

Illicit drugs

illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy;
mostly for CIS consumption;
limited government eradication program;
transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

recipient

wheat from Turkey

Currency

1 manat = 100 gopik

Exchange rates

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

13 fields

Railroads

2,090 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)

total

36,700 km

paved or graveled

31,800 km

unpaved

earth 4,900 km (1990)

Pipelines

crude oil 1,130 km;
petroleum products 630 km;
natural gas 1,240 km

Ports

inland - Baku (Baky)

total

usable

with permanent-surface runways

with runways over 3,659 m

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications

domestic telephone service is of poor quality and inadequate;
710,000 domestic telephone lines [density - 9 lines per 100 persons (1991)], 202,000 persons waiting for telephone installations (January 1991);
connections to other former USSR republics by cable and microwave and to other countries via the Moscow international gateway switch;
INTELSAT earth station installed in late 1992 in Baku with Turkish financial assistance with access to 200 countries through Turkey;
since August 1993 an earth station near Baku has provided direct communications with New York through Russia's Stationar-11 satellite;
a joint venture to establish a cellular telephone system (Bakcel) in the Baku area is supposed to become operational in 1994;
domestic and Russian TV programs are received locally and Turkish and Iranian TV is received from an INTELSAT satellite through a receive-only earth station

Defense Forces

Army, Air Force, Navy, Maritime Border Guard, National Guard, Security | Forces (internal and border troops)

3 fields

Defense expenditures

2,848million rubles

NA% of GDP (1992 est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Branches

Army, Air Force, Navy, Maritime Border Guard, National Guard, Security Forces (internal and border troops)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,884,458;
fit for military service 1,525,123;
reach military age (18) annually 68,192 (1994 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Azerbaijan.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/azerbaijan/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →

Geography

total area

land area

comparative area

note

note

note

arable land

permanent crops

meadows and pastures

forest and woodland

other

current issues

natural hazards

international agreements

People

total population

male

female

noun

adjective

note

total population

male

female

by occupation

Government

conventional long form

conventional short form

local long form

local short form

former

note

chief of state

head of government

cabinet

chief of mission

chancery

chief of mission

embassy

mailing address

Economy

revenues

expenditures

commodities

partners

commodities

partners

capacity

production

consumption per capita

iculture

recipient

Communications

total

paved or graveled

unpaved

total

usable

with permanent-surface runways

with runways over 3,659 m

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Defense Forces

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