Azerbaijan

• 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

• 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

party to:

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

0-14 years:

27.7% (male 1,101,320; female 1,064,214)

15-64 years:

64.7% (male 2,468,772; female 2,601,312)

65 years and over:

7.6% (male 236,683; female 358,463) (2003 est.)

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:

0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Azerbaijani(s)

adjective:

Azerbaijani

conventional long form:

Republic of Azerbaijan

conventional short form:

Azerbaijan

local short form:

none

former:

Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic

local long form:

Azarbaycan Respublikasi

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;
• election last held 15 October 2003 (next to be held NA October 2008);
• prime minister and first deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly

election results:

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

• 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 Shvkat HACIYEVA];
• Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman];
• New Azerbaijan Party or NAP [Heydar ALIYEV, chairman];
• Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA [Etibar MAMMADLI, chairman];
• Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Zardust ALIZADE]

note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties

• Sadval, Lezgin movement;
• self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic;
• Talysh independence movement;
• Union of Pro-Azerbaijani Forces (UPAF)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Hafiz PASHAYEV

FAX:

[1] (202) 337-5911

telephone:

[1] (202) 337-3500

chancery:

2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ross L. WILSON

embassy:

83 Azadliq Prospekt, Baku 370007

mailing address:

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

telephone:

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

FAX:

[9] (9412) 90-66-71

lowest 10%:

2.8%

highest 10%:

27.8% (1995)

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

general assessment:

• inadequate;
• requires considerable expansion and modernization;
• teledensity of 10 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:

• 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)

total:

2,122 km

broad gauge:

2,122 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2002)

total:

24,981 km

paved:

23,057 km

unpaved:

1,924 km (2000)

total:

55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 251,004 GRT/313,193 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 13, petroleum tanker 40, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)

• 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;
• ICJ decision expected to resolve dispute with Turkmenistan over sovereignty of certain Caspian oilfields

• 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