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:

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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.65 male(s)/female

total population:

0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

noun:

Azerbaijani(s), Azeri(s)

adjective:

Azerbaijani, Azeri

conventional long form:

Republic of Azerbaijan

conventional short form:

Azerbaijan

local long form:

Azarbaycan Respublikasi

local short form:

Azarbaycan

former:

Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic

name:

Baku (Baki, Baky)

geographic coordinates:

40 23 N, 49 51 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

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 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 GAMBAR 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 Shovkat HACIYEVA];
• Motherland Party;
• Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman];
• Yeni Azerbaijan Party;
• 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

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Yashar ALIYEV

chancery:

2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 337-3500

FAX:

[1] (202) 337-5911

Consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles

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

agriculture:

41%

industry:

7%

services:

52% (2001)

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 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)

total:

2,957 km

broad gauge:

2,957 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2005)

total:

27,016 km

paved:

12,698 km (including 128 km of expressways)

unpaved:

14,318 km (2003)

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)

• 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)

males age 18-49:

1,961,973

females age 18-49:

2,033,186 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

1,314,955

females age 18-49:

1,676,408 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

82,358

females age 18-49:

78,067 (2005 est.)

• 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 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 continue to discuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas

refugees (country of origin):

8,367 (Russia)

IDPs:

528,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2005)

• 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