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

total:

17.25 cu km/yr (5%/28%/68%)

per capita:

2,051 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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 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, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.124 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.58 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

noun:

Azerbaijani(s)

adjective:

Azerbaijani

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 52 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 Yaqub EYYUBOV (since June 2006)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for unlimited terms);
• election last held on 15 October 2008 (next to be held in October 2013);
• prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly

election results:

Ilham ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV 89%, Igbal AGHAZADE 2.9%, five other candidates with smaller percentages

note: several political parties boycotted the election due to unfair conditions; OSCE observers concluded that the election did not meet international standards

• Azerbaijan Democratic Party or ADP [Sardar JALALOGLU];
• Civil Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI];
• Civil Unity Party [Sabir HACIYEV];
• Classic People's Front of Azerbaijan [Mirmahmud MIRALI-OGLU];
• Democratic Reform Party [Asim MOLLAZADE];
• Great Creation Party [Fazil Gazanfaroglu MUSTAFAYEV];
• Hope (Umid) Party [Iqbal AGAZADE];
• Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAYILOV];
• Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat HACIYEVA];
• Motherland Party [Fazail AGAMALI];
• Musavat (Equality) [Isa GAMBAR, chairman];
• Open Society Party [Rasul GULIYEV, in exile in the US];
• Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Araz ALIZADE and Ayaz MUTALIBOV (in exile)];
• Social Welfare Party [Hussein KAZIMLI];
• United Popular Azerbaijan Front Party or AXCP [Ali KARIMLI];
• Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party [Gudrat HASANGULIYEV];
• Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party or YAP [President Ilham ALIYEV]

note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties

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 Matthew BRYZA

embassy:

83 Azadlig 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

• three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green;
• a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in the red band;
• the blue band recalls Azerbaijan's Turkic heritage, red stands for modernization and progress, and green refers to Islam;
• the crescent moon is an Islamic symbol, while the eight-pointed star represents the eight Turkic peoples of the world

name:

"Azerbaijan Marsi" (March of Azerbaijan)

lyrics/music:

Ahmed JAVAD/Uzeyir HAJIBEYOV

note: adopted 1992; although originally written in 1919 during a brief period of independence, "Azerbaijan Marsi" did not become the official anthem until after the dissolution of the Soviet Union

agriculture:

38.3%

industry:

12.1%

services:

49.6% (2008)

lowest 10%:

6.1%

highest 10%:

17.5% (2005)

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

general assessment:

• requires considerable expansion and modernization;
• fixed-line telephony and a broad range of other telecom services are controlled by a state-owned telecommunications monopoly and growth has been stagnant;
• more competition exists in the mobile-cellular market with four providers in 2009

domestic:

• teledensity of 17 fixed lines per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular teledensity has increased and is rapidly approaching 100 telephones per 100 persons;
• satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Nakhchivan

international:

• country code - 994;
• the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic link transits Azerbaijan providing international connectivity to neighboring countries;
• the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable;
• satellite earth stations - 2 (2009)

• 1 state-run and 1 public television channel;
• 4 domestic commercial TV stations and about 15 regional TV stations;
• Turkish, Russian, and Iranian TV and radio broadcasts are available, especially in border regions;
• cable TV services are available in Baku;
• 1 state-run and 1 public radio network operating;
• a small number of private commercial radio stations broadcasting;
• local FM relays of Baku commercial stations are available in many localities;
• local relays of several international broadcasters had been available until late 2008 when their broadcasts were banned from FM frequencies (2008)

total:

2,918 km

country comparison to the world: 57

broad gauge:

2,918 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2009)

total:

59,141 km

country comparison to the world: 76

paved:

29,210 km

unpaved:

29,931 km (2004)

• 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 16-49:

2,336,611

females age 16-49:

2,329,275 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,753,878

females age 16-49:

1,958,408 (2010 est.)

male:

84,441

female:

78,905 (2010 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 and Nagorno-Karabakh;
• 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 have ratified 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):

2,400 (Russia)

IDPs:

580,000-690,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2007)

current situation:

• Azerbaijan is primarily a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor;
• women and some children from Azerbaijan are trafficked to Turkey and the UAE for the purpose of sexual exploitation;
• men and boys are trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor;
• Azerbaijan serves as a transit country for victims from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Moldova trafficked to Turkey and the UAE for sexual exploitation

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Azerbaijan is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons, particularly efforts to investigate, prosecute, and punish traffickers;
• to address complicity among law enforcement personnel;
• and to adequately identify and protect victims in Azerbaijan;
• the government has yet to develop a much-needed mechanism to identify potential trafficking victims and refer them to safety and care;
• poor treatment of trafficking victims in courtrooms continues to be a problem (2008)

• 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