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:

12.21 cu km/yr (4%/18%/78%)

per capita:

1,384 cu m/yr (2010)

• 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

noun:

Azerbaijani(s)

adjective:

Azerbaijani

at birth:

1.13 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.16 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.85 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.62 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

total number:

106,626

percentage:

7 % (2005 est.)

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

• several previous;
• latest adopted 12 November 1995;
• amended 1996, 2002, 2009 (2009)

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 9 October 2013 (next to be held in October 2018);
• 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 84.5%, Jamil HASANLI 5.5%, other 10%

note: OSCE observers concluded that the election did not meet international standards

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the chairman, deputy chairman, and at least 24 judges in plenum sessions); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis;
• judge tenure NA;
• Constitutional Court chairman and deputy chairman appointed by the president;
• other court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis to serve single 15-year terms

subordinate courts:

Courts of Appeal (replaced the Economic Court in 2002); district and municipal courts;

• 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 Reforms Party or PDR [Asim MOLLAZADE]
• Great Creation Party [Fazil Gazanfaroglu MUSTAFAYEV]
• Hope (Umid) Party [Iqbal AGAZADE]
• Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAYILOV]
• Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat HACIYEVA, Avaz TEMIRKHAN]
• Motherland Party [Fazail AGAMALI]
• Musavat (Equality) [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]
• Open Society Party [Sulhaddin AKBAR, 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

• Azerbaijan Public Forum [Eldar NAMAZOV]
• Karabakh Liberation Organization
• Forum of Intelligentsia [Rustam IBRAHIMBEYOV]
• Public Chamber
• Republican Alternative (REAL) [Ilgar MAMMADOV]
• NIDA Youth Movement [Turgut GAMBAR, Zaur GURBANLI]
• Positive Change Youth Movement [Bakhtiyar HAJIYEV]
• Ireli Youth Movement [Rauf MERDIYEV]
• Ol! Youth Movement [Vugar SALAMLI]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Elin SULEYMANOV (since 5 December 2011)

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 Richard L. MORNINGSTAR (since 20 July 2012)

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

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

agriculture:

38.3%

industry:

12.1%

services:

49.6% (2008)

lowest 10%:

3.4%

highest 10%:

27.4% (2008)

general assessment:

• requires considerable expansion and modernization;
• fixed-line telephone 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 now exceeds 100 telephones per 100 persons;
• satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan (Nakhichevan)

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 (2011)

• 3 state-run and 1 public TV channels;
• 4 domestic commercial TV stations and about 15 regional TV stations;
• 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 (2010)

total:

2,918 km

country comparison to the world: 58

broad gauge:

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

total:

52,942 km

country comparison to the world: 75

paved:

26,789 km

unpaved:

26,153 km (2006)

• men between 18 and 35 are liable for military service;
• length of service is 18 months and 12 months for university graduates;
• 17 years of age for voluntary service;
• 17 year olds are considered to be on active service at cadet military schools (2012)

males age 16-49:

2,354,249

females age 16-49:

2,334,632 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

1,773,993

females age 16-49:

1,964,012 (2010 est.)

male:

76,923

female:

71,024 (2010 est.)

• Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified the Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea;
• the dispute over the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region and the Armenian military occupation of surrounding lands in Azerbaijan remains the primary focus of regional instability;
• residents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan;
• local border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian borders;
• bilateral talks continue with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian

IDPs:

600,000 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh) (2013)

stateless persons:

3,585 (2012)

• 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