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) to the west;
• Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea

agricultural land:

57.6%;

• arable land 22.8%;
• permanent crops 2.7%;
• permanent pasture 32.1%

forest:

11.3%

other:

31.1% (2011 est.)

• highest population density is found in the far eastern area of the county, in and around Baku;
• apart from smaller urbanized areas, the rest of the country has a fairly light and evenly distributed population

• 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

• highest population density is found in the far eastern area of the county, in and around Baku;
• apart from smaller urbanized areas, the rest of the country has a fairly light and evenly distributed population

at birth:

1.11 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.15 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.09 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.96 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.86 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.62 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2016 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

etymology:

the name translates as "Land of Fire" and refers to naturally occurring surface fires on ancient oil pools or from natural gas discharges

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)

history:

several previous; latest adopted 12 November 1995

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic or by at least 63 members of the National Assembly;
• passage requires at least 95 votes of Assembly members in two separate readings of the draft amendment six months apart and requires presidential approval after each of the two Assembly votes, followed by presidential signature;
• constitutional articles on the authority, sovereignty, and unity of the people cannot be amended;
• amended 2002, 2009, 2016 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Ilham ALIYEV (since 31 October 2003); First Vice President Mehriban ALIYEVA (since 21 February 2017)

head of government:

• Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 4 November 2003);
• First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub EYYUBOV (since June 2006);
• note - RASIZADE was previously prime minister from 20 July 1996 to 4 August 2003

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-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;
• note - a constitutional amendment approved in a September 2016 referendum will expand presidential terms from 5 to 7 years when it formally takes effect;
• a separate constitutional amendment approved in the September 2016 referendum also introduced the post of first vice-president and additional vice-presidents, who are directly appointed by the

election results:

• Ilham ALIYEV reelected president in first round;
• percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV (YAP) 84.5%, Jamil HASANLI (National Council of Democratic Forces) 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, vice chairman, and 23 judges in plenum sessions and organized into civil, economic affairs, criminal, and rights violations chambers);
• 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;
• judges appointed for 10 years;
• 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;

• Civil Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI]
• Civil Unity Party or CUP [Sabir HAJIYEV]
• Democratic Enlightenment [Elshan MUSAYEV]
• Democratic Reforms Party [Asim MOLLAZADE]
• Great Undertaking [Fazil MUSTAFA]
• Musavat [Arif HAJILI]
• Popular Front Party [Ali KARIMLI]
• Motherland Party or AVP [Fazail AGAMALI]
• Social Democratic Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV]
• Social Prosperity Party [Khanhusein KAZIMLI]
• Unity Party [Tahir KARIMLI]
• Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party [Gudrat HASANGULIYEV]
• Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party or YAP [President Ilham ALIYEV]

• D18 [Ruslan IZZETLI]]
• Ireli Public Union or Ireli PU [MirHasan SEYIDOV]
• National Council of Democratic Forces [Jamil HASANLI]
• N!DA Civic Movement [Turgut GAMBAR, Ulvi HASANLI] (youth movement)
• Republican Alternative or REAL [Ilgar MAMMADOV (in prison since 2013)]

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 Robert CEKUTA (since 19 February 2015)

embassy:

111 Azadlig Prospekti, Baku AZ1007

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[994] (12) 488-3300

FAX:

[994] (12) 488-3330

• three equal horizontal bands of sky 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 and star are a Turkic insignia;
• the eight star points represent 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

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

agriculture:

37%

industry:

14.3%

services:

48.9% (2014)

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 three providers in 2017

domestic:

• teledensity of some 17 fixed lines per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular teledensity has increased to 104 telephones per 100 persons;
• satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan (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 (2017)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

2; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 35

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,803,112

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

41,954,600 mt-km (2015)

total:

2,944.3 km

broad gauge:

2,944.3 km 1.520-m gauge (approx. 1,767 km electrified) (2017)

country comparison to the world: 71

total:

52,942 km

paved:

26,789 km

unpaved:

26,153 km (2006)

country comparison to the world: 76

• 18-35 years of age for compulsory military service;
• service obligation 18 months or 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)

• 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

• 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