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

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

noun:

Azerbaijani(s)

adjective:

Azerbaijani

total:

33.8 years (2023 est.)

male:

32.2 years

female:

35.4 years

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

at birth:

1.15 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.11 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.66 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

13.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

9.7 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

74.9 years (2023 est.)

male:

72.4 years

female:

77.8 years

total:

1.38 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

0.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.94 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

24% (2020 est.)

male:

47.9% (2020 est.)

female:

0.1% (2020 est.)

• 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;
• surface and underground water are polluted by untreated municipal and industrial wastewater and agricultural run-off

party to:

Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

urban population:

57.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

1.38% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

note: data include Nagorno-Karabakh

particulate matter emissions:

24.64 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

37.62 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

44.87 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

400 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

570 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

11.6 billion cubic meters (2020 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

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

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

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 Ali ASADOV (since 8 October 2019); First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub EYYUBOV (since 13 February 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 7-year term;
• a single individual is eligible for unlimited terms;
• election last held on 11 April 2018 (next to be held on 7 February 2024);
• 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 extended the presidential term from 5 to 7 years;
• a separate constitutional amendment approved in the same referendum also introduced the post of first vice-president and additional vice-presidents, who are directly appointed by the president;
• however, no additional vice-presidents have been appointed since the constitutional amendment was passed

election results:

Ilham ALIYEV reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV (YAP) 86%, Zahid ORUJ (independent) 3.1%, other 10.9%

note: OSCE observers noted shortcomings in the election, including a restrictive political environment, limits on fundamental freedoms, a lack of genuine competition, and ballot box stuffing

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats, current 116; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held early on 9 February 2020 (next to be held in 2025)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - YAP 69, CSP 3, AVP 1, CUP 1, ADMP 1, PDR 1, Great Order 1, National Front Party 1, REAL 1, VP 1, Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front 1, party unknown 1, independent 41;
• composition as of August 2023 - men 94, women 22, percent of women 19%

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

• Azerbaijan Democratic Enlightenment Party or ADMP [Elshan MASAYEV]
• Civic Solidarity Party or VHP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI]
• Civic Unity Party or VBP [Sabir HAJIYEV]
• Great Order Party [Fazil MUSTAFA]
• Islamic Party of Azerbaijan or AiP [Mavsum SAMADOV]
• Musavat (Equity) Party [Arif HAJILI]
• Popular Front Party [Ali KARIMLI]
• Motherland Party or AVP [Fazail AGAMALI]
• National Front Party [Razi NURULLAYEV]
• National Revival Movement Party [Faraj GULIYEV]
• Party for Democratic Reforms or DIP [Asim MOLLAZADE]
• Republican Alternative Party or REAL [Ilgar MAMMADOV]
• Social Democratic Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV]
• Social Prosperity Party [Asli KAZIMOVA]
• Unity Party or VP [Tahir KARIMLI]
• Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party [Gudrat HASANGULIYEV]
• New Azerbaijan Party (Yeni Azərbaycan Partiyasi) or YAP [Ilham ALIYEV]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kahzar IBRAHIM (since 15 September 2021)

chancery:

2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 337-3500

FAX:

[1] (202) 337-5911

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://washington.mfa.gov.az/en

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Hugo GUEVARA (since 29 June 2022)

embassy:

111 Azadlig Avenue, AZ1007 Baku

mailing address:

7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050

telephone:

[994] (12) 488-3300

FAX:

[994] (12) 488-3330

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://az.usembassy.gov/

• three equal horizontal bands of sky blue (top), red, and green;
• a vertical crescent moon and an 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

total World Heritage Sites:

4 (all cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Walled City of Baku ;
• Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape;
• Historic Center of Sheki;
• Cultural Landscape of Khinalig People and "Koc Yolu" Transhumance Route

• oil-based economy;
• macroeconomic instabilities due to demand shocks;
• recent state bailout of largest lender;
• potential economic gains from Nagorno-Karabakh conflict;
• negatively impacted by COVID-19;
• investing in human capital to diversify and retain younger generation

Fitch rating:

BB+ (2016)

Moody's rating:

Ba2 (2017)

Standard & Poors rating: BB+ (2016)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

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

total:

16.5% (2021 est.)

male:

14.4%

female:

18.9%

on food:

38.6% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

1.6% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.4%

highest 10%:

27.4% (2008)

production:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

19,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

19,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

711,700 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

107,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

679,900 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

7 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

23.075 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption:

11.468 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

11.586 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

imports:

1.233 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

proven reserves:

1.699 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• in spite of the telecom sector being one of the major contributors to Azerbaijan’s non-oil GDP, overall development, growth, and investment in the sector has been held back by years of political and civil unrest coupled with endemic corruption;
• mobile penetration rates reached 100% as far back as 2011 but have largely stagnated since then;
• the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are slowly extending the reach of their LTE networks around the country, and this increased coverage (along with access to faster data-based services) is expected to produce a moderate resurgence for both mobile and mobile broadband over the next few years as customers migrate from 3G to 4G. 5G services are still some ways off, as the demand for high-speed data and fast broadband can easily be met by existing capacity on LTE networks;
• fixed-line teledensity continues to drop down each year as customers consolidate their telecommunications services around the mobile platform;
• the rate of decline is comparatively slower than other countries, since Azerbaijan has a relatively high proportion of (87%) of fixed-line broadband customers still on DSL;
• fiber is gradually being rolled out in urban areas, and this makes up the bulk of the growth being seen in the overall fixed broadband market;
• DSL’s predominance, however, will serve to keep Azerbaijan’s average access speeds in the sub-10Mbps range for the foreseeable future (2020)

domestic:

16 fixed-lines subscriptions per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscriptions of 105 telephones per 100 persons (2021)

international:

country code - 994; Azerbaijan’s largest mobile network operator ( MNO ) launched trial 5G mobile services in Baku on 27 December 2022 (2023)

• 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;
• note - all broadcast media is pro-government, and most private broadcast media outlets are owned by entities directly linked to the government

number of registered air carriers:

42 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 44

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

2,279,546 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

44.09 million (2018) mt-km

total:

2,944.3 km (2017)

broad gauge:

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

• estimates vary;
• approximately 60-75,000 active armed forces;
• approximately 15,000 Ministry of Internal Affairs troops (2023)

• Baku has been actively upgrading its equipment for over a decade with purchases from Belarus, Israel, Russia, and Turkey;
• while most of the military's equipment was once Soviet-era material, it now fields quantities of advanced equipment, including armored vehicles, artillery systems, air defense systems, tanks, and UAVs (2023)

• 18-25 years of age for compulsory military service for men;
• 17-35 years of age for voluntary service for men and women;
• 18 months service for conscripts (2023)

note: most of the military is made up of professional contract soldiers; as of 2018, women made up an estimated 3% of the active duty military

• Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency (NASA; Azərbaycan Milli Aerokosmik Agentliyi, MAKA; established in 1992 from the Kaspiy Scientific Center, established 1974);
• Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos; established 2010 as a state-owned satellite operating company) (2023)

• national space program largely focused on the acquisition and operation of satellites;
• operates foreign-built communications and remote sensing (RS) satellites;
• has two satellite ground control stations;
• cooperates with a variety of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of China, the European Space Agency (and individual member states such as France), Russia, and the US;
• Azercosmos is the largest satellite operator in the Caucasus region (2023)

note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S