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Azerbaijan
occupies the southeastern part of the Greater Caucasus range
descending to the Caspian Sea at the stretch of 800 km. The
Republic has a unique geopolitical and geographical
position, lying on the juncture of Europe and Asia (380
25"-410 55" of n.l. and 440 50"-500 52"
e.l.) and retains its significance for world economic and
cultural links. The total area of Azerbaijan including the
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (5.5 thousand sq. km) comprises
86.6 thousand sq.km. To the north Azerbaijan borders on Russian
Federation (extending for 17.9 km), to the west with the
Republic of Armenia (785 km), to the northwest with the Georgian
Republic (322 km), to the southwest with Turkey (11 km) in the
south with the Islamic Republic of Iran (618 km).
Azerbaijan is surrounded by mountains, occupying more than half
of its territory: to the north is the Greater Caucasus with the
highest peak of the country Bazaar - dyuzy - 4480m (its
southeastern part reaches Azerbaijan), to the southwest is the
massive Transcaucasian upland extending to Armenia and Georgia,
mounted by the Lesser Caucasus, to the south the Talysh
Mountains join them.
Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is
located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea and is one of
Azerbaijan's largest cities. The center of Baku is the old town,
which is also a fortress. Most of the walls, strengthened
afterthe Russian conquest in 1806, survive. Baku is a major
cultural and educational center, with a university and other
institutions of higher education. One of these specializes in
the petroleum and chemical industries. The basis of Baku's
economy is petroleum.
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| People |
| Population growth
rate: |
0.78%
(1997 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
22.89
births/1,000 population (1997 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
9.32
deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
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: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
80.7
deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.77
children born/woman (1997 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 63.52 years
male : 59.27 years
female: 67.99 years (1997 est.) |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male: 99%
female: 96% (1989 est.) |
| Religions: |
Muslim
93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8%
(1995 est.)
note: religious affiliation is still nominal in
Azerbaijan; actual practicing adherents are much lower |
| Nationality: |
noun
: Azerbaijani(s)
adjective: Azerbaijani |
| Languages: |
Azeri
89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.) |
| Government |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Azerbaijani
Republic
conventional short form: Azerbaijan
local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi
local short form : none
former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Data
code: |
AJ |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| National
capital: |
Baku
(Baki) |
| Independence: |
30
August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence
Day, 28 May |
| Legal
system: |
based
on civil law system |
| Suffrage: |
18
years of age; universal |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme
Court |
| Flag
description: |
three
equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent
and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band |
| Economy |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $11.9 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolated from
World Bank estimate for 1994) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
1.2%
(1996 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $1,550 (1996 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
26%
industry : 30%
services: 44% (1995 est.) |
| Inflation
rate - consumer price index: |
20%
(1996 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
total:
2.789 million
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and
construction 26%, other 42% (1990)
|
| Unemployment
rate: |
1.1%
includes officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of
unregistered unemployed and underemployed workers (December
1996) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$565 million
expenditures: $682 million, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1996 est.) |
| Industries: |
petroleum
and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel,
iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
-8%
(1996 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
cotton,
grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle,
pigs, sheep, goats |
| Exports: |
total
value : $700 million
(f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: oil and gas, chemicals, oilfield equipment,
textiles, cotton
partners: CIS, European countries, Turkey |
| Imports: |
total
value: $900 million
(c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities : machinery and parts, consumer durables,
foodstuffs, textiles
partners: CIS, European countries, Turkey |
| Debt
- external: |
$100
million (of which $75 million to Russia) |
| Energy
Information: |
Country
Analysis Briefs - Azerbaijan |
| Communications |
| Telephones: |
710,000
(1991 est.) |
| Telephone
system: |
domestic:
telephone service is of poor quality and inadequate; a joint
venture to establish a cellular telephone system in the Baku
area is operational
international: cable and microwave radio relay
connections to former Soviet republics; connection through
Moscow international gateway switch to other countries;
satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and 1 Intersputnik
(Intelsat provides service to Turkey and through Turkey to 200
more countries; Intersputnik provides direct service to New
York) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
1
state-owned radio broadcast station |
| Radios: |
NA |
| Televisions: |
NA |
| Transportation |
| Railways: |
total:
2,125 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial
lines |
| Highways: |
total:
57,770 km |
| Waterways: |
NA |
| Pipelines: |
crude
oil 1,130 km; petroleum products 630 km; natural gas 1,240 km |
| Merchant
marine: |
NA |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Baku
(Baki) |
| Transnational
Issues |
| Disputes
- international: |
Armenia
supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of
Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the
Azerbaijani Government; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet
determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakstan, Russia, and
Turkmenistan |
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