Azerbaijan (2001) | Kiribati (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities* (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic** (muxtar respublika); Abseron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu, Agdas Rayonu, Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, Ali Bayramli Sahari*, Astara Rayonu, Baki Sahari*, Balakan Rayonu, Barda Rayonu, Beylaqan Rayonu, Bilasuvar Rayonu, Cabrayil Rayonu, Calilabad Rayonu, Daskasan Rayonu, Davaci Rayonu, Fuzuli Rayonu, Gadabay Rayonu, Ganca Sahari*, Goranboy Rayonu, Goycay Rayonu, Haciqabul Rayonu, Imisli Rayonu, Ismayilli Rayonu, Kalbacar Rayonu, Kurdamir Rayonu, Lacin Rayonu, Lankaran Rayonu, Lankaran Sahari*, Lerik Rayonu, Masalli Rayonu, Mingacevir Sahari*, Naftalan Sahari*, Naxcivan Muxtar Respublikasi**, Neftcala Rayonu, Oguz Rayonu, Qabala Rayonu, Qax Rayonu, Qazax Rayonu, Qobustan Rayonu, Quba Rayonu, Qubadli Rayonu, Qusar Rayonu, Saatli Rayonu, Sabirabad Rayonu, Saki Rayonu, Saki Sahari*, Salyan Rayonu, Samaxi Rayonu, Samkir Rayonu, Samux Rayonu, Siyazan Rayonu, Sumqayit Sahari*, Susa Rayonu, Susa Sahari*, Tartar Rayonu, Tovuz Rayonu, Ucar Rayonu, Xacmaz Rayonu, Xankandi Sahari*, Xanlar Rayonu, Xizi Rayonu, Xocali Rayonu, Xocavand Rayonu, Yardimli Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Yevlax Sahari*, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala Rayonu, Zardab Rayonu | 3 units; Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands; note - in addition, there are 6 districts (Banaba, Central Gilberts, Line Islands, Northern Gilberts, Southern Gilberts, Tarawa) and 21 island councils - one for each of the inhabited islands (Abaiang, Abemama, Aranuka, Arorae, Banaba, Beru, Butaritari, Kanton, Kiritimati, Kuria, Maiana, Makin, Marakei, Nikunau, Nonouti, Onotoa, Tabiteuea, Tabuaeran, Tamana, Tarawa, Teraina) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
28.95% (male 1,146,315; female 1,103,393) 15-64 years: 63.93% (male 2,415,678; female 2,552,759) 65 years and over: 7.12% (male 219,549; female 333,398) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.6% (male 20,608/female 20,060)
15-64 years: 58.1% (male 30,216/female 31,004) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,517/female 2,027) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats | copra, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables; fish |
Airports | 52 (2000 est.) | 19 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 28 (2000 est.) |
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
Area | total:
86,600 sq km land: 86,100 sq km water: 500 sq km note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991 |
total: 811 sq km
land: 811 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes three island groups - Gilbert Islands, Line Islands, Phoenix Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Azerbaijan - a nation of Turkic Muslims - has been an independent republic since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a cease-fire, in place since 1994, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost almost 20% of its territory and must support some 750,000 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled. | The Gilbert Islands were granted self-rule by the UK in 1971 and complete independence in 1979 under the new name of Kiribati. The US relinquished all claims to the sparsely inhabited Phoenix and Line Island groups in a 1979 treaty of friendship with Kiribati. |
Birth rate | 18.44 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$777 million expenditures: $995 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $55.52 million
expenditures: $59.71 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY05) |
Capital | Baku (Baki) | name: Tarawa
geographic coordinates: 1 25 N, 173 00 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | dry, semiarid steppe | tropical; marine, hot and humid, moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km, est.) | 1,143 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 November 1995 | 12 July 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Azerbaijan conventional short form: Azerbaijan local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi local short form: none former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic |
conventional long form: Republic of Kiribati
conventional short form: Kiribati local long form: Republic of Kiribati local short form: Kiribati note: pronounced keer-ree-bahss former: Gilbert Islands |
Currency | Azerbaijani manat (AZM) | - |
Death rate | 9.55 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1 billion (2000) | $10 million (1999 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ross WILSON embassy: Azadliq Prospekt 83, Baku 370007 mailing address: American Embassy Baku, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7050 telephone: [9] (9412) 98-03-35, 36, 37 FAX: [9] (9412) 90-66-71 |
the US does not have an embassy in Kiribati; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Kiribati |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hafiz Mir Jalal PASHAYEV chancery: (temporary) Suite 700, 927 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 or P. O. Box 28790, Washington, DC 20038-8790 telephone: [1] (202) 842-0001 FAX: [1] (202) 842-0004 |
Kiribati does not have an embassy in the US; there is an honorary consulate in Honolulu |
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, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $113 million (1996) | $16.7 million largely from UK and Japan (2004) |
Economy - overview | Azerbaijan's most prominent products are oil, cotton, and natural gas. Azerbaijan's oil production declined through 1997 but has registered an increase every year since. Negotiation of 19 production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with foreign firms, which have thus far committed $60 billion to oil field development, should generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development. Oil production under the first of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November 1997. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its long-term prospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced. An obstacle to economic progress, including stepped up foreign investment, is the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance while trade is building up with Turkey, Iran, UAE, and the nations of Europe. Long-term prospects will depend on world oil prices, the location of new pipelines in the region, and Azerbaijan's ability to manage its oil wealth. | A remote country of 33 scattered coral atolls, Kiribati has few natural resources. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted at the time of independence from the UK in 1979. Copra and fish now represent the bulk of production and exports. The economy has fluctuated widely in recent years. Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers, weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. Tourism provides more than one-fifth of GDP. The financial sector is at an early stage of development as is the expansion of private sector initiatives. Foreign financial aid from UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China equals about 20% of GDP. Remittances from seamen on merchant ships abroad account for more than $5 million each year. Kiribati receives around $15 million annually for the government budget from an Australian trust fund. |
Electricity - consumption | 15.432 billion kWh (1999) | 11.16 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 600 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 800 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 16.378 billion kWh (1999) | 12 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
86.46% hydro: 13.54% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Banaba 81 m |
Environment - current issues | 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, water, and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of DDT as a pesticide and also from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton | heavy pollution in lagoon of south Tarawa atoll due to heavy migration mixed with traditional practices such as lagoon latrines and open-pit dumping; ground water at risk |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Azeri 90%, Dagestani 3.2%, Russian 2.5%, Armenian 2%, other 2.3% (1998 est.)
note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region |
Micronesian 98.8%, other 1.2% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 4,579 (1 February 2001), 4,342 (October 1999), 4,373 (1999), 3,869 (1998), 3,985.38 (1997), 4,301.26 (1996) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Heydar ALIYEV (since 18 June 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 26 November 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote to a five-year term; election last held 11 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2003); prime minister and first deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly election results: Heydar ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Heydar ALIYEV 77.6%, Etibar MAMEDOV 11.8%, Nizami SULEYMANOV 8.2% |
chief of state: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Anote TONG (since 10 July 2003); Vice President Teima ONORIO cabinet: 12-member cabinet appointed by the president from among the members of the House of Parliament elections: the House of Parliament chooses the presidential candidates from among its members and then those candidates compete in a general election; president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 4 July 2003 (next to be held not later than July 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: Anote TONG 47.4%, Harry TONG 43.5%, Banuera BERINA 9.1% |
Exports | $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | oil and gas 75%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs | copra 62%, coconuts, seaweed, fish |
Exports - partners | Italy, Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Iran | US 22.8%, Belgium 21.5%, Japan 14.3%, Samoa 7.8%, Australia 7.5%, Malaysia 6.7%, Taiwan 5.6%, Denmark 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
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 | the upper half is red with a yellow frigate bird flying over a yellow rising sun, and the lower half is blue with three horizontal wavy white stripes to represent the ocean |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $23.5 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
22% industry: 33% services: 45% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 8.9%
industry: 24.2% services: 66.8% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 11.4% (2000 est.) | 0.3% (2005) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 30 N, 47 30 E | 1 25 N, 173 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited; Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Makatea in French Polynesia, and Nauru |
Highways | total:
24,981 km paved: 23,057 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 1,924 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; limited government eradication program; transshipment point for opiates via Iran, Central Asia, and Russia to Western Europe | - |
Imports | $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, miscellaneous manufactured goods, fuel |
Imports - partners | Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE, Iran | Australia 33%, Fiji 27.1%, Japan 18.1%, NZ 6.9% (2005) |
Independence | 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 12 July 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.9% (2000 est.) | 0.7% (1991 est.) |
Industries | petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles | fishing, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | 83.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 47.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.34 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.8% (2000 est.) | 0.5% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Court of Appeal; High Court; 26 Magistrates' courts; judges at all levels are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 2.9 million (1997) | 7,870 economically active, not including subsistence farmers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and forestry 32%, industry 15%, services 53% (1997) | 2.70213%, 32%, 65.3% |
Land boundaries | total:
2,013 km border countries: Armenia (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-proper) 432 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
18% permanent crops: 5% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 11% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.74%
permanent crops: 47.95% other: 49.31% (2005) |
Languages | Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.) | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NAP and allies 108, APF 6, CSP 3, PNIA 2, Musavat Party 2, CPA 2, APF "traditionalist" 1, Compatriot Party 1 |
unicameral House of Parliament or Maneaba Ni Maungatabu (42 seats; 39 elected by popular vote, 1 ex officio member - the attorney general, 1 appointed to represent Banaba, and 1 other; members serve four-year terms)
elections: legislative elections were held in two rounds - the first round on 9 May 2003 and the second round on 14 May 2003 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BTK 17, MTM 16, independents 7, other 2 (includes attorney general) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
62.96 years male: 58.65 years female: 67.49 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 62.08 years
male: 59.06 years female: 65.24 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
Location | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia | Oceania, group of 33 coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, straddling the Equator; the capital Tarawa is about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia; note - on 1 January 1995, Kiribati proclaimed that all of its territory lies in the same time zone as its Gilbert Islands group (GMT +12) even though the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands under its jurisdiction lie on the other side of the International Date Line |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 253,882 GRT/313,252 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 12, petroleum tanker 40, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,749 GRT/3,911 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) (2006) |
Military - note | - | Kiribati does not have military forces; defense assistance is provided by Australia and NZ |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guards | no regular military forces; Police Force (carries out law enforcement functions and paramilitary duties; small police posts are on all islands) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $121 million (FY99) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (FY99) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,102,780 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,684,673 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
77,099 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaidzhan, 28 May (1918) | Independence Day, 12 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Azerbaijani(s) adjective: Azerbaijani |
noun: I-Kiribati (singular and plural)
adjective: I-Kiribati |
Natural hazards | droughts; some lowland areas threatened by rising levels of the Caspian Sea | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina | phosphate (production discontinued in 1979) |
Net migration rate | -5.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,130 km; petroleum products 630 km; natural gas 1,240 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Azerbaijan Party [Abutalyb SAMADOV]; Azerbaijani Democratic Party or ADP [Sardar JALAL]; Azerbaijani Independent Democratic Party or AMDP [Leyla YUNUSOVA]; Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF [Ali KERIMOV, leader of "reform faction"; Mirmahmud FATTAYEV, leader of "traditionalist" faction]; Civic Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLY]; Civic Union Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan or CPA [Ramiz AHMADOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan or CPA-2 [Firudin HASANOV]; Compatriot Party [Mais SAFARLI]; Democratic Enlightenment Party [Mammadhanifu MUSAYEV]; Democratic Party for Azerbaijan or DPA [Ilyus ISMAILOV and Rasul QULIYEV, co-chairman]; Democratic World Party of Azerbaijan [Mamnad ALIZADE]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shvkat HAJIYEVA]; Motherland Party [Fazail AGAMALI]; National Congress Party of Azerbaijan [Ihtiyar SHIRIN]; National Movement Party [Samir JAFAROV]; National Statehood Party [Sabir TARIVERDIYEV]; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; New Azerbaijan Party or NAP [Heydar ALIYEV, chairman]; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA [Etibar MAMMADOV, chairman]; People's Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or PDPA [Rafig TURABKHANOGLU]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Zardusht ALIZADE, chairman]
note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties |
Boutokaan Te Koaua Party or BTK [Taberannang TIMEON]; Maneaban Te Mauri Party or MTM [Teburoro TITO]; Maurin Kiribati Pati or MKP; National Progressive Party or NPP [Dr. Harry TONG]
note: there is no tradition of formally organized political parties in Kiribati; they more closely resemble factions or interest groups because they have no party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement | NA |
Population | 7,771,092 (July 2001 est.) | 105,432 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 60% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.32% (2001 est.) | 2.24% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Baku (Baki) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1
note: the shortwave station may be inactive (2002) |
Radios | 175,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,125 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 2,125 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (1993) |
- |
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; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower |
Roman Catholic 52%, Protestant (Congregational) 40%, some Seventh-Day Adventist, Muslim, Baha'i, Latter-day Saints, Church of God (1999) |
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: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
inadequate; requires considerable expansion and modernization; teledensity of 8.6 main lines per 100 persons is very low domestic: the majority of telephones are in Baku and other industrial centers - about 700 villages still do not have public telephone service; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan international: the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; a satellite connection to Turkey enables Baku to reach about 200 additional countries, some of which are directly connected to Baku by satellite providers other than Turkey (1997) |
general assessment: generally good quality national and international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati (Christmas Island); connections to outer islands by HF/VHF radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999 international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 663,000 (1997) | 4,500 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 40,000 (1997) | 600 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (not reported to be active) (2002) |
Terrain | 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 | mostly low-lying coral atolls surrounded by extensive reefs |
Total fertility rate | 2.24 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.16 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (1999 est.) | 2% official rate; underemployment 70% (1992 est.) |
Waterways | none | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003) |