Azerbaijan (2003) | Turkey (2001) | |
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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 | 80 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman, Afyon, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir, Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak; note - there may be another province called Duzce |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.7% (male 1,101,320; female 1,064,214)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 2,468,772; female 2,601,312) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 236,683; female 358,463) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
28.42% (male 9,620,291; female 9,276,347) 15-64 years: 65.45% (male 22,116,599; female 21,401,165) 65 years and over: 6.13% (male 1,878,571; female 2,200,997) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats | tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock |
Airports | 71 (2002) | 121 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 27
over 3.047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
86 over 3,047 m: 16 2,438 to 3,047 m: 29 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 44
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 27 (2002) |
total:
35 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 26 (2000 est.) |
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:
780,580 sq km land: 770,760 sq km water: 9,820 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly larger than Texas |
Background | Azerbaijan - a nation with a Turkic and majority-Muslim population - regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its territory and must support some 800,000 refugees and internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled. | Turkey was created in 1923 from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Soon thereafter the country instituted secular laws to replace traditional religious fiats. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN and in 1952 it became a member of NATO. Turkey occupied the northern portion of Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island; relations between the two countries remain strained. Periodic military offensives against Kurdish separatists have dislocated part of the population in southeast Turkey and have drawn international condemnation. |
Birth rate | 19.28 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 18.31 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $786 million
expenditures: $807 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues:
$54.5 billion expenditures: $75.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $3.3 billion (2000) |
Capital | Baku (Baki) | Ankara |
Climate | dry, semiarid steppe | temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km, est.) | 7,200 km |
Constitution | adopted 12 November 1995 | 7 November 1982 |
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 Turkey conventional short form: Turkey local long form: Turkiye Cumhuriyeti local short form: Turkiye |
Currency | Azerbaijani manat (AZM) | Turkish lira (TRL) |
Death rate | 9.68 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.4 billion (2002) | $109 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ross L. WILSON
embassy: 83 Azadliq Prospekt, Baku 370007 mailing address: American Embassy Baku, Department of State, 7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050 telephone: [9] (9412) 98-03-35, 36, 37 FAX: [9] (9412) 90-66-71 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Robert PEARSON embassy: Ataturk Bulvarii 110, Ankara mailing address: PSC 93, Box 5000, APO AE 09823 telephone: [90] (312) 468-6110 FAX: [90] (312) 467-0019 consulate(s) general: Istanbul (closed as of December 2000 for security review) consulate(s): Adana (closed as of December 2000 for security review) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Hafiz PASHAYEV
chancery: 2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 337-3500 FAX: [1] (202) 337-5911 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Baki ILKIN chancery: 2525 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 612-6744 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and militarily occupies about one-sixth of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratify Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on an even one-fifth allocation and challenges Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters; ICJ decision expected to resolve dispute with Turkmenistan over sovereignty of certain Caspian oilfields | complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Greece; dispute with downstream riparian states (Syria and Iraq) over water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $140 million (2000 est.) | ODA, $195 million (1993) |
Economy - overview | Azerbaijan's number one export is oil. Azerbaijan's oil production declined through 1997 but has registered an increase every year since. Negotiation of production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with foreign firms, which have thus far committed $60 billion to long-term oilfield 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. One obstacle to economic progress is the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector. A second obstacle 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 with Turkey 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. | Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with traditional agriculture that still accounts for nearly 40% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. The most important industry - and largest exporter - is textiles and clothing, which is almost entirely in private hands. In recent years the economic situation has been marked by erratic economic growth and serious imbalances. Real GNP growth has exceeded 6% in most years, but this strong expansion was interrupted by sharp declines in output in 1994 and 1999. Meanwhile the public sector fiscal deficit has regularly exceeded 10% of GDP - due in large part to the huge burden of interest payments, which now account for more than 40% of central government spending - while inflation has remained in the high double digit range. Perhaps because of these problems, foreign direct investment in Turkey remains low - less than $1 billion annually. Prospects for the future are improving, however, because the ECEVIT government since June 1999 has been implementing an IMF-backed reform program, including a tighter budget, social security reform, banking reorganization, and accelerated privatization. As a result, the fiscal situation is greatly improved and inflation has dropped below 40% - the lowest rate since 1987. The country experienced a financial crisis in late 2000, including sharp drops in the stock market and foreign exchange reserves, but is recovering rapidly, thanks to additional IMF support and the government's commitment to a specific timetable of economic reforms. |
Electricity - consumption | 16.65 billion kWh (2001) | 119.5 billion kWh (2000 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 700 million kWh (2001) | 350 million kWh (2000 est.) |
Electricity - imports | 400 million kWh (2001) | 3.35 billion kWh (2000 est.) |
Electricity - production | 18.23 billion kWh (2001) | 125.3 billion kWh (2000 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 89.7%
hydro: 10.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
71% hydro: 29% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m |
lowest point:
Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Ararat 5,166 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, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil spills, from the use of DDT as a pesticide, and from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton | water pollution from dumping of chemicals and detergents; air pollution, particularly in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from increasing Bosporus ship traffic |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Environmental Modification |
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 |
Turkish 80%, Kurdish 20% |
Exchange rates | Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 4,860.82 (2002), 4,656.58 (2001), 4,474.15 (2000), 4,120.17 (1999), 3,869 (1998) | Turkish liras per US dollar - 677,621 (December 2000), 625,219 (2000), 418,783 (1999), 260,724 (1998), 151,865 (1997), 81,405 (1996) |
Executive branch | 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 Abbas ABBASOV (since 10 November 2003) 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 15 October 2003 (next to be held NA October 2008); prime minister and first deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly election results: Ilham ALIYEV elected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV 76.8%, Isa GAMBAROV 14% |
chief of state:
President Ahmed Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Bulent ECEVIT (since 11 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the nomination of the prime minister note: there is also a National Security Council that serves as an advisory body to the president and the cabinet elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next scheduled to be held NA May 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third ballot; percent of National Assembly vote - 60% note: president must have a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third ballot |
Exports | NA (2001) | $26.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs | apparel 25.6%, foodstuffs 15.4%, textiles 12.3%, metal manufactures 8.6%, transport equipment 8.1% (1998) |
Exports - partners | Italy 28.7%, Germany 17.7%, Israel 10.6%, France 8.4%, Georgia 6.7%, Russia 4.7% (2002) | Germany 18.7%, US 11.4%, UK 7.4%, Italy 6.3%, France 6.0% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | red with a vertical white crescent (the closed portion is toward the hoist side) and white five-pointed star centered just outside the crescent opening |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $28.61 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $444 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 33% services: 47% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
15% industry: 29% services: 56% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.6% (2002 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 30 N, 47 30 E | 39 00 N, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked | strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, Dardanelles) that link Black and Aegean Seas |
Heliports | - | 2 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 24,981 km
paved: 23,057 km unpaved: 1,924 km (2000) |
total:
382,059 km paved: 106,976 km (including 1,726 km of expressways) unpaved: 275,083 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 27.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 32.3% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | 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 | key transit route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe and - to a far lesser extent the US - via air, land, and sea routes; major Turkish, Iranian, and other international trafficking organizations operate out of Istanbul; laboratories to convert imported morphine base into heroin are in remote regions of Turkey as well as near Istanbul; government maintains strict controls over areas of legal opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate |
Imports | NA (2001) | $55.7 billion (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals | machinery 28.3%, chemicals 15.2%, semi-finished goods 14.5%, fuels 11%, transport equipment 9.5% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Russia 17.8%, Turkey 11.9%, Germany 10.7%, France 7%, Kazakhstan 6.3%, China 6%, UK 5.5%, US 4.5% (2002) | Germany 13.1%, Italy 7.9%, US 7.2%, Russia 7.0%, France 6.6%, UK 5.0% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2002 est.) | 6.2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles | textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper |
Infant mortality rate | total: 82.41 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 84.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
47.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2002 est.) | 39% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UPU, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 22 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 14,550 sq km (1998 est.) | 36,740 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Constitutional Court (judges are appointed by the president); Court of Appeals (judges are elected by the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors) |
Labor force | 3.7 million (2001) | 23 million (2000 est.)
note: about 1.2 million Turks work abroad (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and forestry 41%, industry 7%, services 52% (2001) | agriculture 38%, services 38%, industry 24% (2000) |
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 |
total:
2,627 km border countries: Armenia 268 km, Azerbaijan 9 km, Bulgaria 240 km, Georgia 252 km, Greece 206 km, Iran 499 km, Iraq 331 km, Syria 822 km |
Land use | arable land: 19.31%
permanent crops: 3.04% other: 77.65% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
32% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 16% forests and woodland: 26% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.) | Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Greek |
Legal system | based on civil law system | derived from various European continental legal systems; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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) note: 100 members of the current parliament were elected on the basis of single mandate constituencies, while 25 were elected based on proportional balloting; as a result of a 24 August 2002 national referendum on changes to the constitution, all 125 members of the next parliament will be elected from single mandate constituencies election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NAP and allies 108, APF "Reform" 6, CSP 3, PNIA 2, Musavat Party 2, CPA 2, APF "Classic" 1, Compatriot Party 1 note: PNIA, Musavat, and APF "Classic" parties refused to take their seats |
unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 April 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - DSP 136, MHP 130, FP 110, DYP 86, ANAP 88; note - as of 7 March 2000 seating was DSP 136, MHP 127, FP 103, DYP 85, ANAP 88 independents 6, vacancies 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.16 years
male: 58.95 years female: 67.58 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
71.24 years male: 68.89 years female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 99% female: 96% (1989 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85% male: 94% female: 77% (2000) |
Location | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range | southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria |
Map references | Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone:
in Black Sea only: to the maritime boundary agreed upon with the former USSR territorial sea: 6 NM in the Aegean Sea; 12 NM in Black Sea and in Mediterranean Sea |
Merchant marine | total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 251,004 GRT/313,193 DWT
ships by type: cargo 13, petroleum tanker 40, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.) |
total:
548 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,617,302 GRT/9,088,451 DWT ships by type: bulk 140, cargo 242, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 5, combination ore/oil 6, container 21, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 43, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 25, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces | Land Force, Navy (includes Naval Air and Naval Infantry), Air Force, Coast Guard, Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $121 million (FY99) | $10.6 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (FY99) | 5.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,159,450 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
18,882,272 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,727,340 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
11,432,438 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 82,925 (2003 est.) | males:
674,805 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaidzhan, 28 May (1918) | Independence Day, 29 October (1923) |
Nationality | noun: Azerbaijani(s)
adjective: Azerbaijani |
noun:
Turk(s) adjective: Turkish |
Natural hazards | droughts | very severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina | antimony, coal, chromium, mercury, copper, borate, sulfur, iron ore, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -5.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 5,001 km; oil 1,631 km (2003) | crude oil 1,738 km; petroleum products 2,321 km; natural gas 708 km |
Political parties and leaders | Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF [Ali KARIMLI, leader of "Reform" faction; Mirmahmud MIRALI-OGLU, leader of "Classic" faction]; Civic Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLY]; Civic Union Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan or CPA [Ramiz AHMADOV]; Compatriot Party [Mais SAFARLI]; Democratic Party for Azerbaijan or DPA [Rasul QULIYEV, chairman]; Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAILOV]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shvkat HACIYEVA]; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; New Azerbaijan Party or NAP [Heydar ALIYEV, chairman]; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA [Etibar MAMMADLI, chairman]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Zardust ALIZADE]
note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties |
Democratic Left Party or DSP [Bulent ECEVIT]; Motherland Party or ANAP [Mesut YILMAZ]; Nationalist Action Party or MHP [Devlet BAHCELI]; True Path Party or DYP [Tansu CILLER]; Virtue Party or FP [Recai KUTAN]; note - in June 2001, Turkey's Constitutional Court banned the party; its representatives (except for two) can stay on in the Grand National Assembly as independents
note: Welfare Party or RP [Necmettin ERBAKAN] was officially outlawed on 22 February 1998 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement; Union of Pro-Azerbaijani Forces (UPAF) | Confederation of Revolutionary Workers Unions or DISK [Ridvan BUDAK]; Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association or MUSIAD [Erol YARAR]; Moral Rights Workers Union or Hak-Is [Salim USLU]; Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association or TUSIAD [Muharrem KAYHAN]; Turkish Confederation of Employers' Unions or TISK [Refik BAYDUR]; Turkish Confederation of Labor or Turk-Is [Bayram MERAL]; Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges or TOBB [Fuat MIRAS] |
Population | 7,830,764 (July 2003 est.) | 66,493,970 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.44% (2003 est.) | 1.24% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Baku (Baki) | Gemlik, Hopa, Iskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Kocaeli (Izmit), Icel (Mersin), Samsun, Trabzon |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 16, FM 72, shortwave 6 (1998) |
Radios | - | 11.3 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 2,122 km
broad gauge: 2,122 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2002) |
total:
8,607 km standard gauge: 8,607 km 1.435-m gauge (1,524 km electrified) (1999) |
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 |
Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (Christian and Jews) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 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 (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable expansion and modernization; teledensity of 10 main lines per 100 persons is low (2002)
domestic: the majority of telephones are in Baku and other industrial centers - about 700 villages still without 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:
undergoing rapid modernization and expansion, especially cellular telephones domestic: additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to mobile cellular telephone service is growing rapidly international: international service is provided by three submarine fiber-optic cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, linking Turkey with Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia, by 12 Intelsat earth stations, and by 328 mobile satellite terminals in the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems |
Telephones - main lines in use | 865,000 (2002) | 19.5 million (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 800,000 (2002) | 12.1 million (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 635 (plus 2,934 repeaters) (1995) |
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 mountains; narrow coastal plain; high central plateau (Anatolia) |
Total fertility rate | 2.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.12 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (official rate is 1.2%) (2003 est.) | 5.6% (plus underemployment of 5.6%) (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,200 km (approximately) |