Azerbaijan (2005) | Croatia (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities* (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic** (muxtar respublika)
rayons: Abseron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu, Agdas Rayonu, Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, Astara Rayonu, Balakan Rayonu, Barda Rayonu, Beylaqan Rayonu, Bilasuvar Rayonu, Cabrayil Rayonu, Calilabad Rayonu, Daskasan Rayonu, Davaci Rayonu, Fuzuli Rayonu, Gadabay Rayonu, Goranboy Rayonu, Goycay Rayonu, Haciqabul Rayonu, Imisli Rayonu, Ismayilli Rayonu, Kalbacar Rayonu, Kurdamir Rayonu, Lacin Rayonu, Lankaran Rayonu, Lerik Rayonu, Masalli Rayonu, Neftcala Rayonu, Oguz Rayonu, Qabala Rayonu, Qax Rayonu, Qazax Rayonu, Qobustan Rayonu, Quba Rayonu, Qubadli Rayonu, Qusar Rayonu, Saatli Rayonu, Sabirabad Rayonu, Saki Rayonu, Salyan Rayonu, Samaxi Rayonu, Samkir Rayonu, Samux Rayonu, Siyazan Rayonu, Susa Rayonu, Tartar Rayonu, Tovuz Rayonu, Ucar Rayonu, Xacmaz Rayonu, Xanlar Rayonu, Xizi Rayonu, Xocali Rayonu, Xocavand Rayonu, Yardimli Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala Rayonu, Zardab Rayonu cities: Ali Bayramli Sahari, Baki Sahari, Ganca Sahari, Lankaran Sahari, Mingacevir Sahari, Naftalan Sahari, Saki Sahari, Sumqayit Sahari, Susa Sahari, Xankandi Sahari, Yevlax Sahari autonomous republic: Naxcivan Muxtar Respublikasi |
20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular); Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.4% (male 1,063,731/female 1,028,684)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,533,762/female 2,665,381) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 245,758/female 374,658) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.2% (male 373,638/female 354,261)
15-64 years: 67% (male 1,497,958/female 1,515,314) 65 years and over: 16.8% (male 288,480/female 465,098) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | 50 (2004 est.) | 68 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 27
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 23
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 15 (2004 est.) |
total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (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: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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 571,000 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. | The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. |
Birth rate | 20.4 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 9.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.715 billion
expenditures: $2.801 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $17.69 billion
expenditures: $19.35 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Baku (Baki) | name: Zagreb
geographic coordinates: 45 48 N, 15 58 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | dry, semiarid steppe | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km, est.) | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) |
Constitution | adopted 12 November 1995 | adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001 |
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 Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia |
Death rate | 9.86 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 11.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.832 billion (2004 est.) | $30.62 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Reno L. HARNISH III
embassy: 83 Azadlyg Prospecti, Baku AZ1007 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) 656-671 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. BRADTKE
embassy: 2 Thomas Jefferson Street, 10010 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373 |
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 Neven JURICA
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s has militarily occupied 16% of Azerbaijan - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; over 800,000 mostly ethnic Azerbaijanis were driven from the occupied lands and Armenia; about 230,000 ethnic Armenians were driven from their homes in Azerbaijan into Armenia; Azerbaijan seeks transit route through Armenia to connect to Naxcivan exclave; 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; bilateral talks continue with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian; Azerbaijan and Georgia cannot resolve the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas | discussions continue with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains un-ratified and in dispute; as a European Union peripheral state, neighboring Slovenia must conform to the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $140 million (2000 est.) | ODA, $166.5 million (2002) |
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. | Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. The economy emerged from a mild recession in 2000 with tourism, banking, and public investments leading the way. Unemployment remains high, at about 18%, with structural factors slowing its decline. While macroeconomic stabilization has largely been achieved, structural reforms lag because of deep resistance on the part of the public and lack of strong support from politicians. Growth, while impressive at about 3% to 4% for the last several years, has been stimulated, in part, through high fiscal deficits and rapid credit growth. The EU accession process should accelerate fiscal and structural reform. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.37 billion kWh (2002) | 15.81 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 505 million kWh (2002) | 550 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 1.558 billion kWh (2002) | 5.99 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 17.55 billion kWh (2002) | 11.15 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 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 | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, 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, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9% (1999 census)
note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region |
Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 4,913.48 (2004), 4,910.73 (2003), 4,860.82 (2002), 4,656.58 (2001), 4,474.15 (2000) | kuna per US dollar - 5.9473 (2005), 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003), 7.8687 (2002), 8.34 (2001) |
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 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 GAMBAR 14% |
chief of state: President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ivo SANADER (since 9 December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka KOSOR (since 23 December 2003) and Damir POLANCEC (since 15 February 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the parliamentary Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 16 January 2005 (next to be held January 2010); the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and then approved by the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC reelected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC 66%, Jadranka KOSOR (HDZ) 34% in the second round |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | Italy 26.6%, Czech Republic 11.9%, Germany 8.1%, Indonesia 6.4%, Romania 6.2%, Georgia 6%, Russia 5.3%, Turkey 5.2%, France 4.1% (2004) | Italy 21.8%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 14.7%, Germany 10.7%, Slovenia 8.1%, Austria 7.3% (2005) |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14.1%
industry: 45.7% services: 40.2% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 30.8% services: 62.2% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.8% (2004 est.) | 4.3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 30 N, 47 30 E | 45 10 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits |
Heliports | 2 (2004 est.) | 2 (2006) |
Highways | total: 28,030 km
paved: 25,890 km unpaved: 2,130 km (2002) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 27.8% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 24.5% (2003 est.) |
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 | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals | machinery, transport and electrical equipment; chemicals, fuels and lubricants; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Russia 16.1%, UK 12.5%, Turkey 10.5%, Germany 7.8%, Ukraine 5.6%, Netherlands 4.9%, US 4.1%, Italy 4% (2004) | Italy 15.9%, Germany 14.9%, Russia 9.1%, Slovenia 6.8%, Austria 5.8%, China 4.7%, France 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (2004 est.) | 5.1% (2005 est.) |
Industries | petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 81.74 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 83.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.6% (2004 est.) | 3.3% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | ACCT (observer), BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 14,550 sq km (1998 est.) | 110 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Assembly |
Labor force | 5.09 million (2004 est.) | 1.71 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and forestry 41%, industry 7%, services 52% (2001) | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32.8% services: 64.5% (2004) |
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: 2,197 km
border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia 241 km, Montenegro 25 km, Slovenia 670 km |
Land use | arable land: 19.63%
permanent crops: 2.71% other: 77.66% (2001) |
arable land: 25.82%
permanent crops: 2.19% other: 71.99% (2005) |
Languages | Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.) | Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on civil law system |
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 Assembly or Sabor (152 seats; note - one seat was added in the November 2003 parliamentary elections; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 November 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; number of seats by party - HDZ 66, SDP 34, HSS 10, HNS 10, HSP 8, IDS 4, Libra 3, HSU 3, SDSS 3, other 11 note: minority government coalition - HDZ, DC, HSLS, HSU, SDSS |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 63.35 years
male: 59.24 years female: 67.66 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 74.68 years
male: 71.03 years female: 78.53 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.5% female: 98.2% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.5% male: 99.4% female: 97.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 81 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 253,004 GRT/318,922 DWT
by type: cargo 26, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 41, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 2 registered in other countries: 3 (2005) |
total: 72 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,079,286 GRT/1,724,698 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 11, chemical tanker 3, passenger/cargo 27, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3 registered in other countries: 36 (Belize 1, Cyprus 2, Liberia 7, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 2, Panama 5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9) (2006) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces | Ground Forces (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM), Air and Air Defense Forces (Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo i Protuzrakoplovna Obrana, HRZiPZO), Joint Education and Training Command, Logistics Command; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $121 million (FY99) | $620 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (FY99) | 2.39% (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918) | Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 is the day the Croatian Parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia |
Nationality | noun: Azerbaijani(s)
adjective: Azerbaijani |
noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
Natural hazards | droughts | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -4.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 4,451 km; oil 1,518 km (2004) | gas 1,340 km; oil 583 km (2006) |
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 Shovkat HACIYEVA]; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; New Azerbaijan Party or NAP [vacant]; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA [Etibar MAMMADLI, chairman]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Araz ALIZADE and Ayaz MUTALIBOV]
note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties |
Croatian Bloc or HB [Ivic PASALIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Anto KOVACEVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Josip FRISCIC]; Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Vladimir JORDAN]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC] (in 2005 party merged with Libra to become Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats or NS-LD [Vesna PUSIC]); Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Djurdja ADLESIC]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; Democratic Centre or DC [Vesna SKARE-OZBOLT]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement; Union of Pro-Azerbaijani Forces (UPAF) | NA |
Population | 7,911,974 (July 2005 est.) | 4,494,749 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49% (2002 est.) | 11% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0.59% (2005 est.) | -0.03% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Baku (Baki) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Railways | total: 2,957 km
broad gauge: 2,957 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2004) |
total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (1,199 km electrified) (2005) |
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 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census) |
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: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
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: country code - 994; 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: NA
domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: country code - 385; digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project, which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece |
Telephones - main lines in use | 923,800 (2002) | 1,889,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 870,000 (2002) | 2.984 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 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 | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
Total fertility rate | 2.44 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.4 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1.2% (official rate) (2004 est.) | 18% official rate; labor force surveys indicate unemployment around 14% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 785 km (2006) |