Bahamas, The (2002) | Azerbaijan (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29% (male 43,964; female 43,250)
15-64 years: 64.7% (male 95,508; female 98,859) 65 years and over: 6.3% (male 7,948; female 11,000) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 25.4% (male 1,086,271/female 975,100)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 2,695,428/female 2,799,047) 65 years and over: 7% (male 211,438/female 352,963) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats |
Airports | 67 (2001) | 35 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 27
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 34 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 3 23 (2002) |
total: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
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 |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | Azerbaijan - a nation with a majority-Turkic and majority-Muslim population - was briefly independent from 1918 to 1920; it 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 600,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous, and the government has been accused of authoritarianism. Although the poverty rate has been reduced in recent years, the promise of widespread wealth from development of Azerbaijan's energy sector remains largely unfulfilled. |
Birth rate | 18.69 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 17.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $6.752 billion
expenditures: $8.36 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Nassau | name: Baku (Baki, Baky)
geographic coordinates: 40 23 N, 49 52 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | dry, semiarid steppe |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km est.) |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | adopted 12 November 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: Republic of Azerbaijan
conventional short form: Azerbaijan local long form: Azarbaycan Respublikasi local short form: Azarbaycan former: Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | - |
Death rate | 7.49 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $381.9 million (2000) | $2.022 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Richard BLANKENSHIP
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Anne E. DERSE
embassy: 83 Azadliyg Prospecti, Baku AZ1007 mailing address: American Embassy Baku, US Department of State, 7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050 telephone: [994] (12) 4980-335 through 337 FAX: [994] (12) 4656-671 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Yashar ALIYEV
chancery: 2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 337-3500 FAX: [1] (202) 337-5911 Consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | none | Armenia supports ethnic Armenian secessionists in Nagorno-Karabakh and since the early 1990s has militarily occupied 16% of Azerbaijan; 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; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) continues to mediate dispute; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia have ratified 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 continue to discuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.8 million (1995) | ODA, $223.4 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs almost half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences have led to solid GDP growth in recent years. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of the majority of tourist visitors. | Azerbaijan's high economic growth in 2006 and 2007 is attributable to large and growing oil exports. 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 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. A consortium of Western oil companies began pumping 1 million barrels a day from a large offshore field in early 2006, through a $4 billion pipeline it built from Baku to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. By 2010 revenues from this project will double the country's current GDP. 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. Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijan's economic progress: the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector, the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, pervasive corruption, and elevated inflation. 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 oil and gas pipelines in the region, and Azerbaijan's ability to manage its energy wealth. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.432 billion kWh (2000) | 27.5 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 880 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 2.082 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.54 billion kWh (2000) | 23.8 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | local scientists consider the Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) (including Baku and Sumqayit) and the Caspian Sea to be the ecologically most devastated area in the world because of severe air, soil, and water pollution; soil pollution results from oil spills, from the use of DDT pesticide, and from toxic defoliants used in the production of cotton |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | 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 |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) | Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 0.8581 (2007), 0.8934 (2006), 4,727.1 (2005), 4,913.48 (2004), 4,910.73 (2003)
note: on 1 January 2006 Azerbaijan revalued its currency, with 5,000 old manats equal to 1 new manat |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
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 Yaqub EYYUBOV (since June 2006) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2008); prime minister and first deputy prime minister 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% |
Exports | $535.8 million (2000) | 795,600 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Exports - commodities | fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables (1999) | oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | US 28.2%, France 16.5%, Germany 14.1%, UK 12.4% (2000) | Italy 44.7%, Israel 10.7%, Turkey 6.1%, France 5.5%, Russia 5.4%, Iran 4.6%, Georgia 4.5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $5 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 64% services: 29.9% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,800 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2001) | 31% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 40 30 N, 47 30 E |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 29.5% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center | 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 |
Imports | $1.88 billion (2000) | 3,924 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals (1999) | machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 31.6%, South Korea 18.2%, Italy 17.4%, Japan 5.8% (2000) | Russia 22.4%, UK 8.6%, Germany 7.7%, Turkey 7.3%, Turkmenistan 7%, Ukraine 6%, China 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 31% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore; cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 17.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 58.31 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 64.03 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2001 est.) | 16% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) | ADB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 14,550 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 156,000 (1999) | 5.243 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 est.) | agriculture: 41%
industry: 7% services: 52% (2001) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 0.6%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 99% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20.62%
permanent crops: 2.61% other: 76.77% (2005) |
Languages | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | Azerbaijani (Azeri) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% (1999 census) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4 |
unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 November 2005 (next to be held in November 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Yeni 58, Azadliq coalition 8, CSP 2, YES 2, Motherland 2, other parties with single seats 7, independents 42, undetermined 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.87 years
male: 66.32 years female: 73.49 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 65.96 years
male: 61.86 years female: 70.66 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.5% female: 98.2% (1999 census) |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 1,076 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 31,309,187 GRT/45,859,485 DWT
ships by type: bulk 159, cargo 246, chemical tanker 41, combination bulk 13, combination ore/oil 22, container 80, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 8, passenger 88, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 178, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 120, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 22 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Angola 1, Argentina 1, Australia 4, Belgium 18, Bermuda 1, Canada 5, Chile 1, China 3, Croatia 2, Cuba 3, Cyprus 2, Denmark 27, Ecuador 1, Estonia 2, Finland 9, France 15, Germany 26, Greece 173, Hong Kong 6, India 2, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 9, Jamaica 1, Japan 32, Kenya 3, Malaysia 10, Malta 2, Monaco 67, Netherlands 32, New Zealand 2, Norway 237, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, South Korea 2, Spain 7, Sweden 12, Switzerland 8, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, Turkey 2, Ukraine 2, United Arab Emirates 10, United Kingdom 107, United States 159, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 86 ships (1000 GRT or over) 421,061 GRT/460,968 DWT
by type: cargo 26, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 45, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 3 registered in other countries: 4 (Georgia 1, Malta 3) (2007) |
Military branches | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY95/96) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (FY99) | 2.6% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun: Azerbaijani(s)
adjective: Azerbaijani |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | droughts |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, bauxite |
Net migration rate | -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -2.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,857 km; oil 2,436 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Azadliq ("Freedom") coalition (Popular Front Party, Liberal Party, Citizens' Development Party); Azerbaijan Democratic Party (ADP) [Sardar JALALOGLU]; Azerbaijan Democratic Reforms Party (ADRP) Youth Movement [Ramin HAJILI]; Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF, now split in two [Ali KARIMLI, leader of "Reform" APF party; Mirmahmud MIRALI-OGLU, leader of "Classic" APF party]; Azerbaijan Public Forum [Eldar NAMAZOV]; Citizens' Development Party [Ali ALIYEV]; Civil Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLY]; Dalga Youth Movement [Vafa JAFAROVA]; Green Party [Mais GULALIYEV and Tarana MAMMADOVA]; Hope (Umid) Party [Iqbal AGAZADE]; Ireli Youth Movement [Jeyhun OSMANLI, Roya TALIBOVA, Farhad MAMMADOV, Elnara GARIBOVA, Elnur MAMMADOV, Ziya ALIYEV]; Justice Party [Ilyas ISMAILOV]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shovkat HACIYEVA]; Magam Youth Movement [Emin HUSEYNOV]; Motherland Party [Fazail AGAMALI]; Musavat ("Equality") [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; Musavat Party Youth Movement [Elnur MAMMADLI]; National Democratic Party or "Grey Wolves" (Nationalist, Pan-Turkic) [Iskender HAMIDOV]; Open Society Party [Rasul GULIYEV, in exile in the US]; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA [Ayaz RUSTAMOV]; Popular Front Party Youth Movement [Seymur KHAZIYEV]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Araz ALIZADE and Ayaz MUTALIBOV (in exile)]; Turkish Nationalist Party [Vugar BAYTURAN]; United Azerbaijan Party [Karrar ABILOV]; United Azerbaijan National Unity Party [Hajibaba AZIMOV]; United Party [Tahir KARIMLI]; Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party [President Ilham ALIYEV]; Yeni Azerbaijan Party Youth Movement [Ramil HASANOV]; Yox (No) Youth Movement [Ali ISMAYILOV]
note: opposition parties regularly factionalize and form new parties; |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement; Union of Pro-Azerbaijani Forces (UPAF); Karabakh Liberation Organization |
Population | 300,529
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
8,120,247 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 24% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.86% (2002 est.) | 0.688% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 215,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,122 km
broad gauge: 2,122 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% | 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 |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.15 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.114 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.963 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.599 male(s)/female total population: 0.968 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable expansion and modernization; teledensity of 15 main lines per 100 persons is low; mobile cellular penetration is increasing and is currently about 40 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: fixed-line telephony and a broad range of other telecom services are controlled by a state-owned telecoms monopoly and growth has been stagnant; more competition exists in the mobile-cellular market with three providers in 2006; 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; satellite earth stations - 2 (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 96,000 (1997) | 1.189 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,152 (1997) | 3.324 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | 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 |
Total fertility rate | 2.28 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 8.5% official rate (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |