Estonia (2002) | Azerbaijan (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 15 counties (maakonnad, singular - maakond): Harjumaa (Tallinn), Hiiumaa (Kardla), Ida-Virumaa (Johvi), Jarvamaa (Paide), Jogevamaa (Jogeva), Laanemaa (Haapsalu), Laane-Virumaa (Rakvere), Parnumaa (Parnu), Polvamaa (Polva), Raplamaa (Rapla), Saaremaa (Kuressaare), Tartumaa (Tartu), Valgamaa (Valga), Viljandimaa (Viljandi), Vorumaa (Voru)
note: counties have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
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: 16.4% (male 118,603; female 114,102)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 466,882; female 502,343) 65 years and over: 15.1% (male 70,085; female 143,666) (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 | potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish | cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats |
Airports | 32 (2001) | 35 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 under 914 m: 1 (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: 24
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
total: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
Area | total: 45,226 sq km
land: 43,211 sq km water: 2,015 sq km note: includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea |
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 New Hampshire and Vermont combined | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with Western Europe. | 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 | 8.96 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 17.47 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.89 billion
expenditures: $1.89 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $6.752 billion
expenditures: $8.36 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Tallinn | 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 | maritime, wet, moderate winters, cool summers | dry, semiarid steppe |
Coastline | 3,794 km | 0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km est.) |
Constitution | adopted 28 June 1992 | adopted 12 November 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Estonia
conventional short form: Estonia local long form: Eesti Vabariik local short form: Eesti former: Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic |
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 | Estonian kroon (EEK) | - |
Death rate | 13.44 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.3 billion (2001 est.) | $2.022 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph M. DeTHOMAS
embassy: Kentmanni 20, 15099 Tallinn mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [372] 668-8100 FAX: [372] 668-8134 |
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 Sven JURGENSON
chancery: 1730 M Street NW, Suite 503, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 588-0101 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0108 consulate(s) general: 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 | Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint December 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia | 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 | $108 million (2000) | ODA, $223.4 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | Estonia, as a new member of the World Trade Organization, is steadily moving toward a modern market economy with increasing ties to the West, including the pegging of its currency to the euro. A major goal is accession to the EU, possibly by 2004. The state of the economy is greatly influenced by developments in Finland, Sweden, and Germany, three major trading partners. The trade deficit is a negative factor, whereas the internal government surplus is a plus. | 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 | 5.362 billion kWh (2000) | 27.5 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 1.2 billion kWh (2000) | 880 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 2.082 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 7.056 billion kWh (2000) | 23.8 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Suur Munamagi 318 m |
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m |
Environment - current issues | air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 4.6 times smaller than in 1980; the amount of unpurified wastewater discharged to water bodies fell 20 times in 2000 compared to 1980; in connection with the start-up of new water purification plants, the pollution load of wastewater decreased; Estonia has more than 1,400 natural and manmade lakes, the smaller of which in agricultural areas need to be monitored; coastal seawater is polluted in certain locations | 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ship Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 | Estonian 65.3%, Russian 28.1%, Ukrainian 2.5%, Belarusian 1.5%, Finn 1%, other 1.6% (1998) | 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 | krooni per US dollar - 17.518 (January 2002), 17.538 (2001), 16.969 (2000), 14.678 (1999), 14.075 (1998), 13.882 (1997); note - the kroon is tied to the euro at a fixed rate of 15.65 krooni per euro | 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: President Arnold RUUTEL (since 8 October 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Siim KALLAS (since 28 January 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister, approved by Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; if he or she does not secure two-thirds of the votes after three rounds of balloting in the Parliament, then an electoral assembly (made up of Parliament plus members of local governments) elects the president, choosing between the two candidates with the largest percentage of votes; election last held 21 September 2001 (next to be held in the fall of 2006); prime minister nominated by the president and approved by Parliament election results: Arnold RUUTEL elected president on 21 September 2001 by a 367-member electoral assembly that convened following Parliament's failure in August to elect then-President MERI's successor; on the second ballot of voting, RUUTEL received 188 votes to Parliament Speaker Toomas SAVI's 155; the remaining 24 ballots were either left blank or invalid |
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 | $3.4 billion f.o.b. (2002) | 795,600 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment 33%, wood and paper 15%, textiles 14%, food products 8%, furniture 7%, metals, chemical products (2001) | oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Finland 33.8%, Sweden 14%, Latvia 6.9%, Germany 6.9%, UK 4.2 (2001) | Italy 44.7%, Israel 10.7%, Turkey 6.1%, France 5.5%, Russia 5.4%, Iran 4.6%, Georgia 4.5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | pre-1940 flag restored by Supreme Soviet in May 1990 - three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), black, and white | 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 - $15.2 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 29% services: 66% (2001) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 64% services: 29.9% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,900 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.4% (2002 est.) | 31% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 59 00 N, 26 00 E | 40 30 N, 47 30 E |
Geography - note | the mainland terrain is flat, boggy, and partly wooded; offshore lie more than 1,500 islands | both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 30,300 km
paved: 29,200 km (including 75 km of expressways); note - 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: 1,100 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 30% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 29.5% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest Asia and the Caucasus via Russia, cocaine from Latin America to Western Europe and Scandinavia, and synthetic drugs from Western Europe to Scandinavia; increasing domestic drug abuse problem; possible precursor manufacturing and/or trafficking | 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 | $4.4 billion f.o.b. (2002) | 3,924 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 33.5%, chemical products 11.6%, textiles 10.3%, foodstuffs 9.4%, transportation equipment 8.9% (2001) | machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Finland 18%, Germany 11%, Sweden 9%, China 9%, Russia 8% (2001) | Russia 22.4%, UK 8.6%, Germany 7.7%, Turkey 7.3%, Turkmenistan 7%, Ukraine 6%, China 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | regained on 20 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 31% (2007 est.) |
Industries | engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textile; services; transit, information technology, telecommunications | petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore; cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 12.32 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) | 3.7% (2002) | 16% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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) | 38 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1998 est.) | 14,550 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | National Court (chairman appointed by Parliament for life) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 608,600 (2001 est.) | 5.243 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 20%, agriculture 11%, services 69% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 41%
industry: 7% services: 52% (2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 633 km
border countries: Latvia 339 km, Russia 294 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: 26.5%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 73.15% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20.62%
permanent crops: 2.61% other: 76.77% (2005) |
Languages | Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other | Azerbaijani (Azeri) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% (1999 census) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Riigikogu (101 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 2 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Center Party 25.4%, Res Publica 24.6%, Reform Party 17.7%, Estonian People's Union 13%, Pro Patria Union (Fatherland League) 7.3% People's Party Moodukad 7%; seats by party - Center Party 28, Res Publica 28, Reform Party 19, Estonian People's Union 13, Pro Patria Union 7, People's Party Moodukad 6 |
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: 70.02 years
male: 64.03 years female: 76.31 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: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1998 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.5% female: 98.2% (1999 census) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: limits fixed in coordination with neighboring states
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 245,958 GRT/193,042 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 13, container 5, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 6 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Liberia 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 | Estonia Defense Forces (including Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force), Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops), Volunteer Defense League (Kaitseliit), Maritime Border Guard, Coast Guard
note: Border Guards and Ministry of Internal Affairs become part of the Estonian Defense Forces in wartime; the Coast Guard is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense in peacetime and the Estonian Navy in wartime |
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $155 million (2002 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (2002 est.) | 2.6% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 359,902 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 282,716 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 11,164 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 24 February (1918); note - 24 February 1918 was the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 20 August 1991 was the date of reindependence from the Soviet Union | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Estonian(s)
adjective: Estonian |
noun: Azerbaijani(s)
adjective: Azerbaijani |
Natural hazards | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring | droughts |
Natural resources | oil shale, peat, phosphorite, clay, limestone, sand, dolomite, arable land, sea mud | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, bauxite |
Net migration rate | -0.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -2.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 2,000 km (2002) | gas 3,857 km; oil 2,436 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party of Estonia (Keskerakond) [Edgar SAVISAAR, chairman]; Estonian People's Union (Rahsaliit) [Villu REILJAN]; Estonian Reform Party (Reformierakond) [Siim KALLAS]; Estonian United Russian People's Party or EUVRP; Moderates (Moodukad) [Ivari PADAR]; Pro Patria Union (Isamaaliit League) [Tunne KELAM, chairman]; Res Publica [Juhan Parts]; Russian Baltic Party [Sergei IVANOV] | 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 | 1,415,681 (July 2002 est.) | 8,120,247 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% (2000) | 24% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.52% (2002 est.) | 0.688% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 98, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.01 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 968 km common carrier lines only; does not include dedicated industrial lines
broad gauge: 968 km 1.520-m gauge (132 km electrified) (2001) |
total: 2,122 km
broad gauge: 2,122 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Estonian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Word of Life, Jewish | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 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 for all Estonian citizens | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved telephone service; substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV, and radio traffic in the digital mode; internet services are available throughout most of the country - only about 11,000 subscriber requests were unfilled by September 2000
domestic: a wide range of high quality voice, data, and internet services is available throughout the country international: fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched service; two international switches are located in Tallinn (2001) |
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 | 501,691 (2000) | 1.189 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 711,000 (yearend 2001) | 3.324 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (2001) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | marshy, lowlands; flat in the north, hilly in the south | 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 | 1.24 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12.4% (2001) | 8.5% official rate (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 320 km (perennially navigable) (2002) | - |