Swaziland (2002) | Azerbaijan (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 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: 45.5% (male 254,573; female 256,677)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 281,645; female 301,071) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 12,027; female 17,612) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 25.8% (male 1,046,501/female 1,011,492)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 2,573,134/female 2,706,275) 65 years and over: 7.8% (male 246,556/female 377,661) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats |
Airports | 18 (2001) | 36 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 27
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2006) |
Area | total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 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 New Jersey | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. | Azerbaijan - a nation with a 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 528,000 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. |
Birth rate | 39.59 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 20.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $448 million
expenditures: $506.9 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (FY01/02 ) |
revenues: $3.18 billion
expenditures: $2.986 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | name: Baku (Baki, Baky)
geographic coordinates: 40 23 N, 49 51 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 | varies from tropical to near temperate | dry, semiarid steppe |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (800 km est.) |
Constitution | none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted | adopted 12 November 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
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 | lilangeni (SZL) | - |
Death rate | 23.26 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.75 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $336 million (2001 est.) | $1.873 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James D. McGEE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
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 Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 |
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 | Swaziland continues to press South Africa into ceding ethnic Swazi lands in Kangwane region of KwaZulu-Natal province that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom | 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 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 continue to discuss the alignment of their boundary at certain crossing areas |
Economic aid - recipient | $104 million (2001) | ODA, $140 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends more than two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. Prospects for 2002 are strengthened by the country's status as a beneficiary of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act initiative. | 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. A consortium of Western oil companies is scheduled to begin 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. Economists estimate that 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, and the pervasive corruption. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 900.66 million kWh (2000) | 20.25 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 700 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 564 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (2000) |
2.35 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 362 million kWh (2000) | 20 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 56%
hydro: 44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Bazarduzu Dagi 4,485 m |
Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
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 |
Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 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 | emalangeni per US dollar - 11.5808 (January 2002), 8.4933 (2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni | Azerbaijani manats per US dollar - 4,727.1 (2005), 4,913.48 (2004), 4,910.73 (2003), 4,860.82 (2002), 4,656.58 (2001)
note: on 1 January 2006 Azerbaijan revalued its currency, with 5,000 old manats equal to 1 new manat |
Executive branch | chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
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 (eligible for a second 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% |
Exports | $702 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | South Africa 72%, EU 12%, UK 6%, Mozambique 4%, US 4% (1999) | Italy 30.3%, France 9.4%, Russia 6.6%, Turkey 6.3%, Turkmenistan 6.3%, Georgia 4.8%, Israel 4.5%, Croatia 4.1% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally | 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 - $4.6 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 43% services: 47% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 14.1%
industry: 45.7% services: 40.2% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,200 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | 26.4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 40 30 N, 47 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | both the main area of the country and the Naxcivan exclave are landlocked |
Heliports | - | 1 (2006) |
Highways | total: 3,800 km
paved: 1,064 km unpaved: 2,736 km (2002) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 27.8% (1995) |
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 |
Imports | $850 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals |
Imports - partners | South Africa 89%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (2000) | Russia 17%, UK 9.1%, Singapore 9.1%, Turkey 7.4%, Germany 6.1%, Turkmenistan 5.8%, Ukraine 5.4%, China 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 30 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 40% (2005 est.) |
Industries | mining (coal), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel | petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore; cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 109.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 81.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 76.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.5% (2001 est.) | 9.6% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AsDB, BSEC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 690 sq km (1998 est.) | 14,550 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court |
Labor force | NA | 5.45 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | agriculture: 41%
industry: 7% services: 52% (2001) |
Land boundaries | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 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: 9.77%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 89.53% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20.62%
permanent crops: 2.61% other: 76.77% (2005) |
Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.) |
Legal system | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
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: 37 years
male: 36.35 years female: 37.66 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 63.85 years
male: 59.78 years female: 68.13 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.3% male: 78% female: 78.4% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.8% male: 99.5% female: 98.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range |
Map references | Africa | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 84 ships (1000 GRT or over) 405,395 GRT/436,666 DWT
by type: cargo 26, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum tanker 43, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 3 registered in other countries: 4 (Georgia 2, Malta 2) (2006) |
Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $20 million (FY01/02) | $121 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.75% (FY00/01) | 2.6% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 253,510 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 146,805 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
noun: Azerbaijani(s), Azeri(s)
adjective: Azerbaijani, Azeri |
Natural hazards | drought | droughts |
Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -4.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,190 km; oil 2,436 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | political parties are banned by the constitution - the following are considered political associations - Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president] | 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]; Motherland Party; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; Yeni Azerbaijan Party; 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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Sadval, Lezgin movement; self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement; Union of Pro-Azerbaijani Forces (UPAF) |
Population | 1,123,605
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.) |
7,961,619 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 49% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.63% (2002 est.) | 0.66% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001) | AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 170,000 (1999) | - |
Railways | total: 297 km
narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge note: includes 71 km which are not in use (2001) |
total: 2,957 km
broad gauge: 2,957 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% | 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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable expansion and modernization; teledensity of 14 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; satellite earth stations - 2 (2005) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,500 (2001) | 1,091,400 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 45,000 (2001) | 2.242 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2001) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | 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 | 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.46 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 34% (2000 est.) | 1.1% official rate (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |