"text":"Azerbaijan - a nation with a majority-Turkic and majority-Shia Muslim population - was briefly independent (from 1918 to 1920) following the collapse of the Russian Empire; it was subsequently incorporated into the Soviet Union for seven decades. Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily ethnic Armenian-populated region that Moscow recognized in 1923 as an autonomous republic within Soviet Azerbaijan after Armenia and Azerbaijan disputed the territory's status. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, ethnic Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also seven surrounding provinces in the territory of Azerbaijan. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the US, France, and Russia, is the framework established to mediate a peaceful resolution of the conflict. ++ Corruption in the country is widespread, and the government, which eliminated presidential term limits in a 2009 referendum, has been accused of authoritarianism. Although the poverty rate has been reduced and infrastructure investment has increased substantially in recent years due to revenue from oil and gas production, reforms have not adequately addressed weaknesses in most government institutions, particularly in the education and health sectors, as well as the court system."
"text":"Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range"
},
"Geographic coordinates":{
"text":"40 30 N, 47 30 E"
},
"Map references":{
"text":"Asia"
},
"Area":{
"total":{
"text":"86,600 sq km"
},
"land":{
"text":"82,629 sq km"
},
"water":{
"text":"3,971 sq km"
},
"note":{
"text":"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"
"text":"Armenia 996 km, Georgia 428 km, Iran 689 km, Russia 338 km, Turkey 17 km"
}
},
"Coastline":{
"text":"0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (713 km)"
},
"Maritime claims":{
"text":"none (landlocked)"
},
"Climate":{
"text":"dry, semiarid steppe"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"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) to the west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea"
"text":"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"
"text":"President Ilham ALIYEV (since 31 October 2003)"
},
"head of government":{
"text":"Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 4 November 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub EYYUBOV (since June 2006); note - RASIZADE was previously prime minister from 20 July 1996 to 4 August 2003"
},
"cabinet":{
"text":"Council of Ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for unlimited terms); election last held on 9 October 2013 (next to be held in October 2018); prime minister and first deputy prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly"
"text":"Ilham ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Ilham ALIYEV (YAP) 84.5%, Jamil HASANLI (National Council of Democratic Forces) 5.5%, other 10%"
"text":"OSCE observers concluded that the election did not meet international standards"
}
},
"Legislative branch":{
"description":{
"text":"unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - YAP 72, CSP 2, Democratic Reforms 1, Social Democratic Party 1, Social Prosperity 1, Unity Party 1, Democratic Enlightenment 1, Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front 1, Motherland 1, Civil Unity 1, Great Undertaking Party 1, independent 42"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the chairman, vice chairman, and 23 judges in plenum sessions and organized into civil, economic affairs, criminal, and rights violations chambers); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)"
"text":"Supreme Court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis; judges appointed for 10 years; Constitutional Court chairman and deputy chairman appointed by the president; other court judges nominated by the president and appointed by the Milli Majlis to serve single 15-year terms"
"text":"Civil Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLI] ++ Civil Unity Party or CUP [Sabir HAJIYEV] ++ Democratic Enlightenment [Elshan MUSAYEV] ++ Democratic Reforms Party [Asim MOLLAZADE] ++ Great Undertaking [Fazil MUSTAFA] ++ Musavat [Arif HAJILI] ++ Popular Front Party [Ali KARIMLI] ++ Motherland Party or AVP [Fazail AGAMALI] ++ Social Democratic Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV] ++ Social Prosperity Party [Khanhusein KAZIMLI] ++ Unity Party [Tahir KARIMLI] ++ Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party [Gudrat HASANGULIYEV] ++ Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party or YAP [President Ilham ALIYEV]"
"text":"Club-125 [Ilhamia RZAYEVA] ++ Ireli Youth Movement [MirHasan SEYIDOV] ++ National Council of Democratic Forces [Jamil HASANLI] ++ NIDA Youth Movement [Turgut GAMBAR, Zaur GURBANLI] ++ Positive Change Youth Movement [Bakhtiyar HAJIYEV] ++ Republican Alternative or REAL [Ilgar MAMMADOV (in jail)]"
"text":"Ambassador Elin SULEYMANOV (since 5 December 2011)"
},
"chancery":{
"text":"2741 34th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[1] (202) 337-3500"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[1] (202) 337-5911"
},
"consulate(s) general":{
"text":"Los Angeles"
}
},
"Diplomatic representation from the US":{
"chief of mission":{
"text":"Ambassador Robert CEKUTA (since 16 February 2015)"
},
"embassy":{
"text":"111 Azadlig Prospecti, Baku AZ1007"
},
"mailing address":{
"text":"American Embassy Baku, US Department of State, 7050 Baku Place, Washington, DC 20521-7050"
},
"telephone":{
"text":"[994] (12) 488-3300"
},
"FAX":{
"text":"[994] (12) 488-3320"
}
},
"Flag description":{
"text":"three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in the red band; the blue band recalls Azerbaijan's Turkic heritage, red stands for modernization and progress, and green refers to Islam; the crescent moon and star are a Turkic insignia; the eight star points represent the eight Turkic peoples of the world"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"flames of fire; national colors: blue, red, green"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Azerbaijan Marsi\" (March of Azerbaijan)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Ahmed JAVAD/Uzeyir HAJIBEYOV"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 1992; although originally written in 1919 during a brief period of independence, \"Azerbaijan Marsi\" did not become the official anthem until after the dissolution of the Soviet Union"
"text":"Azerbaijan's high economic growth has been attributable to large and growing oil and gas exports, but some non-export sectors also featured double-digit growth, including construction, banking, and real estate. Oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline, the Baku-Novorossiysk, and the Baku-Supsa pipelines remain the main economic driver, but efforts to boost Azerbaijan's gas production are underway. The eventual completion of the geopolitically important Southern Gas Corridor between Azerbaijan and Europe will open up another, albeit, smaller source of revenue from gas exports. ++ ++ Azerbaijan has made only limited progress on instituting market-based economic reforms. Pervasive public and private sector corruption and structural economic inefficiencies remain a drag on long-term growth, particularly in non-energy sectors. Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijan's economic progress, including the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector and 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 depend on world oil prices, Azerbaijan's ability to negotiate export routes for its growing gas production, and its ability to use its energy wealth to promote growth and spur employment in non-energy sectors of the economy."
"text":"requires considerable expansion and modernization; fixed-line telephone and a broad range of other telecom services are controlled by a state-owned telecommunications monopoly and growth has been stagnant; more competition exists in the mobile-cellular market with four providers in 2009"
"text":"teledensity of 18 fixed lines per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity has increased to 109 telephones per 100 persons; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan (Nakhichevan)"
"text":"country code - 994; the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic link transits Azerbaijan providing international connectivity to neighboring countries; the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; satellite earth stations - 2 (2015)"
"text":"3 state-run and 1 public TV channels; 4 domestic commercial TV stations and about 15 regional TV stations; cable TV services are available in Baku; 1 state-run and 1 public radio network operating; a small number of private commercial radio stations broadcasting; local FM relays of Baku commercial stations are available in many localities; local relays of several international broadcasters had been available until late 2008 when their broadcasts were banned from FM frequencies (2010)"
"text":"18-35 years of age for compulsory military service; service obligation 18 months or 12 months for university graduates; 17 years of age for voluntary service; 17 year olds are considered to be on active service at cadet military schools (2012)"
"text":"Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified the Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea; the dispute over the break-away Nagorno-Karabakh region and the Armenian military occupation of surrounding lands in Azerbaijan remains the primary focus of regional instability; residents have evacuated the former Soviet-era small ethnic enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan; local border forces struggle to control the illegal transit of goods and people across the porous, undemarcated Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian borders; bilateral talks continue with Turkmenistan on dividing the seabed and contested oilfields in the middle of the Caspian"
"text":"618,220 (conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh; IDPs are mainly ethnic Azerbaijanis but also include ethnic Kurds, Russians, and Turks predominantly from occupied territories around Nagorno-Karabakh; includes IDPs' descendants, returned IDPs, and people living in insecure areas and excludes people displaced by natural disasters; around half the IDPs live in the capital Baku) (2015)"
"text":"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"
