Azeris desire
absorption of and/or unification with the ethnically Azeri portion of Iran;
minor irredentist disputes along Georgia border
Climate:
dry, semiarid steppe; subject to drought
Terrain:
large, flat Kura Lowland (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus
Mountains to the north, Karabakh Upland in west; Baku lies on Aspheson
Peninsula that juts into Caspian Sea
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nonferrous metals, alumina
Land use:
NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures; NA% forest
and woodland; NA% other; includes 70% of cultivated land irrigated (1.2
million hectares)
Environment:
local scientists consider Apsheron Peninsula, including Baku and Sumgait,
and the Caspian Sea to be "most ecologically devastated area in the world"
because of severe air and water pollution
Note:
landlocked; major polluters are oil, gas, and chemical industries
:Azerbaijan People
Population:
7,450,787 (July 1992), growth rate 1.6% (1992)
Birth rate:
26 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
—3 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
45 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
65 years male, 73 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
2.9 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Azerbaijani(s); adjective - Azerbaijani
Ethnic divisions:
Azeri 82.7%, Russian 5.6%, Armenian 5.6%, Daghestanis 3.2%, other 2.9%; note
- Armenian share may be less than 5.6% because many Armenians have fled the
ethnic violence since 1989 census
Religions:
Moslem 87%, Russian Orthodox 5.6%, Armenian Orthodox 5.6%, other 1.8%
Languages:
Azeri 82%, Russian 7%, Armenian 5%, other 6%
Literacy:
NA% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1992 est.)
Labor force:
2,789,000; agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and construction 26%,
other 42% (1990)
Organized labor:
NA (1992)
:Azerbaijan Government
Long-form name:
Azerbaijani Republic; short-form name: Azerbaijan
Type:
republic
Capital:
Baku (Baky)
Administrative divisions:
1 autonomous republic (avtomnaya respublika), Nakhichevan' (administrative
center at Nakhichevan'); note - all rayons except for the exclave of
Nakhichevan' are under direct republic jurisdiction;1 autonomous oblast,
Nagorno-Karabakh (officially abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26
November 1991) has declared itself Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Independence:
28 May 1918; on 28 April 1920, Azerbaijan became the Soviet Socialist
Republic of Azerbaijan; on 30 April 1992 it became the Azerbaijani Republic;
independence declared 30 August 1991
Constitution:
adopted NA April 1978
Legal system:
based on civil law system
National holiday:
NA
Executive branch:
president, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
National Parliament (Milli Majlis) was formed on the basis of the National
Council (Milli Shura)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President-elect Ebulfez ELCIBEY (since 7 June 1992)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Rahim GUSEYNOV (since 14 May 1992)
Political parties and leaders:
NA
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
National Parliament:
last held NA September 1990 (next expected to be held late 1992); results -
seats - (360 total) Communists 280, Democratic Bloc 45 (grouping of
opposition parties), other 15, vacant 20; note - these figures are
approximate
President:
held 8 September 1991 (next to be held 7 June 1992); results - Ebulfez
ELCIBEY (6,390 unofficial)
Other political or pressure groups:
Self-proclaimed Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
Member of:
CIS, CSCE, IMF, OIC, UN, UNCTAD
Diplomatic representation:
NA
US:
Ambassador (vacant); Robert MILES, Charge d'Affaires; Embassy at Hotel
Intourist (telephone 8-011-7-8922-91-79-56) plus 8 hours; (mailing address
is APO New York is 09862); telephone NA
:Azerbaijan Government
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and
eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band
:Azerbaijan Economy
Overview:
Azerbaijan is less developed industrially than either Armenia or Georgia,
the other Transcaucasian states. It resembles the Central Asian states in
its majority Muslim population, high structural unemployment, and low
standard of living. The economy's most prominent products are cotton, oil,
and gas. Production from the Caspian oil and gas field has been in decline
for several years. With foreign assistance, the oil industry might generate
the funds needed to spur industrial development. However, civil unrest,
marked by armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Muslim