azerbaijan country summary

AzerbaijanBisignis Institute

Overview

OverviewAzerbaijan is an oil and gas rich country located on

the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The country's

population, numbering over 8 million, is majority-

Turkic and majority-Shia Muslim.

OverviewAzerbaijan was briefly independent (from 1918 to

1920) after the collapse of the Russian Empire; it

was later integrated into the Soviet Union for 7

decades.

OverviewLarge oil export revenues have paid for

infrastructure projects and improved living

standards. The poverty rate has been decreased

and infrastructure investment has grown

substantially in recent years due to revenue from oil

and gas production.

OverviewThe World Bank named the country as one of the

world's fastest reforming nations in its 2009 "Doing

Business" report.

Azerbaijan is ranked number five on the Bisignis

Institute's Emerging Market Energy Security Growth

Prosperity Index®.

OverviewThe World Bank named the country as one of the

world's fastest reforming nations in its 2009 "Doing

Business" report.

Azerbaijan is ranked number five on the Bisignis

Institute's Emerging Market Energy Security Growth

Prosperity Index®.

International RelationsArmenia

ArmeniaAzerbaijan has yet to fix its dispute with Armenia

over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly Armenian-

populated area that Moscow acknowledged in 1923

as an independent region inside Soviet Azerbaijan

after Armenia and Azerbaijan disputed the status of

the region.

ArmeniaArmenia and Azerbaijan started fighting over the

area in 1988; the battle intensified after both

nations achieved independence from the Soviet

Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took

hold, ethnic Armenian troops held not only Nagorno-

Karabakh but also seven bordering provinces in the

territory of Azerbaijan.

International RelationsEurope

EuropeAzerbaijan became a member of the Council of

Europe in 2001.

International RelationsUnited Nations

United NationsIn October 2011, Azerbaijan was awarded one of the

six non-permanent seats on the U.N. Security

Council. From January 2012, Azerbaijan will sit

together with permanent members of the Security

Council (France, China, Russia, the U.K. and the

U.S.) for a duration of 2 years.

International RelationsUnited States

United StatesThe United States established diplomatic relations

with Azerbaijan in 1992, after its independence

from the Soviet Union. The U.S. and Azerbaijan have

a bilateral trade agreement and a bilateral

investment treaty.

Economy

EconomyAzerbaijan experienced strong economic growth

from 2006 to 2010. The growth was credited to

sizable and growing oil and gas exports, but some

non-export industries also had double-digit growth,

including construction, banking, and real estate. In

recent years, Azerbaijan has tried to diversify its

economy and minimize its dependence on its

natural resources.

EconomyEconomic growth reached double digit figures

between 2006 and 2008 before sliding back to 3.7

% in 2010. In 2012, economic growth increased to

to 3.8 %.

EconomyOil & gas

Oil & gasContinued production decreases in the oil sector

were offset by strong growth in the non-oil sector.

The non-oil sector growth may be driven primarily

by government investment, which may not be

sustainable if oil production continues to decline.

Oil & gasOil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline,

the Baku-Novorossiysk, and the Baku-Supsa

pipelines continue to be the primary economic

driver, but efforts to raise Azerbaijan's gas

production are in progress.

Oil & gasThe eventual conclusion of the geopolitically

important Southern Gas Corridor between

Azerbaijan and Europe will create another, albeit,

scaled-down source of income from energy exports.

Oil & gasIn 1994, Azerbaijan endorsed an oil contract worth

$7.4 billion with a Western consortium. Ever since,

Western companies have invested millions of dollars

in the development of the country's oil and gas

reserves. The economy as a whole has not

benefited as much as it might have otherwise done.

EconomyInternational trade

International tradeTrade with Russia and the other former Soviet

republics is decreasing in importance, while trade is

developing with Turkey and the countries in Europe.

International tradeLong-term prospects depend on world oil costs,

Azerbaijan's ability to negotiate export routes for its

expanding gas production, and its ability to use its

energy riches to promote growth and stimulate

employment in non-energy sectors of the economy.

International tradeU.S. firms are involved in offshore oil development

projects with Azerbaijan and are looking into

emerging investment prospects in Azerbaijan in

telecommunications and other industries.

International tradeAzerbaijan has been designated as a beneficiary

nation under the Generalized System of Preferences

(GSP) program, under which a variety of goods that

Azerbaijan might seek to export are eligible for

duty-free access to the United States.

International tradeThe GSP program gives an incentive for investors to

go to Azerbaijan and export certain products duty-

free to the U.S. market.

Government

GovernmentPresident Ilham Aliyev came to office in 2003,

succeeding his father Heydar, and was re-elected in

2008 and in 2013.

People & culture

People & cultureRoughly one-fourth of the country's residents live in

the capital, Baku, a cosmopolitan urban hub that

combines ultra-modern skyscrapers with a historic

Walled City that is recognized by UNESCO as a

World Heritage Site.

People & cultureCulturally, Azerbaijan has also looked to raise its

profile internationally. In 2011, the country won the

Eurovision Song Contest, a continent-wide musical

competition. Due to this success, Azerbaijan will

host the next Eurovision contest which has been

slated to occur in Baku in May, 2012.

People & cultureThe national sport of Azerbaijan is chess.

Sources:

Azerbaijan | CIA World Factbook

U.S. Relations With Azerbaijan | U.S. State Department

Azerbaijan profile | BBC News

Country Profile: Azerbaijan | CNN