azerbaijan country summary
DESCRIPTION
Discover the central Asian nation of Azerbaijan in this easy-to-read summary of its international relations, economy, government, and people & culture.TRANSCRIPT
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