Azerbaijan, officially Azerbaijani Republic, republic in the Transcaucasia region of western Asia, bordered on the north by Russia, on the north-west by Georgia, on the east by the Caspian Sea, on the south by Iran, and on the west by Armenia. Formerly a republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the republic includes the regions known under the Soviets as the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by a mountainous strip in Armenia. Azerbaijan, which covers an area of about 86,600 sq km (33,400 sq mi), is a land of high mountain ranges and low river valleys. Baku, a large port city on the Caspian Sea, is the capital and largest city.
Official Name- Republic of Azerbaijan
59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities* (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic** (muxtar respublika); Abseron Rayonu, Agcabadi Rayonu, Agdam Rayonu, Agdas Rayonu, Agstafa Rayonu, Agsu Rayonu, Ali Bayramli Sahari*, Astara Rayonu, Baki Sahari*, Balakan Rayonu, Barda Rayonu, Beylaqan Rayonu, Bilasuvar Rayonu, Cabrayil Rayonu, Calilabad Rayonu, Daskasan Rayonu, Davaci Rayonu, Fuzuli Rayonu, Gadabay Rayonu, Ganca Sahari*, Goranboy Rayonu, Goycay Rayonu, Haciqabul Rayonu, Imisli Rayonu, Ismayilli Rayonu, Kalbacar Rayonu, Kurdamir Rayonu, Lacin Rayonu, Lankaran Rayonu, Lankaran Sahari*, Lerik Rayonu, Masalli Rayonu, Mingacevir Sahari*, Naftalan Sahari*, Naxcivan Muxtar Respublikasi**, Neftcala Rayonu, Oguz Rayonu, Qabala Rayonu, Qax Rayonu, Qazax Rayonu, Qobustan Rayonu, Quba Rayonu, Qubadli Rayonu, Qusar Rayonu, Saatli Rayonu, Sabirabad Rayonu, Saki Rayonu, Saki Sahari*, Salyan Rayonu, Samaxi Rayonu, Samkir Rayonu, Samux Rayonu, Siyazan Rayonu, Sumqayit Sahari*, Susa Rayonu, Susa Sahari*, Tartar Rayonu, Tovuz Rayonu, Ucar Rayonu, Xacmaz Rayonu, Xankandi Sahari*, Xanlar Rayonu, Xizi Rayonu, Xocali Rayonu, Xocavand Rayonu, Yardimli Rayonu, Yevlax Rayonu, Yevlax Sahari*, Zangilan Rayonu, Zaqatala Rayonu, Zardab Rayonu
Azerbaijan is more populated than the other Transcaucasian states, Georgia and Armenia. Its population was an estimated 7,771,092 in 2001, giving it an average population density of 90 persons per sq km (232 per sq mi). The most densely populated area is the Abseron Peninsula in the east, where Azerbaijan’s major cities are located. Despite its larger population, Azerbaijan is the least urbanized country of Transcaucasia, as only 57 percent of its population lives in urban areas. The largest city is Baku, the capital. Other important cities include Gäncä, the industrial center of western Azerbaijan, and Sumgait, located on the Caspian coast and the second most important industrial center after Baku.
Azerbaijan has a growing and youthful population. The Turkic-speaking Azerbaijanis (Azeris), who make up more than four-fifths of the country's population, are predominantly Shi'ite Muslims. They combine in themselves the dominant Turkic strain, which flooded Azerbaijan especially during the Oguz Seljuq migrations of the 11th century, with mixtures of older inhabitants—Iranians and others—who had lived in Transcaucasia since ancient times. About 13 million Azerbaijanis live abroad, most of them in Iran.
The Azerbaijani language belongs to the southwestern (Oguz or Turkmen) group of the Turkic languages. There are four main dialect divisions. The literary tradition dates to the 14th century. The Arabic script was used until the 20th century; the Cyrillic alphabet was introduced in 1939. In 1992 the Azerbaijani government switched from the Cyrillic to the Roman alphabet as its official orthography.
The area of present-day Azerbaijan was settled beginning in about the 8th century bc by the Medes, an ancient Aryan tribe. It became part of the Persian Empire in the 6th century bc, and the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism was introduced. From the 4th century bc until the 9th century ad the state of Caucasian Albania (Aghvan) existed in eastern Transcaucasia. In the 4th century ad, that state adopted Christianity. A much-disputed area, eastern Transcaucasia was conquered in the late 7th century ad by Arabs, and Islam predominated thereafter. In the mid-11th century Seljuk Turks under Togrul Beg conquered present-day Azerbaijan as well as most of Iran and Iraq. Turkic tribes migrated to the area from the east and came to influence the linguistic and cultural development of the Azerbaijanis. With the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, the area fell under the domain of Mongol khans. In the 16th century Azerbaijan again came under the control of Iran (formerly known as Persia), which was ruled by the Safavid dynasty, and the Shiite doctrine of Islam was established as the official religion. The Ottomans, who were Sunnites, went to war with Iran and held Azerbaijan from 1578 to 1603, but the Safavids continued to reign over the area until their dynasty fell in the early 18th century. Turkic Muslim khanates were then established in Baku, Naxçivan, and other areas.
In ancient and early medieval times eastern Transcaucasia was populated by Iranian speakers, nomadic Turkic tribes, Kurds, and the Caucasian Albanians, who converted to Christianity in the 4th century and came under the cultural influence of the Armenians. After Arab incursions in the 7th century, Islamic polities were established under local rulers called shahanshah. The Seljuq invasions in the 11th century changed the composition of the local population and resulted in the linguistic dominance of Oguz Turkic dialects. But, unlike the Ottoman Turks who came to dominate Anatolia, the Caucasian Muslims of Azerbaijan in the early 16th century became Shi'ite, rather than Sunnite, Muslims, and they continued to develop under Persian social and cultural influence. Persian-ruled khanates in Shirvan (Samaxi), Baku, Ganja (Gäncä), Karabakh, and Yerevan dominated this frontier of Safavid Iran.
The Russian Empire collapsed in the Russian Revolution of 1917, and militant socialist revolutionaries called Bolsheviks (later called Communists) seized power in Russia. This upheaval gave Azerbaijani nationalists the opportunity to assert control over local government, and in May 1918 they declared Azerbaijan an independent republic. Bolshevik supporters (mainly Russians) resisted the nationalists in Baku, and armed conflicts took place in the city in March and September 1918, resulting in thousands of deaths. In 1920 the Bolshevik Red Army invaded Azerbaijan and the rest of Transcaucasia, establishing Bolshevik control in the region. In December 1922 Azerbaijan was incorporated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as part of the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (SFSR), which also included Georgia and Armenia. When the Transcaucasian SFSR was dissolved in 1936, Azerbaijan became the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) within the USSR.
In the course of its long history, Azerbaijan has given the world a number of outstanding thinkers, poets, and scientists. Among the medieval scientists and philosophers, Abul Hasan Bakhmanyar (11th century), the author of numerous works on mathematics and philosophy, and Abul Hasan Shirvani (11th–12th centuries), the author of Astronomy, may be noted. The poet and philosopher Nezami, called Ganjavi after his place of birth, Ganja, was the author of Khamseh (“The Quintuplet”), composed of five romantic poems, including “The Treasure of Mysteries,” “Khosrow and Shirin,” and “Leyli and Mejnun.”
The people of Azerbaijan have retained their ancient musical tradition. For example, the art of ashugs, who improvise songs to their own accompaniment on a stringed instrument called a kobuz, remains extremely popular. Mugams, vocal and instrumental compositions, are also widely known, the town of Shusha being particularly renowned for this art.
Azerbaijan’s cultural institutions, located primarily in Baku, include the State Museum of Shirvan-Shakh, which houses weapons and decorations from palaces of the khans (rulers), and the State Museum of Azerbaijan Literature. The culture of the peoples inhabiting eastern Transcaucasia developed during the ancient and medieval periods under a predominantly Persian influence, although Turkic influences also were present. Azerbaijanis contributed several notable literary and scientific works during the medieval period. After Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire in the early 19th century, Azerbaijani intellectuals such as scholar and poet Abbas Qoli Agha Bakikhanov began the study of the Azeri language and attempted to set up schools that would teach literacy. At times during the Soviet period, artistic expression that conveyed any hint of Azerbaijani nationalism was brutally suppressed.
Azerbaijan's cultural institutions, including museums, theatres, and public libraries, are located in Baku. Many of them were established after World War II. The city has museums devoted to the art, history, and literature of Azerbaijan. In Nagorno-Karabakh there is a museum with material on the history and archaeology of the Armenian people of the region.
The opera and ballet are widely attended. Some of Azerbaijan's composers, notably Uzeir Hajjibekov (the operas Ker-Ogly and Leyli and Mejnun and the operetta Arshin Mal 'Alan) and Kara Karayev (the ballets Seven Beauties and The Path of Thunder), have international reputations. The latter's symphonic music is also well known abroad.
As a result of its broken relief, drainage patterns, climatic differences, and sharply defined altitudinal zoning of vegetation, Azerbaijan is characterized by a wide variety of landscapes. More than two-fifths of its territory is taken up by lowlands, about half lies at 1,300 to 4,900 feet (400 to 1,500 metres), and areas above 4,900 feet occupy a little more than one-tenth of the total area.
The highest peaks are Bazardyuzyu (Bazardüzü; 14,652 feet [4,466 metres]), Shakhdag, and Tufan, all part of the Greater Caucasus range, the crest of which forms part of Azerbaijan's northern boundary. Magnificent spurs and ridges, cut into by the deep gorges of mountain streams, make this part of Azerbaijan a region of great natural beauty. At the same time, it lies within a region characterized by a high degree of seismic activity.
Azerbaijan is one of the world’s oldest oil exporters, and development of the country’s extensive petroleum reserves remains central to its economic future. Agriculture is also important, with the country benefiting from fertile farmland and a diverse climate that allows the raising of a wide range of crops.
Two years of political instability following independence, warfare with Armenia, and fighting in other neighboring countries, which blocked trade routes, led to the collapse of Azerbaijan’s economy in the early 1990s. The gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of goods and services produced, fell to $3.5 billion in 1995—about one-third of its former size. The country was burdened by a flood of refugees from neighboring states and those displaced internally by separatist movements. Inflation was rampant, with the price of goods increasing 16 fold in 1994 alone.
At the beginning of the 20th century Azerbaijan was the world's leading petroleum producer, and it was also the birthplace of the oil-refining industry. In 1901, for example, Azerbaijan produced 11.4 million tons of oil, more than the United States; it accounted for more than half of world production. As the 20th century progressed, however, Azerbaijan's role in oil production decreased as the industry developed in other regions of the U.S.S.R. and elsewhere in the world.
During the 1990s exploitation of the vast oil fields under the Caspian Sea was complicated by political instability in Azerbaijan, ethnic conflict throughout the region, Russian claims on the Caspian fields, and disputes over the location of new pipelines.
Azerbaijan's most prominent products are oil, cotton, and natural gas. Azerbaijan's oil production declined through 1997 but has registered an increase every year since. Negotiation of 19 production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with foreign firms, which have thus far committed $60 billion to oil field 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. 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. An obstacle to economic progress, including stepped up foreign investment, is 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 up with Turkey, Iran, UAE, 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.
inadequate; requires considerable expansion and modernization; teledensity of 8.6 main lines per 100 persons is very low
domestic: the majority of telephones are in Baku and other industrial centers - about 700 villages still do not have public telephone service; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan
international: the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; a satellite connection to Turkey enables Baku to reach about 200 additional countries, some of which are directly connected to Baku by satellite providers other than Turkey
Alliance for Azerbaijan Party [Abutalyb SAMADOV]; Azerbaijani Democratic Party or ADP [Sardar JALAL]; Azerbaijani Independent Democratic Party or AMDP [Leyla YUNUSOVA]; Azerbaijan Popular Front or APF [Ali KERIMOV, leader of "reform faction"; Mirmahmud FATTAYEV, leader of "traditionalist" faction]; Civic Solidarity Party or CSP [Sabir RUSTAMKHANLY]; Civic Union Party [Ayaz MUTALIBOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan or CPA [Ramiz AHMADOV]; Communist Party of Azerbaijan or CPA-2 [Firudin HASANOV]; Compatriot Party [Mais SAFARLI]; Democratic Enlightenment Party [Mammadhanifu MUSAYEV]; Democratic Party for Azerbaijan or DPA [Ilyus ISMAILOV and Rasul QULIYEV, co-chairman]; Democratic World Party of Azerbaijan [Mamnad ALIZADE]; Liberal Party of Azerbaijan [Lala Shvkat HAJIYEVA]; Motherland Party [Fazail AGAMALI]; National Congress Party of Azerbaijan [Ihtiyar SHIRIN]; National Movement Party [Samir JAFAROV]; National Statehood Party [Sabir TARIVERDIYEV]; Musavat [Isa GAMBAR, chairman]; New Azerbaijan Party or NAP [Heydar ALIYEV, chairman]; Party for National Independence of Azerbaijan or PNIA [Etibar MAMMADOV, chairman]; People's Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or PDPA [Rafig TURABKHANOGLU]; Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan or SDP [Zardusht ALIZADE, chairman]
Azerbaijan is a presidential republic, governed under a constitution adopted by referendum in 1995. The new constitution replaced the 1978 constitution, which had been amended to reflect Azerbaijan’s new status after the republic gained independence in 1991.
The head of state is the president, who is directly elected for a term of five years. The president appoints a prime minister and a cabinet of ministers, who carry out the day-to-day operations of government. Legislative power is vested in the Milli Majlis, or National Assembly, a unicameral (single-chamber) body composed of 125 members who serve five-year terms. Under the country’s electoral law, 25 seats in the Milli Majlis are awarded to candidates according to the proportion of the vote their parties draw in elections.
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Heydar ALIYEV (since 18 June 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Artur RASIZADE (since 26 November 1996)
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; election last held 11 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2003); prime minister and first deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly
election results: Heydar ALIYEV reelected president; percent of vote - Heydar ALIYEV 77.6%, Etibar MAMEDOV 11.8%, Nizami SULEYMANOV 8.2%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Milli Mejlis (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NAP and allies 108, APF 6, CSP 3, PNIA 2, Musavat Party 2, CPA 2, APF "traditionalist" 1, Compatriot Party 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
International organization Member
AsDB, BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guards
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,102,780 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,684,673 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 77,099 (2001 est.)
Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan
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