Official name
Republic of Azerbaijan
Population
7,961,619 (2006 estimate)
Area
86,600 sq km
Capital
Baku 1,839,800 (2003 estimate)
Population growth rate
0.66 percent (2006 estimate)
GDP per capita (U.S.$)
$1,030 (2004)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 12.3 percent (2004) Industry 55.4 percent (2004)
Services 32.3 percent (2004)
Natural resources
Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, non-ferrous metals, alumina
Languages
Azeri 89 percent
Russian 3 percent
Armenian 2 percent
Other 6 percent
Religious affiliations
Muslim 84 percent
Non-religious 11 percent
Russian Orthodox 4 percent
Other 1 percent
Introduction
Republic of Azerbaijan (Azeri: Azarbaiycan Respublikasy) is situated at the very border of Europe and Asia. Azerbaijan is the easternmost country in the South Caucasus (the southern portion of the region of the Caucasus), which occupies the southern part of the isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas. The country is bordered on the north by Russia, on the east by the Caspian Sea, on the south by Iran, and on the west and south west by Armenia, Georgia and Caspian Sea, respectively. Azerbaijan also shares a short border with Turkey through its autonomous ex clave of Naxçivan (Nakhichevan), separated from the rest of the country by a mountainous strip of Armenian territory.
Azerbaijan territory includes the disputed de facto independent region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian-inhabited enclave in western Azerbaijan. The region is not recognized by any country, whatsoever. In Azeri, the official state language, the country is called. Baku, a large port city on the Caspian Sea, is Azerbaijan’s capital and largest city.
After a mere two years of independence, Azerbaijan was invaded by the Bolshevik Red Army in 1920 and became part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922. In 1991 it became independent again. The republic’s first years of renewed independence were troubled by political upheaval, economic decline, and a war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Until a cease-fire agreement effectively ended the war in May 1994, Armenian's in Nagorno-Karabakh fought for secession of the enclave. In 1995 Azerbaijan held its first legislative elections since independence and passed its first post-Soviet constitution.
Environmental Issues
Severe pollution from heavy industries and agriculture has damaged the environment of Azerbaijan. The contamination of the Caspian Sea from oil drilling in Baku has been a problem since the 19th century, when the Russian Empire took control of the region and began to rapidly exploit its oil reserves. Although oil production waned during the Soviet period, petroleum waste was routinely dumped into the Caspian. The Caspian also suffers from the discharge of untreated sewage, and pollution has depleted the sea’s stocks of sturgeon. Severe air pollution is a problem in the major cities due to emissions from petroleum and chemical industries. During the Soviet period, dangerously high concentrations of pesticides and fertilizers were used to increase Azerbaijan’s agricultural output. In the late 1980s, when environmental awareness began to surface in the USSR, Azerbaijan’s high infant mortality rate and high rates of infectious diseases were linked to the chemicals used in cotton growing. Although the people of Azerbaijan are generally aware of the need to protect the environment, the republic’s environmental issues have not received significant attention from the government.
