[Sabutai HAJIYEV];Liberal-Democratic Party of Azerbaijan [Lyudmila NIKOLAYEVNA];
National Enlightenment Party [Hajy Osman EFENDIYEV]; National
Liberation Party [Panak SHAKHSEVEV]; Peasant Party [Firuz MUSTAFAYEV];
Radical Party of Azerbaijan [Malik SHARIFOV]; United Azerbaijan Party
[Kerrar ABILOV]; Vetan Adzhagy Party [Zakir TAGIYEV]
Political pressure groups and leaders: self-proclaimed Armenian
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; Talysh independence movement; Sadval,
Lezgin movement
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE (guest), CIS,
EBRD, ECE, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NACC, NAM (observer),
OIC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Hafiz Mir Jalal PASHAYEV chancery: (temporary) Suite 700, 927 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 or P. O. Box 28790, Washington, DC 20038–8790 telephone : [1] (202) 842–0001 FAX: [1] (202) 842–0004
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Richard D. KAUZLARICH embassy: Azadliq Prospekti 83, Baku mailing address : use embassy street address telephone: [9] (9412) 96–03-35 FAX: [9] (9412) 96–04-69
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), red, and green; a crescent and eight-pointed star in white are centered in red band
Economy
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 nominally Muslim population, high structural unemployment, and low standard of living. The economy's most prominent products are oil, cotton, and gas. Production from the Caspian oil and gas field has been in decline for several years, but the November 1994 ratification of the $7.5 billion oil deal with a consortium of Western companies should generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the ex-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. A major short-term obstacle to economic progress, including stepped up foreign investment, is the continuing conflict with Armenia over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance while trade is building up with the nations of Europe, Turkey, Iran and the UAE.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.9 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.2% (1996 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,550 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 26% industry : 30% services: 44% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 20% (1996 est.)
Labor force: total: 2.789 million by occupation: agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and construction 26%, other 42% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 1.1% includes officially registered unemployed; also large numbers of unregistered unemployed and underemployed workers (December 1996)
Budget: revenues: $565 million expenditures: $682 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)
Industries: petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel, iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles
Industrial production growth rate: −8% (1996 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 5.24 million kW (1994)
Electricity - production: 16.63 billion kWh (1994)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 2,200 kWh (1996 est.)
Agriculture - products: cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats
Exports: total value : $700 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.) commodities: oil and gas, chemicals, oilfield equipment, textiles, cotton partners: CIS, European countries, Turkey
Imports: total value: $900 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.) commodities : machinery and parts, consumer durables, foodstuffs, textiles partners: CIS, European countries, Turkey
Debt - external: $100 million (of which $75 million to Russia)
Economic aid: recipient : ODA, $14 million (1993) note: commitments, 1992–95, $1,000 million ($185 million in disbursements); wheat from Turkey
Currency: 1 manat = 100 gopik
Exchange rates: manats per US$1 - 4,230 (November 1996), 4,375 (April 1996), 4,500 (April 1995), 4,168 (end of December 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Azerbaijan:Communications
Telephones: 710,000 (1991 est.)
Telephone system: 202,000 persons waiting for telephone installations (January 1991 est.) domestic: telephone service is of poor quality and inadequate; a joint venture to establish a cellular telephone system in the Baku area is operational international: cable and microwave radio relay connections to former Soviet republics; connection through Moscow international gateway switch to other countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat and 1 Intersputnik (Intelsat provides service to Turkey and through Turkey to 200 more countries; Intersputnik provides direct service to New York)
Radio broadcast stations: 1 state-owned radio broadcast station
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 2 note: domestic and Russian TV programs are received locally and Turkish and Iranian TV is received from an Intelsat satellite through a receive-only earth station
Televisions: NA
@Azerbaijan:Transportation
Railways: total: 2,125 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 2,125 km 1.520-m gauge (1,278 km electrified) (1993)
Highways: total: 57,770 km paved: 54,188 km unpaved: 3,582 km (1995 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,130 km; petroleum products 630 km; natural gas 1,240 km
Ports and harbors: Baku (Baki)
Airports: 69 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 29 over 3,047 m : 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (1996 est.)
Airports
