Independence Year : 1991
Population : 7734000
Life Expectancy : 62.9
Capital : 144
GNP : 4127.00
GNP Old : 4100.00
Local Name : Azärbaycan
Government Form : Federal Republic
Location : South Caucasus; bordered by Russia to the north, the Caspian Sea to the east, Iran to the south, and Georgia and Armenia to the west.
Terrain : Caucasus Mountains to the north, lowland in the central area through which the Kura River flows.
Climate : Dry, subtropical with hot summers and mild winters; forests, meadows, and alpine tundra in the mountains.
Ethnic Group : Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9%. Note: the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region is populated almost entirely by Armenians.
Religions : Muslim 93.4% (majority Shi'a), Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox Church 2.3%, and other 1.8%.
Official Website :
www.president.az/
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General Information - Azerbaijan
Background
Azerbaijan - a nation of Turkic Muslims - has been an independent republic since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a cease-fire, in place since 1994, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost almost 20% of its territory and must support some 750,000 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of the conflict.
Corruption is ubiquitous and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled.
(Source: CIA - The World Factbook)
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