Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan (its capital Baku) between neighboring states

Wealth and National Well-Being

Country Comparisons:
2010: see chart

World Factbook: "Azerbaijan's high economic growth during 2006-08 is attributable to large and growing oil exports, but the non-energy sector also featured double-digit growth in 2008, spurred by growth in the construction, banking, and real estate sectors."

Unemployment rate
2009: 6%

Estimated oil production for 2008: 1.04 million barrels per day (rates 71st).

People

Living in an urban area
1008: 52%

Migration
2009: More leaving than arriving. A net loss of 1.69 persons per 1,000 population.

Ethnicities
1999 census
Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9%
note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region

Religion
Azerbaijan is a secular society, but predominately Shia Muslim.

Geography

South of Russia, north of Iran and east of Armenia.

Government

Azerbaijan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, former republics within the Soviet Union that today are closely associated with Russia economically, in defense and foreign policy.

Recent History

World Factbook: "A consortium of Western oil companies began pumping 1 million barrels a day from a large offshore field in early 2006, through a $4 billion pipeline it built from Baku to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan."