Azerbaijan is located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea at the southeast extremity of the Caucasus. The region is a mountainous country, and only about 7% of it is arable land. The Kura River Valley is the area's major agricultural zone.
Country lead by President: Ilham Aliyev (2003) Prime Minister: Artur Rasizade (2003)
Population
7,961,619 (growth rate: 0.7%); birth rate: 20.7/1000; infant mortality rate: 79.0/1000; life expectancy: 63.9; density per sq mi: 238
Land Area
33,243 sq mi (86,100 sq km); total area: 33,436 sq mi (86,600 sq km)
Monetary unit
Manat Language
Azerbaijani Turkic 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.)
Ethnicity Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9% (1999). Note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region
Religion Islam 93%, Russian Orthodox 3%, Armenian Orthodox 2%, other 2% (1995 est.)
Transportation Railways: total: 2,957 km (2004). Highways: total: 27,016 km; paved: 12,698 km (including 128 km of expressways); unpaved: 14,318 km (2003). Ports and harbors: Baku (Baki). Airports: 45 (2005).
Techtonic setting in Azerbaijan
Baku