Azerbaijan
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry name - conventional long form : Republic of Azerbaijan
Country name - conventional short form : Azerbaijan
Country name - local long form : Azarbaycan Respublikasi
Country name - local short form : Azarbaycan
Country name - former : Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic
Government type : republic
Capital - name : Baku (Baki, Baky)
Capital - time difference : UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918)
Population : 8,177,717 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Azerbaijani(s)
Nationality - adjective : Azerbaijani
Languages : Azerbaijani (Azeri) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% (1999 census)
Currency (code) : Azerbaijani manat (AZN)
Currency code : AZM
Azerbaijan is located Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range. The climate is dry, semiarid steppe. The terrain is large, flat Kur-Araz Ovaligi (Kura-Araks Lowland) (much of it below sea level) with Great Caucasus Mountains to the north, Qarabag Yaylasi (Karabakh Upland) in west; Baku lies on Abseron Yasaqligi (Apsheron Peninsula) that juts into Caspian Sea.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : Azerbaijan - a nation with a majority-Turkic and majority-Muslim population - was briefly independent from 1918 to 1920; it regained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its territory and must support some 600,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous, and the government has been accused of authoritarianism. Although the poverty rate has been reduced in recent years, the promise of widespread wealth from development of Azerbaijan's energy sector remains largely unfulfilled.
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