.INT.AZ Domain Name - Azerbaijan Domain Name .INT.AZ

Azerbaijan Location:
40°22'N, 49°53'E

Azerbaijan Geography:
Azerbaijan is situated in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the country's center. About the size of Portugal or the state of Maine, Azerbaijan has a total land area of approximately 86,600 square kilometers, less than 1% of the land area of the former Soviet Union. Of the three Transcaucasian states, Azerbaijan has the greatest land area. Special administrative subdivisions are the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by a strip of Armenian territory, and the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, entirely within Azerbaijan. (The status of Nagorno-Karabakh was under negotiation in 1994.) Located in the region of the southern Caucasus Mountains, Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea to the east, Georgia and Russia to the north, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the southwest and west. A small part of Nakhchivan also borders Turkey to the northwest. The capital of Azerbaijan is the ancient city of Baku, which has the largest and best harbor on the Caspian Sea and has long been the center of the republic's oil industry.

Azerbaijan People:
Population - April, 2006 estimate 8,460,000 (92nd)
- Density 97 /km² (100th)
251 /sq mi

Azerbaijan Government:
Government Republic - President Ilham Aliyev
- Prime Minister Artur Rasizade
The government of Azerbaijan is based on the separation of powers among the legislative, executive and judicial branches. The legislative power is held by the unicameral National Assembly and the Supreme National Assembly in the Nakhchevan Autonomous Republic. Parliamentary elections are held every five years, on the first Sunday of November.[8] The correctness of the elections results are to be checked and confirmed by the Constitutional Court.[8] The laws enacted by the National Assembly, unless specified otherwise come into effect from the day of their publication.[8] The executive power is carried out by president, who is elected for a 5 year term by direct elections. The president is authorized to form the Cabinet of Ministers, an inferior executive body, subordinated to him. The Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan consists primarily of the Prime Minister, his Deputies and Ministers. The president does not have the right to dissolve the National Assembly, but has the right to veto its decisions.[8] To override the presidential veto, the parliament must have a majority of 95 votes..[8] The judicial power is vested in the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and the Economic Court.[8] The President nominates the judges in these courts.[8]
The Security Council is the deliberative body under the president and he organizes it according to the Constitution. It was established on April 10, 1997. The administrative department is not a part of the president's office, but manages the financial, technical and pecuniary ensuring of activity of both the president and his office.

Azerbaijan Economy:
After gaining the independence Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Islam Development Bank and Asian Development Bank.[27] The bank system is two-stepped, consisting of one National Bank and commercial banks together with non-bank credit organizations. The National Bank was created in 1992 on the base of Azerbaijan State Bank, an affiliate of former Soviet State Bank. The National Bank serves as Azerbaijan's central bank, empowered to emit the national currency and supervise all commercial banks. Two major commercial banks are state-owned International Bank and United Universal Joint-Stock Bank.
Pushed up by spending and demand growth, 2007 Q1 inflation rate reached 16.6%.[28] The nominal incomes and monthly wages climbed 29% and 25% respectively against this figure but prices increase in non-oil industry encouraged inflation in the country.[28] Azerbaijan shows some signs of the Dutch disease because of the fast growing energy sector, which causes inflation, the rise of national currency and prices.
2/3 of Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas.[29] The region of Lesser Caucasus accounts for most part of gold, silver, iron, copper, titanium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, complex ore and antimony.[29] In September, 1994 a 30-year contract was signed between Azerbaijan Republic State Oil Company and 13 oil companies, among them Amoco, BP, Exxon, Lukoil, SOCAR and Statoil.[27] As Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviet exploitation, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for oil exploration and development.[30] Meanwhile the State Oil Fund was established as an extra-budgetary fund to ensure the macroeconomic stability, transparency in the management of oil revenue, and the safeguarding of resources for future generations.
At the beginning of 2007 there were 4755.1 hectares of utilised agricultural area.[31] In the same year the total wood resources counted 136 million m³.[31] Azerbaijan's agricultural scientific research institutes are focused on the meadows and pastures, the horticulture and subtropical crops, the green vegetables, the viticulture and wine-making, the cotton growing and the medicinal plants.[32] In some lands it is profitable to grow grain, potatoes, sugar beet, cotton and tobacco. The Caspian fishing industry is concentrated on the dwindling stocks of sturgeon and beluga. In 2002 the Azerbaijani merchant marine had 54 ships.[33]
Some part of most products before imported from abroad has begun to be produced locally (among them are Coca Cola by Coca Cola Bottlers LTD, beer by Baki-Kastel, parquet by Nehir and oil pipes by EUPEC Pipe Coating Azerbaijan).[34]
Azerbaijan is also an important economic hub in terms of the raw materials transportation. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) became operational in May 2006 and stretches over 1,774 kilometers through the territory of Azerbaijan (440 km), Georgia (260 km) and Turkey (1114 km). The BTC is designed to transport up to 50 million tons of crude oil annually and carries oil from the Caspian Sea oilfields to global markets. The South Caucasus Pipeline, also stretching through the territory of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, became operational in the end of 2006 and offers additional gas supply to European market from the Shah Deniz gas field. It is expected to produce up to 296 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. Azerbaijan also plays a major role in the EU-sponsored Silk Road Project.

Azerbaijan More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan