Azerbaijan Travellers Guide
Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range
Total Area:86,600 sq km Land Borders: Armenia, Georgia, Iran,
Population: 7,961,619 Russia, Turkey
Life Expectancy: 64 years HIV % Total Poulation:n/a
Ethnic Groups: Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9%
Languages:Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6%
President:Ilham ALIYEV GDP - Per Capita: $1,400
Azerbaijan - a nation with a 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 528,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous, and the promise of widespread wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum resources remains largely unfulfilled.