Azerbaijan, the largest country in the Caucasus region, is located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe.

Its 456 km east coastline is bounded by the Caspian sea meanwhile, its north borders with Russia, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, Turkey and Iran to the south.

Azerbaijan has a total area of 86,600 square km, of which over 50 per cent is agricultural land.

Language: Azerbaijani

Currency:Azerbaijani manat

Population

9,411,800 million people live in Azerbaijan making it the most populous of the republics of Caucasus. Azerbaijan has a predominantly youthful population as seen in 2012, when 174,469 children were born in the nation, totalling to 478 a day. Today, children under 15 constitute 22 per cent (2,087,100) of the whole population.

An Azeri boy waves the national flag during a military parade in Baku. © Getty Images
An Azeri boy waves the national flag during a military parade in Baku. © Getty Images


Economy

Azerbaijan has a stable, but fast diversifying, economy that has managed to sustain significant growth, in spite of the slowdown affecting much of western Europe and other parts of the industrialised world in recent years. This is delivering increasing prosperity for its 9.4 million people, along with attractive investment opportunities for foreign capital in sectors ranging from tourism to investment technology, as well as the oil industry which formed the backbone of the economy for so long.

The country`s liberal investment climate helped to secure $144.4 billion of aggregate investment between 1995 and 2012, split almost equally between domestic and foreign sources. Tellingly, the non-oil sector accounted for 62 per cent of the overall figure. At an impressive 9.7 per cent, non-oil gross domestic product expanded more than four times faster than overall GDP in 2012 alone.

The country last year enjoyed a trade surplus of close to $25 billion, with GDP attaining $68.7 billion, equivalent to almost $7,500 per capita. Inflation stood at just 1.1 per cent and unemployment 5.2 per cent.

The agri-food industry is the largest employer, with Azerbaijan enjoying a strong comparative advantage in the export of fresh fruit and vegetables and easy access to regional markets.

The country`s first national satellite was recently launched. Some 70 per cent of people are internet users.

Weather

Annual average temperature +13.3 °C

Average temperature in January +1.4 °C

Average temperature in July +23.3 °C

Annual average precipitation 457.9 mm

Azerbaijan`s varied climate allows cultivation of a wide variety of crops, ranging from peaches to almonds and from rice to cotton. © Oseyed Mostafa Zamani
Azerbaijan`s varied climate allows cultivation of a wide variety of crops, ranging from peaches to almonds and from rice to cotton.

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