Azerbaijan

National Name: Azarbaycan Respublikasi

Government
Constitutional republic.

Geography
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.

Historical Background
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). On Oct. 15, 2008, in presidential elections, Ilham Aliyev won a second term with 89% of the vote.

Capital

Baku

Government

Presidential republic

Language

Azerbaijani

National Holiday

Novruz Bayram

Religion

Shia Muslims

Area

86,600 km2 (113th) 33,436 sq mi

Population

9,047,000[1] (90st)  1999 census 7,953,438[2]  Density 103/km2 264.1/sq mi

Currency

Manat (AZN)

GDP

2010 estimate Total $90.074 billion Per capita $9,953