Economy - overview Azerbaijan is less developed industrially than either Armenia or Georgia,the other Transcaucasian states. It resembles the Central Asian states inits majority nominally Muslim population, high structural unemployment, andlow standard of living. The economy's most prominent products are oil, cotton,and gas. Production from the Caspian oil and gas field has been in declinefor several years, but the November 1994 ratification of the $7.5 billionoil deal with a consortium of Western companies should generate the fundsneeded to spur future industrial development. Azerbaijan shares all the formidableproblems of the ex-Soviet republics in making the transition from a commandto a market economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its long-termprospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on economic reform,and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced. A major short-termobstacle to economic progress, including stepped up foreign investment, isthe continuing conflict with Armenia over the ethnic Armenian-dominated regionof Nagorno-Karabakh. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republicsis declining in importance while trade is building up with the nations ofEurope, Turkey, Iran and the UAE.

GDP purchasing power parity - $11.9 billion (1996 estimate as extrapolatedfrom World Bank estimate for 1994)

GDP - real growth rate 1.2% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,550 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 26%
industry : 30%
services: 44% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 20% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 2.789 million
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and construction 26%, other 42%(1990)

Unemployment rate 1.1% includes officially registered unemployed; also large numbers ofunregistered unemployed and underemployed workers (December 1996)

Budget
revenues: $565 million
expenditures: $682 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

Industries petroleum and natural gas, petroleum products, oilfield equipment; steel,iron ore, cement; chemicals and petrochemicals; textiles

Industrial production growth rate -8% (1996 est.)

Electricity - capacity 5.24 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production 16.63 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita 2,200 kWh (1996 est.)

Agriculture - products cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle,pigs, sheep, goats

Exports
total value : $700 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: oil and gas, chemicals, oilfield equipment, textiles, cotton
partners: CIS, European countries, Turkey

Imports
total value: $900 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
commodities : machinery and parts, consumer durables, foodstuffs, textiles
partners: CIS, European countries, Turkey

Debt - external $100 million (of which $75 million to Russia)

Economic aid
recipient : ODA, $14 million (1993)
note: commitments, 1992-95, $1,000 million ($185 million in disbursements);wheat from Turkey

Currency 1 manat = 100 gopik

Exchange rates manats per US$1 - 4,230 (November 1996), 4,375 (April 1996), 4,500 (April1995), 4,168 (end of December 1994)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Azerbaijan on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Azerbaijan Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Azerbaijan Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.