Progress on economic reform has generally lagged behind macroeconomic stabilization. The government has undertaken regulatory reforms in some areas, including substantial opening of trade policy, but inefficient public administration in which commercial and regulatory interests are co-mingled limit the impact of these reforms. The government has largely completed privatization of agricultural lands and small and medium-sized enterprises. In August 2000, the government launched a second-stage privatization program, in which many large state enterprises will be privatized.
For more than a century the backbone of the Azerbaijani economy has been petroleum. Now that Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviets because of poor technology, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for oil exploration and development. Proven oil reserves in the Caspian Basin, which Azerbaijan shares with Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, are comparable in size to the North Sea, although exploration is still in the early stages.
Azerbaijan has concluded 21 production-sharing agreements with various oil companies. Substantial progress also has occurred on plans for an export pipeline that would transport Caspian oil to the Mediterranean from Baky through Tbilisi, Georgia to Ceyhan, Turkey (the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan Pipeline). Eastern Caspian producers in Kazakhstan also have expressed interest in accessing this pipeline to transport a portion of their production. In March 2001, Azerbaijan concluded a gas agreement with Turkey, providing a significant future export market for Azerbaijan.
Environmental Issues
Azerbaijan faces serious environmental challenges. Soil throughout the region was contaminated by DDT and toxic defoliants used in cotton production during the Soviet era. Caspian petroleum and petrochemicals industries also have contributed to present air and water pollution problems. Several environmental organizations exist in Azerbaijan, yet few funds have been allocated to begin the necessary cleanup and prevention programs. Over-fishing by poachers is threatening the survival of Caspian sturgeon stocks, the source of most of the world's supply of caviar. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has listed as threatened all sturgeon species, including all commercial Caspian varieties.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $14 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 7% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,770 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:
22%
industry:
18%
services:
60% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 60% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%:
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -6.8% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 2.9 million (1997)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture and forestry 32%, industry and construction 15%, services 53% (1997)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1999 est.)
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: 3% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 18.062 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel:
90.98%
hydro:
9.02%
nuclear:
0%
other:
0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 15.508 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 1 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 1.2 billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: cotton, grain, rice, grapes, fruit, vegetables, tea, tobacco; cattle, pigs, sheep, goats
Exports: $885 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Exports - commodities: oil and gas 70%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs
Exports - partners: Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Italy, Iran
Imports: $1.62 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals
Imports - partners: Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, UAE, Iran
Debt - external: $684 million (1998)
Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $113 million (1996)
Currency: 1 manat = 100 gopiks
Exchange rates: manats per US$1 - 4,342 (October 1999), 4,373 (1999), 3,869 (1998), 3,985.38 (1997), 4,301.26 (1996), 4,413.54 (1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Reference
Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.