| Country | Azerbaijan |
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| Flag |  |
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| Capital | name: Baku (Baki, Baky) geographic coordinates: 40 23 N, 49 51 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
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| Population | 8,120,247 (July 2007 est.) |
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| GMT | +4 |
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| Location | Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range
see map |
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| Area | total: 86,600 sq km land: 86,100 sq km water: 500 sq km note: includes the exclave of Naxcivan Autonomous Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh region; the region's autonomy was abolished by Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet on 26 November 1991 |
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| Ethnic groups | Azeri 90.6%, Dagestani 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.9% (1999 census) note: almost all Armenians live in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region |
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| Religions | Muslim 93.4%, Russian Orthodox 2.5%, Armenian Orthodox 2.3%, other 1.8% (1995 est.) note: religious affiliation is still nominal in Azerbaijan; percentages for actual practicing adherents are much lower |
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| Languages | Azerbaijani (Azeri) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% (1999 census) |
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| Government type | republic |
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| National holiday | Founding of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, 28 May (1918) |
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| Constitution | adopted 12 November 1995 |
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| Legal system | based on civil law system |
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| 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). Azerbaijan has lost 16% of its territory and must support some 600,000 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. |
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Internet country code | .az |
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