Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s high economic growth during 2006-08 was attributable to large and growing oil exports, but some non-export sectors also featured double-digit growth, spurred by growth in the construction, banking, and real estate sectors. In 2009, economic growth remained above 9% even as oil prices moderated and growth in the construction sector cooled. In 2010, economic growth slowed to approximately 3.7%, although the impact of the global financial crisis was less severe than in many other countries in the region. The current global economic slowdown presents some challenges for the Azerbaijani economy as oil prices remain below their mid-2008 highs, highlighting Azerbaijan’s reliance on energy exports and lackluster attempts to diversify its economy. Azerbaijan’s oil production increased dramatically in 1997, when Azerbaijan signed the first production-sharing arrangement (PSA) with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company. Oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline remain the main economic driver while efforts to boost Azerbaijan’s gas production are underway. However, Azerbaijan has made only limited progress on instituting market-based economic reforms. Pervasive public and private sector corruption and structural economic inefficiencies remain a drag on long-term growth, particularly in non-energy sectors. Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijan’s economic progress: the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector and the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Trade with Russia and the other former Soviet republics is declining in importance, while trade is building with Turkey and the nations of Europe. Long-term prospects will depend on world oil prices, the location of new oil and gas pipelines in the region, and Azerbaijan’s ability to manage its energy wealth to promote sustainable growth in non-energy sectors of the economy and spur employment.

$90.15 billion (2010 est.)

$86.93 billion (2009 est.)

$79.54 billion (2008 est.)

$52.17 billion (2010 est.)

3.7% (2010 est.)

9.3% (2009 est.)

10.8% (2008 est.)

$11,000 (2010 est.)

$10,600 (2009 est.)

$9,700 (2008 est.)

5.874 million (2010 est.)

0.9% (2010 est.)

6% (2009 est.)

11% (2009 est.)

36.5 (2001)

36 (1995)

17.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

4.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

6.7% of GDP (2009 est.)

5.1% (2010 est.)

1.5% (2009 est.)

2% (31 December 2009)

8% (31 December 2008)

20.03% (31 December 2009 est.)

19.76% (31 December 2008 est.)

$7.34 billion (31 December 2010 est)

$6.519 billion (31 December 2009 est)

$11.64 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$10.54 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$8.135 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$5.726 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

$NA

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

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

3.5% (2010 est.)

18.6 billion kWh (2007 est.)

18 billion kWh (2007 est.)

786 million kWh (2007 est.)

548 million kWh (2007 est.)

1.011 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

136,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

528,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)

2,848 bbl/day (2007 est.)

7 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

23 billion cu m (2009 est.)

10.12 billion cu m (2008)

5.564 billion cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

849.5 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$15.96 billion (2010 est.)

$10.18 billion (2009 est.)

$28.07 billion (2010 est.)

$21.1 billion (2009 est.)

oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs

Italy 20.69%, India 10.67%, US 9.24%, France 8.15%, Germany 7.62%, Indonesia 6.63%, Canada 5.13% (2009)

$7.035 billion (2010 est.)

$6.514 billion (2009 est.)

machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals

Turkey 18.69%, Russia 16.98%, Germany 7.87%, Ukraine 7.3%, China 6.18%, UK 5.73% (2009)

$6.33 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$5.364 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$3.221 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$3.44 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$8.918 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$8.318 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$6.058 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$5.558 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Azerbaijani manats (AZN) per US dollar - 0.8035 (2010), 0.8038 (2009), 0.8219 (2008), 0.8581 (2007), 0.8934 (2006)