Identification. Two theories are cited for the etymology of the name “Azerbaijan”: First, “land of fire” (azer , meaning “fire,” refers to the natural burning of surface oil deposits or to the oil-fueled fires in temples of the Zoroastrian religion); second, Atropaten is an ancient name of the region (Atropat was a governor of Alexander the Great in the fourth century B.C. ). The northern part of historical Azerbaijan was part of the former Soviet Union until 1991, while the southern part is in Iran.
Location and Geography. The Azerbaijan Republic covers an area of 33,891 square miles (86,600 square kilometers). It includes the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the exclave Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is separated from Azerbaijan by third country. Nakhchivan borders on Iran and Turkey to the south and southwest. Azerbaijan is on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. To the north it borders the Russian Federation, in the northwest Georgia, in the west Armenia, and in the south Iran. Half the country is covered by mountains. Eight large rivers flow down from the Caucasus ranges into the Kura-Araz lowland. The climate is dry and semiarid in the steppes in the middle and eastern parts, subtropical in the southeast, cold in the high mountains in the north, and temperate on the Caspian coast. The capital, Baku, is on the Absheron peninsula on the Caspian and has the largest port.
Climate.9 out of 11 existing climate zones are present in Azerbaijan. Both the absolute minimum temperature ( -33 °C/-27.4 °F ) and the absolute maximum temperature ( 46 °C/114.8 °F ) were observed in Julfa and Ordubad.
Demography. The population of the Azerbaijan Republic has been estimated to be 9,583,234 (January, 2015).
Linguistic Affiliation. Azeri or Azerbaijani is a Turkic language in the Altaic family; it belongs to the southwestern Oguz group, together with Anatolian Turkish, Turkmen, and Gagauz. Speakers of these languages can understand each other to varying degrees, depending on the complexity of the sentences and the number of loan words from other languages. Russian loan words have entered Azeri since the nineteenth century, especially technical terms. Several Azeri dialects (e.g., Baku, Shusha, Lenkaran) are entirely mutually comprehensible. Until 1926, Azeri was written in Arabic script, which then was replaced by the Latin alphabet and in 1939 by Cyrillic. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan and other Turkic-speaking former Soviet republics reintroduced the Latin alphabet. Azeri is the official language and is used in all spheres of life.
Symbolism. Azerbaijan had a twenty-three-month history of statehood (1918–1920) before the institution of Soviet rule. The new nation-state’s symbols after the dissolution of the Soviet Union were heavily influenced by that period. The flag of the earlier republic was adopted as the flag of the new republic. The flag has wide horizontal stripes in blue, red, and green. There is a white crescent and an eight-pointed star in the middle of the red stripe. The national anthem forcefully portrays the country as a land of heroes ready to defend their country with their blood.
Major Industries. Petroleum and natural gas, petrochemicals (e.g., rubber and tires), chemicals (e.g., sulfuric acid, and caustic soda), oil refining, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, building materials, and electro technical equipment are the heavy industries that make the greatest contribution to the gross national product. Light industry is dominated by the production of synthetic and natural textiles, food processing (butter, cheese, canning, and wine making), silk production, leather, furniture, and wool cleaning.
Trade. Other countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Western European countries, Turkey, and Iran are both export and import partners. Oil, gas, chemicals, oil field equipment, textiles, and cotton are the major exports, while machinery, consumer goods, foodstuffs, and textiles are the major imports.
Government. According to the constitution, Azerbaijan is a democratic, secular unitary republic. Legislative power is implemented by the parliament, Milli Mejlis (National Assembly; 125 deputies are directly elected under a majority and proportional electoral system for a term of five years). Executive power is vested in a president who is elected by direct popular vote for five years. The Cabinet of Ministers is headed by the prime minister. Administratively, the republic is divided into sixty-five regions, and there are eleven cities.
