Economy - overview:
Azerbaijan's high economic growth during 2006-08 is attributable to large and growing oil exports, but the non-energy sector also featured double-digit growth in 2008, spurred by growth in the construction, banking, and real estate sectors. However, the current global economic slowdown presents some challenges for the Azerbaijani economy as oil prices have plummeted since mid-2008 and local banks face a more uncertain international financial environment. Azerbaijan's oil production declined through 1997, but has registered an increase every year since. Negotiation of production-sharing arrangements (PSAs) with foreign firms, which have committed $60 billion to long-term oilfield development, should generate the funds needed to spur future industrial development. Oil production under the first of these PSAs, with the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, began in November 1997. A consortium of Western oil companies built a $4 billion pipeline from Baku to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan which will pump 1.2 million barrels a day from a large offshore field when at full capacity. Azerbaijan shares all the formidable problems of the former Soviet republics in making the transition from a command to a market economy, but its considerable energy resources brighten its medium-term prospects. Baku has only recently begun making progress on economic reform, and old economic ties and structures are slowly being replaced. Several other obstacles impede Azerbaijan's economic progress: the need for stepped up foreign investment in the non-energy sector, the continuing conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, pervasive corruption, and potential for a sharp downturn in the construction and real estate sectors. 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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$73.65 billion (2008 est.)
$66 billion (2007)
$53.48 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):
$53.26 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
11.6% (2008 est.)
23.4% (2007 est.)
30.5% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:
$9,000 (2008 est.)
$8,100 (2007 est.)
$6,600 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 62.6%
services: 31.4% (2008 est.)

Labor force:
5.782 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 39.3%
industry: 12.1%
services: 48.6% (2005)

Unemployment rate:
0.8% official rate (2008 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 29.5% (2001)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
36.5 (2001)

Investment (gross fixed):
21% of GDP (2008 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $14.51 billion
expenditures: $15.66 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt:
5.2% of GDP (2008 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
21.6% (2008 est.)

Central bank discount rate:
8%
note: this is the Refinancing Rate, the key policy rate for the National Bank of Azerbaijan (31 December 2008)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
19.13% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:
$4.261 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:
$2.593 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:
$5.726 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$NA

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
12% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production:
23.8 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption:
27.5 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports:
800 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:
500 million kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production:
1.099 million bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - consumption:
160,000 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports:
795,600 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - imports:
4,267 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:
7 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:
9.77 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
9.77 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
849.5 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:
$19.36 billion (2008 est.)

Exports:
$38.28 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities:
oil and gas 90%, machinery, cotton, foodstuffs

Exports - partners:
Turkey 17.4%, Italy 15.5%, Russia 8.7%, Iran 7.2%, Indonesia 6.4%, Israel 6.1%, Georgia 5.7%, US 4.8%, France 4.3% (2007)

Imports:
$7.496 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, oil products, foodstuffs, metals, chemicals

Imports - partners:
Russia 17.6%, Turkey 10.9%, Germany 8.2%, Ukraine 8.2%, UK 7.2%, Japan 5.2%, China 4.9%, US 4.7% (2007)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$8.5 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Debt - external:
$2.733 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$7.329 billion (2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$5.812 billion (2008 est.)