al:

while threats of international legal action never materialized in
2007, 915,220 Austrians, with the support of the newly elected
Freedom Party, signed a petition in January 2008, demanding that
Austria block the Czech Republic's accession to the EU unless Prague
closes its nuclear power plant in Temelin, bordering Austria

Illicit drugs:

transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American
cocaine destined for Western Europe; increasing consumption of
European-produced synthetic drugs

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Azerbaijan

Introduction
Azerbaijan

Background:

Azerbaijan - a nation with a majority-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
government has been accused of authoritarianism. Although the
poverty rate has been reduced in recent years, the promise of
widespread wealth from development of Azerbaijan's energy sector
remains largely unfulfilled.

Geography
Azerbaijan

Location:

Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and
Russia, with a small European portion north of the Caucasus range

Geographic coordinates:

40 30 N, 47 30 E

Map references:

Asia

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

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries:

total: 2,013 km
border countries: Armenia (with Azerbaijan-proper) 566 km, Armenia
(with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave) 221 km, Georgia 322 km, Iran
(with Azerbaijan-proper) 432 km, Iran (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan
exclave) 179 km, Russia 284 km, Turkey 9 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked); note - Azerbaijan borders the Caspian Sea (713 km)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

dry, semiarid steppe