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City
Profile
The
capital of Azerbaijan is the largest and
most important port on the Caspian Sea.
Currently an EBRD project to overhaul Baku
International Sea Port is underway, with
the aim is of improving the port's operational
efficiency, profitability and commercial
autonomy.
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Country
Rankings
for Azerbaijan
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| Ease
of Doing Business World Bank '05 |
98
of 155
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Low*
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Corruption
Perception
Transparency International '05 |
137
of 159
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Low
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Growth
Competitiveness
World Economic Forum '05 |
69
of 117
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Med
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| National
Literacy |
97.5%
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High
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GDP
Growth
(2004 est.) |
9.8%
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High
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Baku
is also the origin of two pipelines which export
Azerbaijan's main export, oil, to the Russian
Black Sea port of Novorossisk (Baku-Novorossisk)
and to the Georgian Black Sea port of Supsa (Baku-Supsa).
The
country's refining sector and power generation
plants are also in the region of Baku. A third
pipeline is currently being built to the Turkish
Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, via Georgia—the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. There
is also an extensive petrochemical industry located
to the north of Baku.
Most
services are provided in the Baku area with growth
being seen in the mobile telephony area as well
as hospitality services. The services sector accounted
for more than 30% of GDP in previous years. Given
this growth there is considerable potential for
the growth of new, small-scale, private-sector
services as income levels rise mostly in the main
business area in and around Baku.
Turkish-Azerbaijani
relations have been historically strong which
have led the Baku-based Union of Azerbaijani and
Turkish Businessmen and the Turkey-Eurasian Business
Councils recenlty to set up a union of businesspeople
working in the Eurasian region. Baku serves as
the hub for much of the regions trading activities
given its prominence in the oil and energy industries.
The
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
recently paid about $5 million for a 25% equity
stake in the newley formed Bank of Baku, a leading
private bank in Azerbaijan. Despite over five
years having passed since its formation the Baku
Stock Exchange has yet to attract investment into
the nation's developing industries. An aggressive
program of provatisation is under way to spur
investment in the market in the near future. The
Baku Business Center (BBC), an entity engaged
in conducting various fairs to promote entrepreneurship
in Azerbaijan, regularly holds seminars and forums
to promote investment in the greater Baku region.
The
Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku is
one of the biggest airports in the Caspian region.
Direct flights operated by major international
airlines connect Baku to the principal European
destinations and other cities of the globe. The
airport serves as a transit point for Central
Asia and Afghanistan.
Source:
Population:
2004 or latest: http://www.citypopulation.de;
GDP Data: 2004 CIA Fact Book estimate; Literacy:
UN estimate
*
Country Ranking Codes: A relative color coding
of where the country falls compared to the 20
other Muslim countries represented in this list.
Hgh/Green=Top 3rd; Med/Yellow=Mid 3rd; Low/Orange=Bottom
rd
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