Azerbaijan

From WaterWiki.net

Azerbaijan is part of:
Asia & Pacific · Caucasus · Europe & CIS · Western Asia ·
Water Basins of Azerbaijan:
Astara Chay · Caspian · Coruh · Kura-Araks · Samur · Sulak ·

Facts & Figures

edit

Capital

Baku

Neighbouring Countries

Turkey, Iran, Georgia, Russia, Armenia

Total Area

86,600 km²

- Water

500 km² (0.58%) / 58 m²/ha

- Land

86,100 km²

Coastline

0 km

Population

8,410,801 (97 inhab./km²)

HDI^A

0.758 (2007)

Gini Coefficient^A

36.5 (1995)

Nominal GDP^B

$53,260 million

GDP (PPP) Per Capita^B

$9,500

National UN Presence

UNDP, UNHCR, WHO, UNICEF, WB

Land Use^C

- Cultivated Land

20,001 km² (23.23%)

- Arable

17,754 km² (20.62%)

- Permanent Crops

2,247 km² (2.61%)

- Irrigated

14,550 km²

- Non cultivated

261 km² (76.77%)

Average Annual Rainfall^D

447 mm

Renewable Water Resources^E

30.3 km³

Water Withdrawals^F	17.25 km³/yr
- For Agricultural Use	68%
- For Domestic Use	5%
- For Industrial Use	28%
- Per Capita	2,118 m³

Population with safe access to
- Improved Water Source	77%
- Urban population	95%
- Rural population	59%
- Improved Sanitation	54%
- Urban population	73%
- Rural population	36%

References & Remarks

^A UNDP Human Development Report

^B CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia

^C CIA World Factbook Country Profiles

^D Aquastat - FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture

^E CIA World Factbook

^F Earthtrends

Latest 4 maps for / including Azerbaijan (more..):

Caspian CC Natural Hazards ENVSEC.jpg

1 News
2 Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context
3 Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources
4 Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment
5 Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination
6 Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation
7 Country Profile: Challenges and Opportunities
8 Articles
9 Projects and Case Studies
10 Publications
11 Who is Who
12 References
13 See also
14 External Resources

News

Type & Date	Short Description	Link
17 Oct 2008	Azerbaijan releases latest results of water pollution monitoring in Kur and Araz Rivers	FIND OUT MORE

Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context

Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources

Azerbaijan is poor in terms of available water resources. A large part of the country, notably the Kura-Araz lowlands and the Absheron peninsula, has a significant water deficit due to low precipitation and high evaporation. This part, which houses more than 70% of the population, is completely dependent on irrigation for its agricultural production.

The Kura is the main river in the region. Its source is in Turkey, and the river and its tributaries flow through Georgia, Armenia, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Azerbaijan before discharging into the Caspian Sea. The Kura river basin covers 80% of the territory of Azerbaijan. The general absence of waste-water treatment in the river basin with a population of 11 million and economic activities results in very low water quality in the region and especially in Azerbaijan. This is a major problem, with Azerbaijan being dependant on the Kura river for more than 70% of its drinking water supply.

The coastal areas to the north and south of the Kura basin are drained by smaller rivers to the Caspian Sea. One of these is the Samur river, on the border with Dagestan (Russian Federation), which plays an important role for water supply to Baku and for irrigation of Absheron. Groundwater provides only about 5% of the total water abstraction. It plays an important role, however, for irrigation and water supply to provincial towns and rural areas, especially in the foothills of the mountain ranges.

Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment

Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination

See Sector coordination sub-page for detailed description

Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation

(Source: Draft UN-CCA 2009)

Water supply and quality is a serious problem for agricultural and private use. It is reported that half of the enterprises surveyed are discharging pollutants into ponds at rates above the legal limit. The Kura River which is a main source of water for three quarters of the population is polluted and a regional solution is needed since it involves Armenia and Georgia. The availability of quality water has implications throughout civil society^[1].

Half of households have their drinking water piped directly into the house, yard or plot. Urban households (78 percent) are much more likely than rural households (19 percent) to have piped water. In rural areas, 30 percent of households have a tube well or protected well and 15 percent obtain water from a protected stream. Almost all urban households (91 percent and half of rural households (55 percent) have drinking water available on premises. 17% percent of rural households spent 30 minutes or longer to fetch water in households with no water^[2].

Seventy eight percent of households use improved sanitation facilities which are not shared with another household. Two in five households use a flush toilet connected to a pipe sewer system and a similar proportion use improved pit latrine with slab. Flush toilets are mainly used in urban areas (78 percent) and improved latrines in rural areas (68 percent)^[3].

Recent measures have been taken to include constructing the Oghuz-Gabala-Baku water pipeline for Baku consumers. Water purifiers have been installed in 50 underserved villages and water and sanitation pipelines are being constructed or extended in various regions.