Azarbaijan is country of Europe located in far east Europe - caucasus

Official Name: Republic of Azerbaijan
Capital: Baku
Total area: 86 600 km2
GDP per capita: $10,568
Native Language: Azarbaijani
Government: Dominant-party unitary presidential state
Population: 9,356,500
Major Religion: Shia Islam
Monetary Unit: Manat (AZN)

Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is the largest country in the Caucasus region and lies at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Known for its rich crude oil and natural gas reserves, Azerbaijan is bordered by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. The Nakhichevan exclave is bordered by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, and has a brief border with Turkey to the north-west.

Business
After gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The banking system of Azerbaijan consists of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, commercial banks and non-bank credit organizations. The National Bank (now the Central Bank) was established in 1992 on the basis of the Azerbaijan State Savings Bank, a subsidiary of the former State Savings Bank of the USSR. The central bank acts as Azerbaijan's central bank, which has the power to issue the national currency, the Azerbaijani manat, and to oversee all commercial banks. Two major commercial banks are the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan, run by Dr. Jahangir Hajiyev, and UniBank.

The inflation rate reached 16.6% in the first quarter of 2007, driven by growth in spending and demand. Nominal income and monthly wages rose 29% and 25% from that number, respectively, but price hikes in the non-oil industry fueled inflation in the country. Azerbaijan is showing some signs of the so-called “Dutch disease” due to the rapidly growing energy sector causing inflation and making non-energy exports more expensive.

In the early years of this century, chronically high inflation was brought under control and this led to the introduction of a new currency, the new Azerbaijani manat, on January 1, 2006 to cement the takeover of economic reforms and eliminate what was left of an unstable economy.

Azerbaijan also ranks 57th in the Global Competitiveness Report for 2010-2011, above other CIS countries.