Azerbaijan: Introduction

Azerbaijan is a landlocked country in Southwestern Asia located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bounded by the Caspian Sea, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Iran. The government system is a republic; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Azerbaijan is a mixed economic system; there has been some progress instituting market-based reforms, but the structural economic system involves heavy government planning.