Azerbaijan

Regaining its independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan has since been involved in the same formidable problems as other former Soviet Union republics in transitioning from a command to a market economy. Azerbaijan has been in unresolved conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh region (largely Armenian populated) – losing 16 percent of its territory and now supporting over 600,000 internally displaced persons as a result of the conflict. High economic growth in 2006-2008 thanks to their large and growing oil exports provided hope for the country's development, but the global slowdown since mid-2008 presents new challenges. Azerbaijan's high energy resources brighten its future more than other Newly Independent States (NIS). Counterpart International (Counterpart) focuses on providing humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced persons and strengthening Civil Society Organizations through public dialogues on economic and social governance issues of the greatest interest to the citizens of Azerbaijan. In 2007, Counterpart celebrated 10 Years in Azerbaijan.

Map and country information, The World Factbook 2009. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009.