General Information

Azerbaijan is a country in the eastern part of the Caucasus Mountains and the south-west coast of the Caspian Sea.

Population: 9,511,100 in 2016

Currency: Manat /AZN

Territory: 86,6 km²

Time zone: UTC +04:00, (Prime meridian; calculated from midnight, 4 hours behind Baku time) Summer time

Mains voltage: 220/240 Volt, 50 Hertz

The capital

Baku is considered the biggest port of the Caspian Sea and the biggest city in the Caucasus. The city is located at the south shore of Absheron peninsula. This city is one of the biggest in the Caucasus for its old age, territory and population. According to the statistics of 2014 the population is 2,150,800.

Political system

Azerbaijan is a democratic republic. The president is the head of the state. Ilham Aliyev has been the president of Azerbaijan since October, 2003. The Supreme Legislative Organ is the parliament. In 1991 Azerbaijan has left the Soviet Union and gained independence.

Official language

The official language is the Azerbaijani language (belongs to the family of Turkic languages). Russian and English languages are widely used in the capital and other regional centers of the republic.

Religion

According to the current constitution Azerbaijan is a secular country – religion is separate from the state and consists of the sum of the religious movements spread among the nationalities andethnic groups that currently live in the territory of the country. There are various religious confessions in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Islam is the religion of the majority of the population. As a multinational country there are Jewish, Orthodox and Catholic communities in Azerbaijan.

Climate

According to Köppen Climate Classification 9 out of 11 climate types are observed in Azerbaijan.

Average temperature in July in high areas is between +5˚ and +25˚ - +27˚ degrees and +32˚ - +35˚ degrees at the maximum and average temperature in January is -10˚ - -4˚ degrees. The minimum annual rainfall in flat lands is 150-200 mm and 1200-1700 mm on the foothills of the Caucasus and the mountainous areas. The best time for visiting the country is the period from April till October. We should also mention that the temperature during the second half of summer can be as high as +38 - +40˚ degrees. In June and the first half of September the average temperature of the sea water is +24 - +26˚ degrees.

Telephone communication

Telephone communication covers the entire country. The international telephone code of Azerbaijan is +994. Telephone calls between cities and countries can be made anywhere in the country. Mobile communication operators provide flawless and quality connection even in the furthest regions of the country.

Mobile communication

Standard GSM 900. Covers almost the entire country. The biggest mobile operators are Azercell Telekom, Bakcell, Nar Mobile.

Internet

Internet is widely used in Baku and the other regions of the country. The internet domain is .az.

Fax

Fax is available at all post offices of the country, as well as the hotels.

Post service

The Central Post Office of Azerbaijan and a number of personal currier services are available. It is recommended to use currier postal services in order to speed up sending and delivering letters, packages and parcels. International currier services are also available in the country.

Currency

Azerbaijan manat (AZN). 1 AZN = 100 qapiks. There are banknotes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 manats and metal coins in denominations of 1, 3, 5, 10, 20 and 50 are in circulation.

International currencies such as the US dollars, the British pounds, euros and Russian rubles can be exchanged to manats at any bank. Besides this currency exchange can be carried out atthe official currency exchange centers widely available anywhere.

Money exchange rates at the banks and exchange centers differ very slightly. Some stores have personal money exchange points. Banks are open from 9:00 or 9:30 till 17:30 in Baku (some banks are open till late hours in the evening and a number of money exchange points work nonstop) and in the regions the work schedule of the banks is from 9:30 till 17:00 or 17:30

Credit and debit cards

Cards are accepted mainly in big supermarkets, shops and in most of the hotels and banks. In the regions credit cards are used only in hotels and banks.

Shops and restaurants

Shops in the center of Baku are open from 9:00 till night and in the regions till 19:00. In many restaurants if tips are not included in the bill, then it usually takes 5-10% and even 10% of the payment.

*Drinking tap water is not recommended, it is better to drink bottled water.

Customs rules

Azerbaijan is a country with a avorable visa system for the visitors. Tourists are allowed to stay up to 30 days and business people can have touristic visas with different validity periods.

If the sum of the currency valuables brought to the Republic of Azerbaijan does not exceed 10 000 (ten thousand) USD or its equivalent their entrance is carried out in accordance with the “Passenger’s Customs Declaration” rules and for the sums exceeding 10 000 (ten thousand) USD or its equivalent, it is carried out in accordance with the “Passenger’s Customs Declaration” and “Customs Card” by the customs officials.

Submitting a declaration to the customs authorities is mandatory during cash outflow up to 50 000 (fifty thousand) US dollars or its equivalent brought to the Republic of Azerbaijan as cashbefore.

Taking up to 150 grams of sturgeon, salmon and beluga caviar out of the country per passenger is allowed for individuals.

Objects of artistic, historical, scientific importance and other valuable cultural objects can be taken out of the Republic of Azerbaijan after paying the customs tax of 100% of the assigned commission value and after receiving the approval of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

For every self-moving means of transportation with an engine brought to the Republic of Azerbaijan by individuals it is allowed to take out up to 20 liters of extra fuel in addition to the factory output capacity.

Each individual coming to the Republic of Azerbaijan can bring up to 5 liters of alcohol or spirits and up to 1000 pieces (50 packs) of cigarettes.