Political and economic stability
- In the past 10 years, GDP and foreign trade has doubled in size;
- Strategic currency reserves have increased by 16.3 times;
- The foreign debt of Azerbaijan is only 20.4% of the GDP;
- The budget deficit is about 0.4% (2016);
- Azerbaijan has one of the highest credit rating in the region (Standard & Poor – BB+, Moody’s- Ba1, Fitch – BBB-);
- 37th most competitive economy among 138 countries (WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017);
- Azerbaijan is ranked 65th in the World Bank Doing Business Guide (2017);
- Public safety, good governance, and political stability were cited by the international business community operating in Azerbaijan as the most desirable features of doing business in this country (WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016);
- Investments worth 220 billion USD since 1995.
Attractive investment climate
- Attractive investment incentive schemes;
- NO restrictions on foreign investments;
- NO local content requirement;
- NO business inspections by state authorities and agencies;
- Party to all major multilateral instruments on protection and promotion of foreign investment;
- 47 bilateral investment treaties and 51 double taxation treaties with foreign countries;
- Over 450 e-services by state authorities.
Reformist business environment
- A number of fundamental reforms aimed at promotion of exports and investments;
- New economic reforms launched by the President through the series of Strategic Roadmaps in 2016;
- Top reformer of business regulations in the world according to the World Bank’s Doing Business Guide 2009 and 2015;
- Improved access to tourism and business through the launch of the ASAN e-visa system;
- Low burden of government regulation;
- Strengthening a welcoming business environment and legislative reforms are among the top priorities of “Azerbaijan 2020: The Vision of the Future” – national development concept.
Abundant resources
- 9 climatic zones out of 11 existing in the world ranging from humid subtropical climate to semi-arctic;
- The territory of Azerbaijan stands out for its complex geological structure and diversity of minerals;
- Major deposits of oil and gas;
- Ferrous and nonferrous, rare and fine metals;
- Nonferrous minerals and construction materials.
A perfect hub
- Located on the south-eastern border of Europe serving as the natural bridge between Europe and Asia;
- Trans-Caspian East-West Trade and Transit Corridor as a key route connecting two major global economies, China and Europe (4,200 km length, 12-14 days transit period);
- Logistics hub for the Caspian region with the biggest airport, sea port and railway network;
- Free access to CIS and Georgia markets of 270 million consumers and GDP worth 1.6 trillion USD;
- Outreach to 50 countries with almost 50% of world consumers within 4-hour flight range (medium-haul flight).
Skilled labor force
- About half of the population is economically active. Total labour force reached 5 mln. in 2016;
- One of the highest employment rates in the region (95%);
- The main driver of employment is the private sector (75.4%);
- Extremely high literacy rate of 99.8%;
- Around 30,000 students graduate from universities and other higher education institutions annually;
- Large number of Azerbaijani students studying in the best universities worldwide in the framework of the State Programme on Education of Azerbaijani Youth Abroad in 2007-2015;
- A large R&D center, the National Academy of Sciences (altogether they affiliate about 40 research and cultural institutions throughout the country) in parallel with 54 universities and 113 primary vocational educational institutions ensures the scientific and HR component of economic development.
Fast developing infrastructure
- The most state-of-the-art transport infrastructure in the region;
- About 19,000 km of hard-surface roads, 8,000 km of which built and constructed in past 10 years;
- 6 international airports – Baku operates the largest international airport in the region;
- A new international sea port, located at Alat, 60kms south of Baku, with annual capacity of 10-11.5 million tons of cargo and 50,000 TEU (to be increased up to 21-25 M tons of cargo and 1M TEU); A new shipyard and the only one on the Caspian Sea commissioned in 2013;
- Over 2,000 km of operational railroads: The so-called “Iron Silk Way”, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars trunk-railway connecting European and Asian railway systems, is under construction.