This is one in a series of profiles on the republics of the former Soviet Union that is intended to provide basic reference material as a backdrop for assessing future developments in these new states. The profile provides a description of the geography, population, and economy of Azerbaijan and compares its level of development, growth, and social welfare with that of Turkey and Mexico.

International comparisons, particularly for aggregate measures such as GDP, are difficult to make because of differences in definitions and methods used by various countries in compiling statistics. International currency exchange rates are deficient for this purpose because they do not reflect the relative purchasing power of different currencies over the whole range of  goods and services included in GDP. Because of the lack of these parities, alternative measures have been selected. These measures include primarily data for which comparable international statistics are available.