About UNDP in Azerbaijan

UNDP has been working in Azerbaijan for close to 3 decades. It opened its office in the country in the fall of 1992 soon after Azerbaijan gained independence and joined the United Nations.

The UNDP activities in Azerbaijan initially focused on the provision of early recovery programme, especially to those affected by the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Over time, UNDP’s role in Azerbaijan has shifted toward longer-term socio-economic development in line with the country’s evolving needs.

In Azerbaijan, UNDP brings the best development models of the world in order to maximize the use of “black gold” derived from the oil wealth, to strengthen its “human gold”, to enlarge people’s choices and reduce inequalities. 

The main programming framework for all UN activities in Azerbaijan is the UN-Azerbaijan Partnership Framework (UNAPF) signed between UN and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy in 2016. The UNAPF is the United Nations’ strategic response to development needs in Azerbaijan as enshrined in the Vision 2020 and the 2030 agenda. The Framework is effective from 2016 through 2020.

UNDP’s work focuses on poverty reduction, good governance and peace-building, climate change and disaster management, as well as economic development. UNDP provides support to governments to integrate the SDGs into their national development plans and policies. This work is already underway, as we support many countries in accelerating progress already achieved under the Millennium Development Goals.

In Azerbaijan, UNDP’s programme of work is outlined in its “Country Programme Document 2016-2020” and is a result of close consultation with the Government.  The current UNDP Country Programme Document contributes to three out of five UNAPF outcomes and is aligned with the Vision 2020 National Development Concept and the SDGs.

These include (i) Sustainable and Inclusive Growth and Decent Work, (ii) Enhanced institutional capacity for good governance, and (iii) Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Resilience.  

Our achievements

UNDP supports the Government of Azerbaijan in the areas of governance and sustainable development and is active in the issues of youth engagement and women rights. Since 1992, the United Nations Development Programme in Azerbaijan has contributed to socio-economic development of the country through a number of ways. 

In partnership with the government and civil society, UNDP designs and implements innovative initiatives to enable socially excluded people and communities, such as youth, people with disabilities, women living in rural areas and prison inmates to improve their lives ensuring they have equal access to quality services. UNDP has a longstanding and central presence in the area of gender equality and women empowerment. UNDP’s flagship Women Resource Centres operate in eight regions of Azerbaijan, where hundreds of women benefit from business development trainings, vocational education, and new employment and income-generation opportunities. UNDP also helps socially active women organise themselves into community groups as well as register and operate their NGOs.

UNDP provides capacity building support to government institutions to effectively develop and implement gender-sensitive and evidence-based policies. Current programmes aim to modernise the vocational education system, revamp the public service delivery, promote e-governance and robust youth engagement. To date, UNDP helped introduce a competitive recruitment process for civil servants, a one-stop-shop centralised registry for citizens and new procedures for improved transparency in key national institutions. UNDP supports modernising the information and communication technologies sector in Azerbaijan and facilitates the improved government efficiency in border and customs services through integrated border management tools while also providing technical and financial assistance to ensure effective mine clearance nationwide.

As the United Nation’s global development network, UNDP empowers local communities to participate in decision-making processes for sustainable pastureland and forest management and strengthens farmers’ livelihood through expanding agro-businesses using local crop varieties. Community resilience to climate-induced floods is strengthened through the establishment of an early warning system and implementation of a gender-sensitive disaster preparedness programme addressing specific vulnerabilities of men and women. UNDP supports the country’s efforts to reduce harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase energy efficiency in the transport and construction sectors. In 2018, UNDP helped the Government of Azerbaijan create the first marine national park in the entire Caspian Sea region.

In line with Agenda 2030, UNDP supports the Government in nationalising and prioritising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aligning the country’s national development plans with the SDGs.

UNDP country office in Azerbaijan also administers the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, which integrates volunteerism into the implementation and delivery of UNDP’s development work across the country.

9.86 mln

Population (WB, 2017)

16,650 ($)

GNI per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP), as per 2017 data, WB

72 years

Life expectancy at birth, WB (2017)

23

Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births)/ WB data, 2017

1

School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

40.75

GDP (current US$)

11.7

Forest area (sq. km./ thousands)

5.5

Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area)

5.04 %

Unemployment rate (WB data, 2018)