WP 92 - An overview of women's work and employment in Azerbaijan

M. van Klaveren, K.G. Tijdens, M. Hughie-Williams and N.E. Ramos Martin

the households run by women 30 and older (men: 13%). Nearly 60% the households headed by 18-29-year-
old women were in the poorest 20% (against nearly 40% of men of the same age). The 2005 survey also
showed that male-headed households tend to have income from more reliable sources (such as regular
paid employment and agriculture), which in general generate more income. Women tend to concentrate in
resources such as pensions or “other income” resources that are neither very reliable nor sufficient. This
instability of income is usually an important source of poverty (SSC via AGIC website; Cosby et al 2007).

2.6. Demographics and female labour force

2.6.1. Population and fertility

Azerbaijan has a rather low and decreasing population growth; for the year 2009 its growth is estimated
at less than 0.8%. Based on the 1999 Census, the population was estimated at 8,016,200,⁶ whereas the La-
bour Force Survey for 2008 comes at 8,730,300: an increase of 8.9% in nine years, or 0.75% yearly growth.
Women make up 51% of the population, but among the 0-14 years of age girls make up 47%. The rate of
newborn boys compared to girls shows a long-term increase, and the 2009 sex ratio at birth is 1.13 males
against 1 female (see next section). The total fertility rate (TFR, the number of births a woman would have
if she survived to age 50) is currently estimated at 2.04 and the birth rate at 17.6 per 1,000 of the popula-
tion, thus rather low as well. The current death rate is set at about 8.3 per 1,000. As said, migration has
been considerable; it is estimated that as many as three million Azerbaijani, many of them guest workers,
currently live in Russia. After 2000, this migration tended to decrease; for 2009, the net outward migration
is estimated at 1.69 per 1,000 inhabitants, or 15,200 people, again a lower level than before. Also for 2009
the median age is estimated at 28.2 years, 26.6 years for males and 30.0 years for females (sources: wikipedia;
CIA World Factbook; ILO Laborsta; SSC via AGIC website).

Registered child mortality in Azerbaijan is rather low in international perspective. In 2004 neonatal mor-
tality (deaths during the first 28 days of life per 1000 live births) was measured as 35 per 1,000 live births,
in international comparison a rather high rate (WHO 2009). The infant mortality rate (probability of dying
between birth and age 1 per 1,000 live births) stood at 34 in 2007, considerable progress as the rate for 1990
was 78 and that for 2000 58. The under 5 mortality rate (probability of dying between by age 5 per 1,000
live births) averaged 39 by 2007, again suggesting major progress as the rate came down from 98 in 1990
6 According to the 1999 Census, there were 1,28 million families with children under 18 of age, rather equally divided over
urban and rural areas. The TFR in rural areas is traditionally higher, and rural families were on average considerably larger:
nearly half (49%) had three or more children, against only 36% of urban families (SSC, via website AGIC).

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