Azerbaijan¹ (population 8.32 million people)² is a country in south western Asia that occupies an area of 86,600 km2. It is bordered by Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. Azerbaijan gained independence from the USSR in 1991.³ According to the United Nations human development index (HDI), Azerbaijan is ranked 101/177 countries worldwide (value 0.729).⁴ This places Azerbaijan in the group of countries with medium human development.