"Azerbaijan's 31,400 people provide almost all of the country's exports." Opinion of an economist from Baku
Employment statistics in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister, Mikail Jabbarov, stated that the private sector workforce has surpassed that of the public sector for the first time. However, Natik Jafarli, an economist and prominent figure in the opposition Republican Alternative party, countered this claim by citing official statistics suggesting otherwise.
Jafarli further remarked, “The inefficiency of the country’s economic model is such that only 31,400 people are sustaining it.”
- A horrific crime in Azerbaijan – a young man killed five members of his family
- “EU-Armenia relations are currently stronger than ever”- Borrell
- The regulations governing pet ownership are becoming more stringent in Georgia
“Mikail Jabbarov stated that in 2023, the number of individuals employed in Azerbaijan’s private and non-oil sectors surpassed those employed in the oil and public sectors.
However, the State Statistics Committee officially announced that as of the beginning of 2024, the total number of employed individuals reached 1,741.8 thousand, with 899.1 thousand in the public sector and 842.7 thousand in the private sector.
In other words, official statistics say that by the end of 2023, 56,400 more people are employed in the state and oil sector than in the private sector. Now who is right? The minister, or the State Statistics Committee?” – Natik Jafarli, an economist and one of the leaders of the opposition Republican Alternative party, makes his arguments.
What did the minister say?
In 2023, the number of workers employed in the private and non-oil sectors in Azerbaijan exceeded the number of workers employed in the public and oil sectors.
Acting Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov said this at the forum “Tax system in the new development period: strategic goals for sustainable economy” held in Baku, Report reports.
“In 2019, when we started implementing the incentive tax policy, more than 850,000 salaried employees worked at state-owned enterprises. As a result of the successful implementation, within five years, the number of employees employed in the private sector has surpassed the number of employees employed in the public sector. Over the years, tax workers have come to approach their duties with higher standards,” he said.
Economist’s commentary
According to the same Natick Jafarli, another detail that reflects the “tragic economic situation in the country” is that the distribution of those employed by economic sector “does not have a serious meaning”.
“Imagine, the country’s oil and gas sector employs only 21 thousand 400 people, but according to 2022 statistics, 47.8% of the country’s total WFP, 52.7% of the budget’s profit and finally, 92.5% of exports come from oil-gas, the products of this sector.
In other words, 31 thousand 400 people provide more than half of the state budget profit and the vast majority of the country’s exports – a tragic picture. The country’s economic model is so inefficient that the country lives off only 31,400 people.
Mr. Minister, how will you explain this, will there be an explanation?” – wrote Jafarli on his social media page.
