Azerbaijan

Key findings in 2016

Percentage of respondents that agree or strongly agree with the following statements	Azerbaijan	Transition region average	Germany	Italy
Economic situation better than 4 years ago	49	24	33	7
Political situation better than 4 years ago	58	28	17	9
Household lives better than 4 years ago	52	29	28	10
There is less corruption than 4 years ago	59	23	16	10
Satisfied with personal financial situation	42	31	55	33

Satisfaction with the situation at the country level and with personal circumstances

49 and 58 per cent of respondents believe that the economic and political situation in Azerbaijan was better in 2016 than four years prior to the survey, two of the highest figures for their respective categories in the transition region. Moreover, 59 per cent of those surveyed think that there was less corruption in 2016 than in the four years before the survey, the second highest percentage in the transition region.

Just over half of the Azerbaijani respondents believe that their households lived better in 2016 than they did four years prior to the survey. In addition, 42 per cent report that they are satisfied with their current personal financial situation, a value significantly above the transition region average of 31 per cent.

Life satisfaction in Azerbaijan has improved since the last survey, from 42 per cent in 2010 to 53 per cent in 2016, a figure that is now well above the corresponding ones for the transition region and Italy (43 and 42 per cent, respectively) but still below the German figure (72 per cent). Life satisfaction has increased almost uniformly across all age and income groups, except in the upper income group where life satisfaction has decreased from 54 per cent in 2010 to 43 per cent in 2016.

Lastly, optimism about the future remains higher than in the transition region as a whole, and in Germany and Italy, with 62 per cent of Azerbaijani respondents believing that children born now will have a better life than the current generations.

 

Attitudes towards democracy and the market economy

Support for democracy and the market economy have weakened drastically since the last survey, from 60 and 56 per cent in 2010 to 28 and 16 per cent in 2016, the two lowest values for their respective categories in the transition region. About 61 per cent of respondents express indifference as to the type of political system that should prevail in the country, the highest value in the transition region, while 11 per cent of those surveyed would favour, under some circumstances, an authoritarian system. In addition, 66 per cent of respondents do not have a marked preference for a specific type of economic system that should be in place in the country, again the highest value in the transition region, while 18 per cent of those surveyed would support, under some circumstances, a planned economy.

When asked which democratic institutions exist in Azerbaijan, 54 per cent of respondents indicated that gender equality is in place in the country. However, only a minority of those surveyed believe that other democratic institutions are guaranteed: for example, 49 per cent think that the country has peace and stability, 48 per cent say that law and order are in place, while 43 per cent believe that free elections and freedom of speech are respected.

 

Priorities for government spending

Of Azerbaijani respondents, 38 per cent think government spending on health care should be the first priority. In addition, 25 per cent of the population believe that the government should prioritise additional investments in education, while 20 per cent see extra expenditure on assisting the poor as the top priority. Additional results show that around 66 and 73 per cent of those surveyed would be willing to pay more taxes to improve the quality of the public health system and public education, respectively.

 

Sources of information

The main daily sources of information for Azerbaijani respondents are television and radio, used each day by 84 per cent of the population, and discussions with family, friends or colleagues, mentioned by 74 per cent of respondents. Both of these figures are the highest for their respective categories in the transition region. The use of the internet and social media has increased almost six-fold since the last survey, from 6 per cent in 2010 to 34 per cent in 2016, and is now above the transition region average but still below the corresponding values for the western European comparators. Newspapers and magazines are read on a daily basis by approximately 3 per cent of the interviewed respondents, the lowest figure in the transition region.

 

Self-assessed health

46 per cent of Azerbaijani respondents consider their current health status to be either “good” or “very good”, a value which is lower than the corresponding figures for Germany (68 per cent) and Italy (54 per cent). Additional statistical analysis of the LiTS III data shows that, compared with 2010, respondents in the upper-income group and male respondents have reported a decline in their health by 8 and 7 percentage points, respectively.

 

Quality of public services

The majority of the respondents are generally satisfied with the quality of public services in their country, with the only exceptions being local roads, which cause dissatisfaction to 51 per cent of those surveyed. The remaining figures range from an 82 per cent satisfaction rate for the quality of telephone lines and the provision of heating, to a 70 per cent satisfaction rate for the quality of postal services.

 

Social and economic mobility

When Azerbaijani respondents were asked from a list of options what they thought were the most important factors for success in life in their country, about 54 per cent chose “intelligence and skills”, the second highest figure in the transition region. The belief that “effort and hard work” aids social and economic mobility has fallen considerably since the last survey, from 40 per cent in 2010 to 30 per cent in 2016. Lastly, 12 per cent of respondents believe “political connections” are the most important factor for success in their country.

 

Attitudes towards women

Of Azerbaijani respondents, 91 per cent think it is important for their daughter to achieve a university education, while 76 and 79 per cent of female and male respondents, respectively, believe that women are as competent as men to be business executives. However, 58 per cent of surveyed women and 86 per cent of surveyed men think that men make better political leaders than women. In addition, 77 per cent of surveyed women and 88 per cent of men think that a woman should do the household chores, even if her husband is not working, and around 91 per cent of respondents of either gender favour a traditional family arrangement where the man works and the woman takes care of the house and children, the highest figure in the transition region.