Azerbaijan vs Iran
Azerbaijan vs Iran: Government debt
Government debt: 20.1% of GDP in Azerbaijan in 2025 and 31.2% of GDP in Iran in 2024, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Iran, by 9.6 percentage points, or 1.44 times that in Azerbaijan.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Iran has been higher since 2000, when it overtook Azerbaijan.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Azerbaijan at 16.7% of GDP and Iran at 43.4% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Azerbaijan | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20.1 | 35.6 |
| 2024 | 21.6 | 31.2 |
| 2023 | 21.8 | 29.6 |
| 2022 | 17.3 | 34.5 |
| 2021 | 26.4 | 39.9 |
| 2020 | 21.3 | 47.1 |
| 2019 | 17.7 | 44.6 |
| 2018 | 18.7 | 41.6 |
| 2017 | 22.5 | 43.2 |
| 2016 | 20.6 | 46 |
| 2015 | 18 | 32.1 |
| 2014 | 8.5 | 10.9 |
| 2013 | 6.2 | 10.2 |
| 2012 | 5.8 | 11.8 |
| 2011 | 5 | 10.6 |
| 2010 | 5 | 12.8 |
| 2009 | 4.7 | 11.5 |
| 2008 | 3.2 | 10.6 |
| 2007 | 4 | 13.5 |
| 2006 | 5.3 | 15.2 |
| 2005 | 6.9 | 18.3 |
| 2004 | 9.7 | 21.1 |
| 2003 | 10.7 | 22 |
| 2002 | 11.9 | 23.4 |
| 2001 | 13 | 21 |
| 2000 | 13.1 | 18.2 |
| 1999 | 25.4 | 22.2 |
| 1998 | 14.3 | 29.6 |
| 1997 | 11.4 | 30.9 |
| 1996 | 16.7 | 29.3 |
| 1995 | 19.2 | – |
- 12.3Projected
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Azerbaijan | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 16.5 | 39.1 |
| 2027 | 16.4 | 40.2 |
| 2028 | 16.5 | 40.8 |
| 2029 | 16.5 | 41.7 |
| 2030 | 16.6 | 42.7 |
| 2031 | 16.7 | 43.4 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Azerbaijan vs Iran
Health
- Life expectancyAzerbaijan: 74.4 years in 2023Iran: 77.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityAzerbaijan: 1.8 per 100 live births in 2024Iran: 1.1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityAzerbaijan: 15 per 1,000 live births in 2023Iran: 9.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterAzerbaijan: 71.6% in 2022Iran: 94.2% in 2022
- DepressionAzerbaijan: 2.59% in 2017Iran: 5.12% in 2017
- Suicide rateAzerbaijan: 4.1 per 100,000 people in 2017Iran: 5.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationAzerbaijan: 10.3 million people in 2023Iran: 90.6 million people in 2023
- Population growthAzerbaijan: -0.26% a year in 2023Iran: 1.12% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateAzerbaijan: 1.67 births per woman in 2023Iran: 1.7 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationAzerbaijan: 58.6% in 2025Iran: 77.4% in 2025
- Median ageAzerbaijan: 32.6 years in 2023Iran: 32.9 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overAzerbaijan: 8% in 2023Iran: 7.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateAzerbaijan: -8.2 per 1,000 people in 2023Iran: 2.9 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingAzerbaijan: 6.47% of GDP in 2025Iran: 2.09% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsAzerbaijan: $4.67B in 2025Iran: $7.45B in 2025
- Military spending per personAzerbaijan: $476 in 2025Iran: $80 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingAzerbaijan: 17.7% of government spending in 2025Iran: 11.2% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelAzerbaijan: 82,000 people in 2020Iran: 650,000 people in 2020
- National powerAzerbaijan: 0.14% of world capability in 2022Iran: 1.64% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersAzerbaijan: 1.58% of the labour force in 2020Iran: 2.35% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsAzerbaijan: 463 million TIV in 2025Iran: 42 million TIV in 2024
- Arms exportsAzerbaijan: 2 million TIV in 2023Iran: 80 million TIV in 2025