Tag Archives: azerbaijan

24 Jul

Internet Frequency in the Caucasus – Awareness, Adoption, and Use

I’ve been working on a project recently looking at lack of awareness of the Internet.  In the U.S. we take for granted that most people know what the Internet is and have a general sense of what it can do, even if they don’t use it themselves. However, even in the U.S., there were (and still are) people that don’t know what the Internet is.

In the Caucasus, not knowing what “the Internet” implies is not uncommon in some places – 1% of Armenians, 22% of Azerbaijanis, and 7% of Georgians report that they don’t know what “the Internet” is (in 2010).

Who are these people? They’re older, they’re rural, they have less education, and they’re poorer.

And, generally, people that are not aware of what “the Internet” is are highly unlikely to ever use the Internet.

The next step is ever using the Internet. In Armenia, two-thirds of citizens have never used the Internet, a little over half (55%) of Azerbaijanis have never used it, and 61% of Georgians have never used it (in 2010).

Again, the people that are not using tend to be older, more rural, less educated, and poorer.

Finally, the last Internet hurdle is frequent use. Many Caucasus “Internet users” are getting online less than once a month. Certainly these infrequent users are not fully benefiting from Internet use. 10% of Armenians, 11% of Azerbaijanis, and 11% of Georgians are online quite infrequently.

So while official statistics from the ITU say that 37% of Armenians, 36% of Azerbaijanis, and 27% of Georgians are online because they define “Internet user” as going online once or more ever, I’d argue that this is adoption, and we should really be discussing frequent users (at least weekly). In that case, 21% of Armenians, 9% of Azerbaijanis, and 18% of Georgians are fully benefiting from Internet use.

Who are those frequent users? They’re generally urban (although in Armenia and to some degree Georgia, there are some rural frequent users, mostly via mobile Internet), better educated, younger, and wealthier.

At least we can see that there has been an increase in awareness, use, and frequent use since 2009. In 2009 71% of Armenians, 62% of Azerbaijanis, and 65% of Georgians knew what the Internet was, and 15% of Armenians, 14% of Azerbaijanis, and 17% of Georgians had ever used it. Frequent users in 2009 were 8% of Armenians, 6% of Azerbaijanis, and 10% of Georgians.
 

Interenetfreq

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06 Jul

Migration Crisis in the Caucasus

Is there a “migration crisis” in the Caucasus?

Maybe! There seems to be an increase in interest in migration in Armenia and in Azerbaijan and Georgia, while interest is high, it remains relatively stable.

Based on the Caucasus Barometer, 40% of Georgians, half of Azerbaijanis, and 59% of Armenians are interested in temporary migration

(This is a 9% increase in Armenia since 2008, but no such change in Azerbaijan or Georgia, although in 2009, all 3 Caucasus states saw a decrease in interest in temporary migration.)

Furthermore, 7% of Georgians, 17% of Azerbaijanis, and 26% of Armenians are interested in permanent migration.

(These rates in Azerbaijan and Georgia have remained somewhat stable, while Armenia has seen a 10% increase between 2009 and 2010).

So who are these people that want to leave?

Certainly in Armenia there is a trend toward desire to migrate.

Two-thirds of Yerevan residents are interested in temporary migration, regardless of gender. Nearly 60% of urban city and rural Armenians are interested as well. These are increases from 2008 and 2009 when about half of all Armenians wanted to temporarily migrate.

In Armenia, there are not major regional or gender differences in interest to migrate permanently.

In Azerbaijan, interest in migration varies year-to-year.

In Azerbaijan, interest in temporary migration is primarily a male interest, and rural females are the least likely to be interested in temporary migration.

Permanent migration is less popular in Azerbaijan, again especially amongst rural females.

In Georgia as well, interest in migration changes year-to-year, but overall interest in permanent migration is quite low.

Migration

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02 Jul

Feelings about the Direction Country is Headed in the Caucasus

How do Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians feel about the direction in which their countries are headed?

The 2010 Caucasus Barometer tells us that opinions on this are mixed.

Few people in any of the three countries think that their country is definitely headed in the right direction (3% Armenia, 11% Azerbaijan, 11% Georgia), although some think that their countries are headed somewhat in the right direction (15% Armenia, 27% Azerbaijan, 33% Georgia).

In Armenia, over a third (37%) feel that their country is headed in the wrong direction. Only 10 percent of Azerbaijanis feel this way though and 18 percent of Georgians.

Interestingly, many people aren’t sure. Nearly 20 percent of Azerbaijanis (19%) and Georgians (18%) say that they don’t know what direction their countries are headed in. Only 15 percent of Armenians aren’t sure.

Direction

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02 Jul

Approval of Others in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

This analysis was conducted on the 2007 Caucasus Barometer on questions dealing with approval of being friends with, doing business with, and marrying other nationalities/ethnic groups. (I apologize that this is more “statistics-y” than other posts. I did this analysis for a statistics class assignment a few years ago but thought that people might be interested so I posted it as is.)

approvalAMAZGE

02 Jul

Treatment of Citizens in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

According to the 2010 Caucasus Barometer, people in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have strong opinions about how their governments treat citizens.

Three-quarters of Armenians (74%) do not believe that the Armenian government treats its citizens fairly (half strongly believe this and half somewhat believe this).

Half of Azerbaijanis and 43 percent of Georgians think that their government doesn’t treat people fairly.

Interestingly, few are completely sure that their governments treat people fairly, 4 percent in Armenia and 9 percent in Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Fairlygovernment

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02 Jul

Rule of Law in the Caucasus

People in the Caucasus think that their court systems favor some people over others, according to the 2010 Caucasus Barometer.

Over half of Armenians (54%) and Azerbaijanis (57%) believe that this, and 43 percent of Georgians do.

And while those that say that they don’t know are high in each country (10% of Armenians, 18% of Azerbaijanis, and 27% of Georgians), those that are sure and certain that there is favorship.

Why don’t Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians think that their court systems are fair?

One reason may be judges. While most people in the Caucasus do not trust judges, there are many that are neutral or unsure.

Moreover, many believe that the court systems are under the influence of the government. Very few people in any of the three countries think that the court systems are independent.

Furthermore, many also believe that high officials are not publish when they break the law.

Ruleoflawjudicial

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02 Jul

Elections in the Caucasus

South Caucasians aren’t so sure if their national elections are conducted fairly. Only half of Armenians (50%) and Azerbaijanis (46%) feel that the last election was fair. Nearly two-third of Georgians (63%), however, feel that their last election was fair. Interestingly, over a third of Armenians (46%) are certain that the last election wasn’t fair, while Azerbaijanis and Georgians are mixed between thinking that the election wasn’t fair and not being sure.

As to the reasons why they think that the elections aren’t fair, please look at the slides for responses on a number of items. Of particular interest is the high number of “don’t knows” from Azerbaijani and Georgian respondents. Armenians, whether they believe that different aspects of elections are fair or not, are certainly “more certain” than their neighbors are.

Most Armenians and Georgians believe that they’ll vote in the next national election. Azerbaijanis, however, aren’t so apt to vote, with over half (57%) saying that they don’t think that they’ll vote. Furthermore, only half of Azerbaijanis (48%) are sure that they’d vote in a presidential election (if it were to happen next week – which it won’t!). Nearly two-thirds of Armenians (64%) and Georgians (62%) are sure that they’d vote in a presidential election.

Elections

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02 Jul

Migration in the Caucasus

Based on an analysis of the 2010 Caucasus Barometer, I found that there are significant differences in interest in temporary and permanent migration in the three Caucasus Republics. All three countries have a pretty strong interest in migration, especially temporarily. This question is about “interest in” — not ability to migrate, however. And as there are many barriers to migration (visas, economic ability, finding work, etc.), this should not be taken as “intention to migrate,” merely interest.

Temporary Migration
With 59 percent of Armenians interested in temporary migration, of the three republics, Armenia is leading in this category. This may be due to a number of factors: established groups of migrants in Russia and the United States (among other places), relatively high unemployment, and an established remittance system. Who wants to migrate in Armenia? Lots of people! Only those in the lower economic categories are less likely to be interested in temporary migration. Moreoever, Yerevantsis are significantly less likely to be interested in temporary migration than rural Armenians or those living in regional cities. This may be because a lot of Yerevantsis have already left Armenia or because there has been a shift in internal migration where rural people are moving to Yerevan for work and educational opportunities.

Half of Azerbaijanis are interested in temporary migration. There are no patterns or significant differences in interest based on economic wellbeing, capital/rural cities/village, or gender.

Many Georgians (40%) are interested in temporary migration as well. Like Azerbaijan, there are no economic differences in interest, but rural residents are strongly more interested in temporary migration than capital or rural city residents are. Also, unlike Armenia or Azerbaijan, women in Georgia are more interested in temporary migration than men are.

Permanent Migration
A quarter of Armenians (26%) want to permanent migrate. Again, economic conditions likely cause this interest. Only those in the absolutely highest economic category are less interested in permanent migration than the vast majority of lower upper class, middle class, and lower class Armenians (in terms of their economic wellbeing). Interestingly, women are more interested in permanently migrating than men are.

Only 17 percent of Azerbaijanis state an interest in permanent migration. Again, economic differences played no role, but rural Azerbaijanis are significantly more interested in permanent migration than capital or regional urbanites. And like Armenia, women are more interested in permanent migration than men are.

Few Georgians (8%) want to permanently migrate. There are not any economic, regional, or gender differences for permanent migration.