Caspian Sea: State of the Environment 2019

3. Drivers

3.1. Socioeconomic situation

people, placing the total population at 9.8 million people. This growth is centred primarily in Baku, which grew by around 153,400 people (5.8 per cent) between 2011 and 2016 (Azerbaijan, State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbai- jan 2017). Here, the population growth on this coast was evenly distributed between urban and rural areas, which grew by 6.4 per cent and 6.1 per cent respectively (Azerbaijan, State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan 2017). In the southern part of the Caspian Sea, the Ira- nian provinces of Gilan, Golestan and Mazanda- ran comprise the coastline. These provinces have experienced respective growth rates of 0.40 per

3.1.1. Population

The five littoral states have highly uneven pop- ulation densities surrounding the Caspian Sea. Some regions have a large population, such as big urban centres, whereas other regions are more sparsely populated. On the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, for example, the population density does not exceed one person per square kilome- tre, while on the western coast it fluctuates be- tween 1,049 in urban areas (Baku) to 77 in rural areas (Azerbaijan, State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan 2017). Most of the population along the coast of the Caspian Sea is concentrated in major urban cen- tres such as Baku, Astrakhan, Makhachkala and in cities on the southern coast. The northern and eastern coasts have extremely small populations (Figure 3.1). It should be noted that population numbers vary depending on the season. From April to Septem- ber (the peak season on the western coast) tour- ists visit the region’s centres, which are mainly located around Baku. According to the State Sta- tistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2017), there is a positive trend, with the number of visitors increasing by 8.5 per cent annually. A similar situation occurs on the southern coast, where the population also varies considerably depending on the season (Iran, Statistical Centre of Iran 2016). In general, the region’s population density is in- creasing, most rapidly growing in urban centres, with the greatest increases recorded on the west- ern and north-eastern coasts. However, declines have been observed in some areas, though these tend to be limited to agricultural and rural re- gions. The largest population growth recorded on the west and north-east coasts. On the western coast, the annual population growth over the past six years ranges from1–1.4 per cent, which is 698,000

Population by administrative units, thousand inhabitants

Atyrau

250 - 500 500 - 1 000 1 000 - 2 500 2 500 - 3 500

Astrakhan

Atyrau

Kalmykia RUSSIA

Astrakhan

Lagan

Dagestan

KAZAKHSTAN

Bautino

Fort Shevchenko

Mangystau

Makhachkala

Aktau

Kaspiysk

CASPIAN SEA

Zhanaozen

Izberbash

Derbent

Guba-Khachmaz

Sumgayit

AZERBAljAN

Absheron

TURKMENISTAN

Baku

Aran (East)

Balkan

Turkmenbashi

Lankaran

Neftchala

Balkanabat

Lankaran

Astara

Astara

Rasht

Hashtpar

Astaneh-ye-Ashrafiyeh

Bandar Anzali Rezvanshahr

Golestan

Rudsar

Gomishan

Chalus

Bandar Tokman

Babolsar

Nur

Gilan

Gorgan

Ramsar

Tonekabon

Kordkuy

Urban population, thousand inhabitants

Mazandaran

Abbasabad

Bandar Gaz

Behshahr

Nowshahr

Babol

IRAN

2 246

Mahmoudabad

Sari

Border

100 800

Basin Country Administrative units

500

0

100 km

50

10

Map by Manana Kurtubadze, GRID-Arendal, April 2018. Sources: National statistical offices; Iran Data Portal; Wikipedia. Figures for 2016-2017, estimated data for Turkmenistan for 2005.

Figure 3.1: Population by number in the Caspian Sea region per cities and administrative units

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