Neftchala District

Neftchala District (Azerbaijani: Neftçala rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the southeast of the country and belongs to the Shirvan-Salyan Economic Region. The district borders Jalilabad and Bilasuvar Districts to the west, Salyan District to the north, Lankaran and Masally Districts to the south, and Caspian Sea to the east. Its capital and the largest city is Neftchala. As of 2020, the district had a population of 88,900.

History

The Neftchala District was formed as a district in the composition of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic on February 11, 1940. Until this time, it was located in the area of modern Salyan District, and during that year it became part of the Khilly region, organized on January 24, 1939. As Neftchala was an exceptionally industrial region, it was liquidated in December 1959 and unified with the Salyan region. However, after 4 years it was split off from the Salyan District again and became a separate industrial zone. But it was felt that this mixed system for control did not justify itself, and once again Neftchala region was liquidated in 1965 and became part of the Salyan. The region was finally made separate again after 7 years on April 27, 1973.

Territory

There is one city (Neftchala), 48 villages, and 3 settlements (Banke, Khylly, and Hasanabad) in the district. Neftchala district is bordered by Masally, Salyan, Jelilabad, Bilesuvar, and Lankaran.

The total area of the district is 1,451 km 2, of which 825 km 2 is productive lands. Agricultural lands cover 390 km 2 of the territory. Cattle-breeding pastures occupy 355 km 2, while the total area of planted lands is 470 km 2. Fruit gardens and saline lands cover 5 km 2 and 13 km 2, respectively.

Population

Population by sex, towns and regions, urban settlements of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the beginning of 2018
Towns and regions	Total	including:	Urban places	including:	Rural places	including:
men	women	men	women	men	women
Neftchala region	87.3	43.3	44.0	40.8	20.2	20.6	46.5	23.1	23.4
Neftchala town	21.8	10.9	10.9	21.8	10.9	10.9	-	-	-
Banka settlement	7.8	3.9	3.9	7.8	3.9	3.9	-	-	-
Hasanabad settlement	6.9	3.3	3.6	6.9	3.3	3.6	-	-	-
Khilli settlement	4.3	2.1	2.2	4.3	2.1	2.2	-	-	-

Geography and climate

The territory of the district is mainly lowland. The entire district is situated below sea level. Shirvan and Mughan Lowlands covers the southeast of the district. The river Kura flows into the Caspian Sea in Neftchala district. There are mud volcanos that occupy the area from Baligchi to Gizilagaj bay. There are several underwater plains in the coastal area of the Neftchala district. They are Karagedov, Kalmichkov, Kur, Borisov, Kornilov-Pavlov, Plita, Pogorelaya, and Golovachev. There is a lake named Duzdag, which is situated between Babazanan and Durovdag peaks, on the border of the Salyan district.

The district has a semi-desert and warm climate. The average temperature is 3C in January and 25-36 C in July.

Flora and fauna

Lands of the district are divided as grey-meadow, alluvial meadow, and swampy meadow. There are saline soils as well. Vegetation in the district is semidesert and desert type. There can be found Tugay forests.

The district's fauna is diverse. The dominant fauna of the Neftchala district includes gazelle, pelican, boar, wolf, wild cat, rabbit and such.

Economy

Khazar is an automobile factory belonging to Azermash Company located in Neftchala, Azerbaijan.

Agriculture, fishing, oil, and gas are the cores of the district economy.

Statistics of agriculture in Neftchala district
	2010	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total area of agricultural crops (ha)
Cereal crops	39,666	39,820	42,944	45,208	43,778	46,583
of which wheat	9,903	8,556	3,879	5,212	4,620	5,814
Cotton	1,822	1,260	713	557	221	1,541
Potato	90	111	112	113	114	114
Vegetable	121	140	137	134	122	119
Garden plants	38	138	104	126	140	146
Fruits and berries	581	583	584	586	588	589
Grape	8	7	7	7	7	57
Production of main agricultural products (ton)
Cereal crops	100,483	102,261	110,933	86,078	136,588	105,384
of which wheat	25,171	22,138	10,738	11,988	15,246	16,408
Cotton	1,360	1,259	753	768	255	1,978
Potato	1,119	1,333	1,370	1,368	1,402	1,398
Vegetable	1,350	1,705	1,715	1,674	1,527	1,488
Garden plants	340	1,637	1,319	1,610	2,158	2,250
Fruits and berries	2,407	2,463	2,476	2,486	2,374	2,288
Grape	235	247	254	258	302	177
Productivity of agricultural products (centner/ha)
Cereal corps	25.3	25.7	25.8	19.0	31.2	22.6
of which wheat	25.4	25.9	27.7	23.0	33.0	28.2
Cotton	7.5	10.0	10.6	13.8	11.5	12.8
Potato	125	120	122	121	122	123
Vegetable	112	122	125	125	125	125
Garden plants	90	119	127	128	154	154
Fruits and berries	52.7	53.1	53.8	53.9	51.5	49.7
Grape	61.5	44.9	45.1	45.9	85.7	171.4
Number of livestock
Large livestock	40,604	41,512	41,868	42,159	42,428	42,849
of which cow and buffalo	19,495	20,236	20,677	20,869	21,062	21,173
Sheep and goats	116,026	125,096	128,940	130,385	132,983	139,323
Birds	325,103	445,262	675,743	613,856	910,620	1,006,422
Production of livestock products (ton)
Meat	3,158	7,330	7,304	8,590	8,850	8,945
Milk	20,167	22,869	23,734	23,865	24,325	24,415
Eggs (in thousand)	3,730	4,016	4,205	4,267	6,100	7,385
Wool (in physical weight)	190	236	253	254	262	268

Municipalities

There are 17 municipalities in the district which consist of 163 members. Neftchala municipality has 15 members, Khylly municipality has 9, Hasanabad municipality has 11, and other village municipalities have 128 members. The municipalities of Neftchala district are situated in the city, with two settlements, and 14 villages.

Court

The court was established on 20 April 1974. The initial name of the court was Neftchala District People's Court. Its name was changed to Neftchala District Court in 2000.

Notable natives

Khalil Rza Uluturk, writer

39°21′N 49°15′E/39.350°N 49.250°E/ 39.350; 49.250