On December 11, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) noted that Azerbaijan's net financial assets rose by nearly $1.391 billion in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, driven by growth in foreign direct investment, portfolio investments, and other investments.

The CBA reported that the increase in net financial assets was supported by a $584 million rise in net foreign direct investment, a $724.5 million surge in portfolio investments (9.6 times higher than the previous year), and an $82.4 million growth in other investments, reversing a decline recorded in 2023. By comparison, the first nine months of 2023 saw a $345.1 million decrease in net financial assets.

From January to November 2024, Azerbaijan's state budget received 14.993 billion manats ($8.819 billion) in tax revenue via the State Tax Service under the Economy Ministry, reflecting a 2.5% year-on-year decline. Of this total, 10.286 billion manats ($6.05 billion) came from the non-oil and gas sector, marking a 14.1% increase compared to the previous year.

Azerbaijan attracted $4.5 billion in foreign direct investments during the first nine months of 2024, representing a 2.3% year-on-year increase, according to the CBA. Of these investments, 79.3% went to the oil and gas sector, up 0.1 percentage points from the prior year.

The State Statistics Committee reported that Azerbaijan's inflation rate for the first 11 months of 2024 was 2%, with food, beverages, and tobacco prices rising by 1%, non-food items by 1.5%, and paid services to the population by 3.8%. In November 2024, the annual inflation rate reached 4.4%, with food items increasing by 4.4%, non-food items by 2.2%, and paid services by 6%. Compared to October 2024, November saw a 0.7% rise in overall inflation, with food prices increasing by 1.4%.

Notable price increases were observed in rice, oatmeal, beef, canned fish, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs (up 11.7%), margarine, butter, sunflower and corn oils, bananas, grapes, walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, white cabbage, greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, eggplants, garlic, onions, potatoes, and black and green tea. Conversely, price decreases were recorded for fresh fish, lemons, oranges, tangerines, apples, quinces, pomegranates, dates, kiwis, beets, and carrots, while other food item prices remained stable.

The CBA also reported that Azerbaijan's tourism services turnover reached $2.8 billion in January-September 2024, reflecting a 42.7% year-on-year increase. This period saw a $400 million surplus in tourism services, as export revenues of $1.6 billion outpaced import expenditures of $1.2 billion. The number of Azerbaijani citizens traveling abroad increased by 18.9%, while foreign visitors to Azerbaijan rose by 29.1%.

Regarding construction services, the value of services provided to non-residents in the non-oil sector fell by 11.4% to $25 million. Conversely, the value of other business services provided to non-residents surged by 57.3% to $1.4 billion.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) highlighted Azerbaijan's economic performance, noting that the country's GDP grew by 4.7% in the first nine months of 2024, surpassing the ADB’s previous projections. The December 2024 edition of the ADB's Asian Development Outlook revised its growth forecast for the Caucasus and Central Asia to 4.9% for 2024, up from 4.7% in September, with an estimated 5.3% growth in 2025.

The ADB's review attributed the region’s improved forecast to the "robust GDP growth in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan." Despite the upward revision in GDP growth, the ADB left its inflation forecast for Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan unchanged. In September, the ADB projected Azerbaijan’s GDP growth at 2.7% for 2024 and 2.6% for 2025.