Social protection has been one of the leading priorities of the Azerbaijan Republic for the past years. The pension system is representative of the country’s ability to develop and implement universal coverage taking into account a large number of selfemployed worker (almost 1 million), and an important informal economy. Historically, Azerbaijan has inherited a universal soviet pension system which was underfinanced during first years of independence. The situation was characterised by political and economic turmoil of the early 1990s, as well as and large number of Internally Displaced Persons as a consequence of armed conflicts.