View source for Place:Azerbaijan

{{short description|Country straddling West Asia and Eastern Europe in the Caucusus}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Azerbaijan
| common_name            = Azerbaijan
| native_name            = {{native name|az|Azərbaycan Respublikası}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Azerbaijan.svg
| alt_flag               = Three equally sized horizontal bands of blue, red, and green, with a white crescent and an eight-pointed star centered in the red band
| image_coat             = Emblem of Azerbaijan.svg
| symbol_type            = Emblem
| national_anthem        = {{lang|az|Azərbaycan marşı}}<br />"March of Azerbaijan"{{parabr}}{{center|[[File:Azərbaycan marşı instrumental.ogg]]}}
| image_map              = File:Azerbaijan orthographic projection.svg
| map_caption            = 
| capital                = [[Place:Baku|Baku]]
| largest_city           = capital
| coordinates            = {{coord|40|23|43|N|49|52|56|E|type:city}}
| official_languages     = [[Social:Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan |url=http://ask.org.az/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Konstitusiya_ENG.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://ask.org.az/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Konstitusiya_ENG.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |website=President of the Republic of Azerbaijan |publisher=The Official Website of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan |access-date=31 August 2020|quote=I. The official language of the Republic of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani Language. The Republic of Azerbaijan guarantees the development of Azerbaijani Language.}}</ref>
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2019<ref name="2019ethnic">{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=National (ethnic) composition of population |url=https://www.stat.gov.az/source/demoqraphy/en/001_11-12en.xls |access-date=16 September 2023 |website=State Statistics Committee}}</ref>
| ethnic_groups          = {{Unbulleted list |94.8% Azerbaijani|1.7% Lezgin|0.9% Talysh|0.7% Russian|item3_style=padding-top:0.2em;line-height:1.2em|1.9% others}}
| languages_type         = Minority languages
| languages              = See full list
| religion               = See religion in Azerbaijan
| demonym                = {{hlist |Azerbaijani|Azeri}}
| leader_title1          = President
| leader_name1           = [[Biography:Ilham Aliyev|Ilham Aliyev]]
| leader_title2          = Vice President
| leader_name2           = Mehriban Aliyeva
| leader_title3          = Prime Minister
| leader_name3           = Ali Asadov
| legislature            = National Assembly
| sovereignty_type       = Formation
| established_event1     = [[Place:Azerbaijan Democratic Republic|People's Republic]]
| established_date1      = 28 May 1918
| established_event2     = Soviet Socialist Republic
| established_date2      = 28 April 1920
| established_event3     = Independence from [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]]
| established_date3      = {{plainlist|
* 18 October 1991 (declared)
* 26 December 1991 (recognized)}}
| established_event4     = {{nowrap|Constitution adopted}}
| established_date4      = 12 November 1995
| area_km2               = 86600
| area_rank              = 112th
| area_sq_mi             = 33436 <!-- Do not remove WP:MOSNUM -->
| percent_water          = 1.6
| population_estimate    = 10,353,296<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Azerbaijan|access-date=24 September 2022|year=2022}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2022
| population_estimate_rank = 90th
| population_density_km2 = 117
| population_density_sq_mi = 293 <!-- Do not remove WP:MOSNUM -->
| population_density_rank = 99th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $192.146 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.AZ">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=912,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Azerbaijan) |publisher=[[Organization:International Monetary Fund|International Monetary Fund]] |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=13 October 2023}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2023
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 79th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $18,694<ref name="IMFWEO.AZ" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 87th
| GDP_nominal            = {{decrease}} $77.392 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.AZ" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2023
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 82nd
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{decrease}} $7,529<ref name="IMFWEO.AZ" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 88th
| Gini                   = 33.7 <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 2008
| Gini_change            = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref name="wb-gini">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/gini-index-coefficient-distribution-of-family-income/country-comparison/ |title=Gini Index coefficient |publisher=CIA World Factbook |access-date=16 July 2021}}</ref>
| HDI                    = 0.745 <!-- number only -->
| HDI_year               = 2021<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year -->
| HDI_change             = decrease<!-- increase/decrease/steady -->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2021/2022|language=en|publisher=[[Organization:United Nations Development Programme|United Nations Development Programme]]|date=September 8, 2022|access-date=September 8, 2022}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 91st
| currency               = Manat (₼)
| currency_code          = AZN
| time_zone              = AZT
| utc_offset             = +4
| date_format            = dd.mm.yyyy ([[Common Era|CE]])
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = +994
| cctld                  = .az
| today                  = 
| leader_title4          = National Assembly Speaker
| leader_name4           = Sahiba Gafarova
}}

'''Azerbaijan''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|audio=En-Azerbaijan-pronunciation.ogg|ˌ|æ|z|ər|b|aɪ|ˈ|dʒ|ɑː|n|,_|-|ˈ|dʒ|æ|n}} {{respell|AZ|ər|by|JAHN|,_|-|JAN}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ˌ|ɑː|z|ər|b|aɪ|ˈ|dʒ|ɑː|n|,_|ˌ|æ|z|-|}} {{respell|AH|zər|by|JAHN|,_|AZ|-}};<ref>
{{cite book|last=Wells|first=John C.|year=2008|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|edition=3rd|publisher=Longman|isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}}; {{cite book|last=Roach|first=Peter|year=2011|title=Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary|edition=18th|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-15253-2}}</ref> {{lang-az|Azərbaycan}}, {{IPA-az|ɑːzæɾbɑjˈdʒɑn|}}), officially the '''Republic of Azerbaijan''',{{efn|{{lang-az|Azərbaycan Respublikası}}, {{IPA-az|ɑːzæɾbɑjˈdʒɑn ɾespublikɑˈsɯ|}}; '''Azerbaijan Republic''' is sometimes used in an official capacity.}} is a [[Earth:Boundaries between the continents|transcontinental country]] located at the boundary of [[Place:Eastern Europe|Eastern Europe]] and [[Place:West Asia|West Asia]].<ref>While often politically aligned with Europe, Azerbaijan is generally considered to be at least mostly in Southwest Asia geographically with its northern part bisected by the [[Earth:Boundaries between the continents of Earth|standard Asia–Europe divide]], the Greater Caucasus. The United Nations [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm classification of world regions] places Azerbaijan in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook places it mostly in Southwest Asia [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/azerbaijan/] and [http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Azerbaijan ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary''] places it in both; [https://www.nationalgeographic.org/society/education-resources/?xpop=1 NationalGeographic.com], and [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/46781/Azerbaijan ''Encyclopædia Britannica''] also place Georgia in Asia. Conversely, some sources place Azerbaijan in Europe such as [http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/eu.htm Worldatlas.com].</ref> It is a part of the [[Place:South Caucasus|South Caucasus]] region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, {{wipe|Russia}} (Republic of Dagestan) to the north, [[Place:Georgia (country)|Georgia]] to the northwest, [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]] and [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]] to the west, and [[Religion:Iran|Iran]] to the south. [[Place:Baku|Baku]] is the capital and largest city.

The territory of what is now Azerbaijan was first ruled by [[Place:Caucasian Albania|Caucasian Albania]] and later various Persian empires. Until the 19th century, it remained part of Qajar Iran, but the Russo-Persian wars of 1804–1813 and 1826–1828 forced the Qajar empire to cede its Caucasian territories to the [[Place:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]]; the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 defined the border between Russia and Qajar Iran.<ref>{{cite book|author=Harcave, Sidney|year=1968|title=Russia: A History: Sixth Edition|publisher=Lippincott|page=267}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Mojtahed-Zadeh, Pirouz|year=2007|title=Boundary Politics and International Boundaries of Iran: A Study of the Origin, Evolution, and Implications of the Boundaries of Modern Iran with Its 15 Neighbors in the Middle East by a Number of Renowned Experts in the Field|publisher=Universal|isbn=978-1-58112-933-5|page=372}}</ref> The region north of the Aras was Iranian until it was occupied by Russia during the 19th century.<ref name="Swietochowski Borderland">{{cite book |last=Swietochowski|first=Tadeusz |year=1995|title=Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition|pages= 69, 133 |publisher=Columbia University Press |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FfRYRwAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-231-07068-3}}</ref><ref name="L. Batalden 1997 98">{{cite book |last=L. Batalden|first=Sandra |year=1997|title=The newly independent states of Eurasia: handbook of former Soviet republics|page= 98|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WFjPAxhBEaEC|isbn=978-0-89774-940-4}}</ref><ref name="E. Ebel, Robert 2000 181">{{cite book |last=E. Ebel, Robert|first=Menon, Rajan |year=2000|title=Energy and conflict in Central Asia and the Caucasus|page= 181 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-sCpf26vBZ0C|isbn=978-0-7425-0063-1}}</ref><ref name="Andreeva 2010 6">{{cite book |last=Andreeva|first=Elena |year=2010|title=Russia and Iran in the great game: travelogues and orientalism|page= 6 |edition= reprint |publisher=Taylor & Francis | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FfRYRwAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-415-78153-4}}</ref><ref name="Çiçek, Kemal 2000">{{cite book |last=Çiçek, Kemal|first=Kuran, Ercüment |year=2000|title=The Great Ottoman-Turkish Civilisation|publisher=University of Michigan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5VpAAAAMAAJ|isbn=978-975-6782-18-7}}</ref><ref name="Ernest Meyer, Karl 2006 66">{{cite book|last=Ernest Meyer, Karl|first=Blair Brysac, Shareen|year=2006|title=Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia|page=66|publisher=Basic Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ssv-GONnxTsC|isbn=978-0-465-04576-1}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> According to the Treaty of Turkmenchay, Qajar Iran recognized Russian sovereignty over the Erivan, Nakhchivan and Talysh Khanates (the last parts of Azerbaijan still in Iranian hands).<ref>Timothy C. Dowling [https://books.google.com/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA728 ''Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215144350/https://books.google.nl/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA728 |date=2022-12-15 }} pp 728–729 ABC-CLIO, 2 dec. 2014 {{ISBN|1-59884-948-4}}</ref> The area was part of the Caucasus Viceroyalty.

By the late 19th century, an Azerbaijani national identity emerged with the [[Place:Azerbaijan Democratic Republic|Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] proclaimed its independence from the [[Place:Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic|Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic]] in 1918, a year after the Russian Empire collapsed, and became the first [[Philosophy:Secularity|secular]] democratic [[Religion:Muslim world|Muslim-majority]] state. In 1920, the country was incorporated into the [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] as the Azerbaijan SSR.<ref name="Swietochowski Borderland" /><ref>
{{cite book|last=Pipes|first=Richard|year=1997|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|title=The Formation of the Soviet Union: Communism and Nationalism 1917–1923|pages= 218–220, 229|edition=2nd|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-30951-7}}</ref> The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Азербайджан. Восстановлена государственная независимость|url=https://yeltsin.ru/day-by-day/1991/08/31/40769/|access-date=2021-09-24|website=Ельцин Центр|language=ru|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924142728/https://yeltsin.ru/day-by-day/1991/08/31/40769/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book|last=King|first=David C.|title=Azerbaijan|date=2006|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|page=[https://archive.org/details/azerbaijan00king/page/27 27]|isbn=978-0-7614-2011-8|url=https://archive.org/details/azerbaijan00king/page/27}}</ref> shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the same year. In September 1991, the ethnic Armenian majority of the Nagorno-Karabakh region formed the self-proclaimed [[Place:Republic of Artsakh|Republic of Artsakh]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Zürcher|first=Christoph|year=2007|title=The Post-Soviet Wars: Rebellion, Ethnic Conflict, and Nationhood in the Caucasus ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.)|url=https://archive.org/details/postsovietwarsre00zurc|url-access=limited|location=New York|publisher=New York University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/postsovietwarsre00zurc/page/n180 168]|isbn=978-0-8147-9709-9}}</ref> which became ''de facto'' independent with the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994, although the region and seven surrounding districts remained internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/russian/documen/scresol/res1993/res822.htm|script-title=ru:Резолюция СБ ООН № 822 от 30 April 1993 года|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 January 2011|language=ru|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503185041/http://www.un.org/russian/documen/scresol/res1993/res822.htm|archive-date=3 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/russian/documen/scresol/res1993/res853.htm|script-title=ru:Резолюция СБ ООН № 853 от 29 июля 1993 года|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 January 2011|language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/russian/documen/scresol/res1993/res874.htm|script-title=ru:Резолюция СБ ООН № 874 14 октября 1993 года|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 January 2011|language=ru|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503185045/http://www.un.org/russian/documen/scresol/res1993/res874.htm|archive-date=3 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/russian/documen/scresol/res1993/res884.htm|script-title=ru:Резолюция СБ ООН № 884 от 12 ноября 1993 года|publisher=United Nations|access-date=4 January 2011|language=ru|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503185053/http://www.un.org/russian/documen/scresol/res1993/res884.htm|archive-date=3 May 2011}}</ref> Following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, the seven districts and parts of [[Place:Nagorno-Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh]] were returned to Azerbaijani control.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/world/middleeast/armenia-settlement-nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110010658/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/world/middleeast/armenia-settlement-nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan.html |archive-date=2020-11-10 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Facing Military Debacle, Armenia Accepts a Deal in Nagorno-Karabakh War|first=Andrew E.|last=Kramer|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 November 2020}}</ref> An Azerbaijani offensive in 2023 resulted in the Republic of Artsakh agreeing to dissolve itself and the flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ebel|first1=Francesca|title=Defeated by force, Nagorno-Karabakh government declares it will dissolve|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/28/nagorno-karabakh-dissolved-azerbaijan-armenia/|access-date=28 September 2023|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=28 September 2023}}</ref>

Azerbaijan is a [[Earth:Unitary state|unitary]] [[Social:Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[Social:Republic|republic]].<ref name="LaPorte2016"/> It is one of six independent Turkic states and an active member of the [[Organization:Organization of Turkic States|Organization of Turkic States]] and the TÜRKSOY community. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 182 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations,<ref name="FCO">{{cite web|title=Azerbaijan: Membership of international groupings/organisations|publisher=British Foreign & Commonwealth Office|url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394365&a=KCountryProfile&aid=1019233781986|access-date=26 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609103711/http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket%2FXcelerate%2FShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394365&a=KCountryProfile&aid=1019233781986|archive-date=9 June 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> including the {{wipe|United Nations}}, the Council of Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement, the [[Organization:Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|OSCE]], and the NATO PfP program. It is one of the founding members of GUAM, the CIS,<ref>{{cite book|author=Europa Publications Limited|year=1998|title=Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States|page= 154|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-85743-058-5}}</ref> and the OPCW. Azerbaijan is also an observer state of the [[Organization:World Trade Organization|WTO]].

The vast majority of the country's population (97%) is nominally<ref name="cia" /> Muslim,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Azerbaijan Since Independence|first=Svante E.|last=Cornell|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|year=2010|pages=165, 284|quote=Indicative of general regional trends and a natural reemergence of previously oppressed religious identity, an increasingly popular ideological basis for the pursuit of political objectives has been Islam.... The government, for its part, has shown an official commitment to Islam by building mosques and respecting Islamic values... Unofficial Islamic groups sought to use aspects of Islam to mobilize the population and establish the foundations for a future political struggle.... Unlike Turkey, Azerbaijan does not have the powerful ideological legacy of secularism... the conflict with Armenia has bred frustration that is increasingly being answered by a combined Islamic and nationalist sentiment, especially among younger people... All major political forces are committed to secularism and are based, if anything, on a nationalist agenda.}}</ref> but the constitution does not declare an official religion and all major political forces in the country are [[Philosophy:Secularism|secular]]. Azerbaijan is a [[Finance:Developing country|developing country]] and ranks 91st on the [[Engineering:Human Development Index|Human Development Index]]. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party, in power since 1993, has been accused of [[Social:Authoritarianism|authoritarianism]] under president Heydar Aliyev and his son [[Biography:Ilham Aliyev|Ilham Aliyev]], and deteriorating the country's human rights record, including increasing restrictions on civil liberties, particularly on press freedom and political repression.<ref>{{cite web|title=Human Rights Watch: Azerbaijan|publisher=Human Rights Watch|url=https://www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/azerbaijan|access-date=6 March 2014}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
According to a modern etymology, the term ''Azerbaijan'' derives from that of ''Atropates'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Houtsma |first=M. Th. |year= 1993 |title= First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936 |edition= reprint|publisher= Brill |isbn=978-90-04-09796-4}}</ref><ref name="Schippmann">{{cite book |last=Schippmann |first=Klaus |year=1989 |title=Azerbaijan: Pre-Islamic History |pages= 221–224 |publisher=Encyclopædia Iranica |isbn=978-0-933273-95-5}}</ref> a Persian<ref>{{cite book |last=Chamoux |first=François |year=2003 |title=Hellenistic Civilization |url=https://archive.org/details/hellenisticcivil00cham |url-access=limited |page= [https://archive.org/details/hellenisticcivil00cham/page/n37 26] |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-631-22241-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Bosworth A.B. |first=Baynham E.J. |year=2002 |title=Alexander the Great in Fact and fiction |page= 92 |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-925275-6}}</ref> satrap under the [[Place:Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Empire]], who was later reinstated as the satrap of Media under Alexander the Great.<ref name="Chaumont">Nevertheless, "despite being one of the chief vassals of Sasanian ''Shahanshah'', the Albanian king had only a semblance of authority, and the Sassanid ''marzban'' (military governor) held most civil, religious, and military authority.</ref><ref name="dictionary">{{cite book |last=Swietochowski |first=Tadeusz |author-link=Tadeusz Swietochowski |year=1999 |location= Lanham, Maryland |title=Historical Dictionary of Azerbaijan |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-3550-4}}</ref> The original etymology of this name is thought to have its roots in the once-dominant [[Religion:Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrianism]]. In the [[Social:Avesta|Avesta]]'s ''Frawardin [[Religion:Yasht|Yasht]]'' ("Hymn to the Guardian Angels"), there is a mention of {{lang|ae|âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide}}, which literally translates from [[Social:Avestan|Avestan]] as "we worship the ''fravashi'' of the holy [[Place:Atropatene|Atropatene]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Darmesteter |first=James |author-link=James Darmesteter |year=2004 |title=Avesta Khorda Avesta: Book of Common Prayer |page= 93 |edition= reprint|chapter=Frawardin Yasht |chapter-url=http://www.avesta.org/ka/yt13sbe.htm |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |isbn=978-1-4191-0852-5}}</ref> The name "Atropates" itself is the Greek transliteration of an Old Iranian, probably [[Social:Median language|Median]], compounded name with the meaning "Protected by the (Holy) Fire" or "The Land of the (Holy) Fire".<ref name="Library of Congress">{{cite web |title=Azerbaijan: Early History: Iranian and Greek Influences |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+az0014) |access-date=7 June 2006}}</ref> The Greek name was mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo. Over the span of millennia, the name evolved to {{transliteration|pal|Āturpātākān}} ([[Social:Middle Persian|Middle Persian]]), then to {{transliteration|fa|Ādharbādhagān}}, {{transliteration|fa|Ādhorbāygān}}, {{transliteration|fa|Āzarbāydjān}} (New Persian) and present-day ''Azerbaijan''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sabahi |first1=Farian |title=La pecora e il tappeto: i nomadi Shahsevan dell'Azerbaigian iraniano |date=2000 |publisher=Ariele |isbn=978-88-86480-74-1 |page=23 |language=it}}</ref>

The name ''Azerbaijan'' was first adopted for the area of the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan by the government of Musavat in 1918,<ref name="Atabaki2006">{{cite book |last=Atabaki |first=Touraj |title=Iran and the First World War: Battleground of the Great Powers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3adD9kNH1gC&pg=PA132 |date=4 September 2006 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=978-1-86064-964-6 |page=132}}</ref> after the collapse of the Russian Empire, when the independent [[Place:Azerbaijan Democratic Republic|Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] was established. Until then, the designation had been used exclusively to identify the [[Place:Azerbaijan (Iran)|adjacent region of contemporary northwestern Iran]],<ref name="I.B.Tauris">{{cite book |last1=Atabaki |first1=Touraj |title=Azerbaijan: Ethnicity and the Struggle for Power in Iran |date=2000 |publisher=I.B.Tauris |isbn=978-1-86064-554-9 |page=25}}</ref><ref name="I.B. Tauris">{{cite book |last1=Dekmejian |first1=R. Hrair |last2=Simonian |first2=Hovann H. |title=Troubled Waters: The Geopolitics of the Caspian Region |date=2003 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-86064-922-6 |page=60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4_jdnke35AgC|quote=Until 1918, when the Musavat regime decided to name the newly independent state Azerbaijan, this designation had been used exclusively to identify the [[Place:Azerbaijan (Iran)|Iranian province of Azerbaijan]].}}</ref><ref name="Amsterdam University Press">{{cite book |last1=Rezvani |first1=Babak |title=Ethno-territorial conflict and coexistence in the caucasus, Central Asia and Fereydan: academisch proefschrift |date=2014 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |location=Amsterdam |isbn=978-90-485-1928-6 |page=356 |quote="The region to the north of the river Araxes was not called Azerbaijan prior to 1918, unlike the region in northwestern Iran that has been called since so long ago."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fragner |first1=B.G. |title=Soviet Nationalism: An Ideological Legacy to the Independent Republics of Central Asia |date=2001 |publisher=I.B. Tauris and Company |pages=13–32 |quote=In the post Islamic sense, Arran and [[Place:Shirvan|Shirvan]] are often distinguished, while in the pre-Islamic era, Arran or the western [[Place:Caucasian Albania|Caucasian Albania]] roughly corresponds to the modern territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In the [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet]] era, in a breathtaking manipulation, [[Place:Azerbaijan (Iran)|historical Azerbaijan]] (northwestern [[Religion:Iran|Iran]]) was reinterpreted as "South Azerbaijan" in order for the Soviets to lay territorial claim on historical Azerbaijan proper which is located in modern-day northwestern Iran.}}</ref> while the area of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was formerly referred to as ''Arran'' and ''[[Place:Shirvan|Shirvan]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MybbePBf9YcC |first=Touraj |last=Atabaki |title=Azerbaijan: Ethnicity and the Struggle for Power in Iran |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2000 |page=8|isbn=978-1-86064-554-9 }}</ref> On that basis Iran protested the newly adopted country name.<ref>{{cite book |quote=(...) the Baku and Elisavetpol guberniias, declared their independence (to 1920), and, despite Iranian protests, took the name of Azerbaijan (as noted, the same designation as the historical region in northwestern Iran) (...) |last=Bournoutian |first=George A. |year=2016 |title=The 1820 Russian Survey of the Khanate of Shirvan: A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of an Iranian Province prior to its Annexation by Russia |publisher=Gibb Memorial Trust |page=18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5u4mDwAAQBAJ|isbn=978-1-909724-83-9 }}</ref><!-- BEFORE MODIFYING THIS SENTENCE, PLEASE DISCUSS AT TALK -->

During Soviet rule, the country was also spelled in Latin from the Russian transliteration as ''{{transliteration|ru|Azerbaydzhan}}'' ({{lang-rus|Азербайджа́н}}).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTU7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA162|title=The languages of the Soviet Union|last=Comrie |first= Bernard|date=1981|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-29877-3|location=Cambridge [England]|page=162|oclc=6627395}}</ref> The country's name was also spelled in Cyrillic script from 1940 to 1991 as ''{{lang|ru|Азәрбајҹан}}''.

== History ==

===Antiquity===
{{further|Place:Caucasian Albania}}
[[File:Ancient Azerbaijan 4.jpg|thumb|left|Petroglyphs in Gobustan National Park dating back to the 10th millennium BC indicating a thriving culture]]
The earliest evidence of human settlement in the territory of Azerbaijan dates back to the late Stone Age and is related to the Guruchay culture of Azykh Cave.<ref>{{cite web| last = Azakov| first = Siyavush| title = National report on institutional landscape and research policy Social Sciences and Humanities in Azerbaijan<!--| agency = Institute of Physics-->| publisher = Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences| url = http://www.globalsocialscience.org/uploads/c_GlobalSSH%20-%20Azerbaijan%20institutional%20report%20FINAL.pdf| access-date = 27 May 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111116061819/http://www.globalsocialscience.org/uploads/c_GlobalSSH%20-%20Azerbaijan%20institutional%20report%20FINAL.pdf| archive-date = 16 November 2011}}</ref>

Early settlements included the [[Place:Scythia|Scythia]]ns during the 9th century BC.<ref name="Library of Congress" /> Following the Scythians, Iranian Medes came to dominate the area to the south of the Aras river.<ref name="dictionary" /> The Medes forged a vast empire between 900 and 700&nbsp;BC, which was integrated into the [[Place:Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid Empire]] around 550&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Journey from Tehran to Chicago: My Life in Iran and the United States, and a Brief History of Iran|author=H. Dizadji |publisher=Trafford Publishing|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4269-2918-2|location=US|pages=105}}</ref> The area was conquered by the Achaemenids leading to the spread of [[Religion:Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrianism]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chaumont|first=M. L.|chapter=Albania|title=Encyclopædia Iranica|year=1984|chapter-url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/albania-iranian-aran-arm}}</ref>

===From the Sasanid period to the Safavid period===
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = horizontal
| header            = The Maiden Tower and the Palace of the Shirvanshahs in the Old City of Baku are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built in the 11th–12th centuries.
| image1            = Qız qalası ümumi 2016.jpg
| alt1              = Maiden Tower
| caption1          = 
| width1            = 160
| image2            = Şirvanşahlar saray kompleksi.jpg
| alt2              = Palace of the Shirvanshahs
| caption2          = 
| width2            = 185
}}
The Sasanian Empire turned [[Place:Caucasian Albania|Caucasian Albania]] into a vassal state in 252, while King Urnayr officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Christianity: The Biography: 2000 Years of Global History|last=Shaw|first=Ian|publisher=Zondervan Academic|year=2017|isbn=978-0-310-53628-4}}</ref> Despite Sassanid rule, [[Place:Caucasian Albania|Albania]] remained an entity in the region until the 9th century, while fully subordinate to Sassanid Iran, and retained its monarchy. Despite being one of the chief vassals of the Sasanian emperor, the Albanian king had only a semblance of authority, and the Sasanian marzban (military governor) held most civil, religious, and military authority.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ehsan Yarshater |date=1983 |title=The Cambridge history of Iran, Volume 1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=141 |isbn=978-0-521-20092-9}}</ref>

In the first half of the 7th century, [[Place:Caucasian Albania|Caucasian Albania]], as a vassal of the Sasanians, came under nominal Muslim rule due to the [[History:Muslim conquest of Persia|Muslim conquest of Persia]]. The [[Place:Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad Caliphate]] repulsed both the Sasanians and [[Place:Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] from the [[Place:South Caucasus|South Caucasus]] and turned [[Place:Caucasian Albania|Caucasian Albania]] into a vassal state after Christian resistance led by King Javanshir was suppressed in 667. The power vacuum left by the decline of the [[Place:Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid Caliphate]] was filled by numerous local dynasties such as the Sallarids, [[Place:Sajid dynasty|Sajids]], and Shaddadids. At the beginning of the 11th century, the territory was gradually seized by the waves of Oghuz Turks from Central Asia, who adopted a Turkoman ethnonym at the time.<ref>Barthold, V.V. ''Sochineniya''; p. 558: "Whatever the former significance of the Oghuz people in Eastern Asia, after the events of the 8th and 9th centuries, it focuses more and more on the West, on the border of the Pre-Asian cultural world, which was destined to be invaded by the Oghuz people in the 11th century, or, as they were called only in the west, by the Turkmen."</ref> The first of these Turkic dynasties established was the Seljuk Empire, which entered the area now known as Azerbaijan by 1067.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPrjCwAAQBAJ&q=Tughril+and+Chaghri+Seljuk+Empire&pg=PA6|title=Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs|last1=Canby|first1=Sheila R.|last2=Beyazit|first2=Deniz|last3=Rugiadi|first3=Martina|last4=Peacock|first4=A. C. S.|date=2016-04-27|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-1-58839-589-4|language=en}}</ref>

The pre-Turkic population that lived on the territory of modern Azerbaijan spoke several [[Social:Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] and Caucasian languages, among them [[Social:Armenian language|Armenian]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hewsen |first1=Robert H. |last2=Salvatico |first2=Christoper C. |title=Armenia: A Historical Atlas |date=2001 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-33228-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfZBrFza_IYC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Samuelian |first1=Thomas J. |title=Hewsen, Robert H. (1982). Thomas J. Samuelian, ed. "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians". Classical Armenian Culture: Influences and Creativity. (Philadelphia: Scholars Press. p. 45.) |date=1982 |publisher=Scholars Press |isbn=978-0-89130-565-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiduAAAAMAAJ&pg=45}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last=Hewsen |first= Robert H.
|title=Armenia: a Historical Atlas
|location=Chicago
|publisher=University of Chicago Press
|year=2001
|pages=32–33, map 19 (shows the territory of modern Nagorno–Karabakh as part of the Orontids' Kingdom of Armenia)
}}
</ref><ref name="VII в 1877">Моисей Хоренский. Армянская География VII в. Перевод Патканова К.П. СПб., 1877. стр. 40,17</ref><ref>Hewsen, Robert H. "The Kingdom of Artsakh", in T. Samuelian & M. Stone, eds. ''Medieval Armenian Culture''. Chico, CA, 1983</ref> and an Iranian language, [[Social:Old Azeri|Old Azeri]], which was gradually replaced by a [[Social:Turkic languages|Turkic language]], the early precursor of the [[Social:Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani language]] of today.<ref>
{{cite book
|last=Yarshater
|first=E.
|chapter=The Iranian Language of Azerbaijan
|title=Encyclopædia Iranica
|volume=III/2
|year=1987
|chapter-url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azerbaijan-vii
}}</ref> Some linguists have also stated that the [[Social:Tat language (Caucasus)|Tati dialects]] of [[Place:Azerbaijan (Iran)|Iranian Azerbaijan]] and the Republic of Azerbaijan, like those spoken by the Tats, are descended from Old Azeri.<ref>
{{cite book
|last=Ludwig
|first=Paul
|year=1998
|location= Cambridge
|title=Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies
|volume= 1
|edition= Nicholas Sims-Williams (ed.)
|publisher= Wiesbaden: Reichert
|isbn=978-3-89500-070-6
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last=Roy
|first=Olivier
|year=2007
|title=The new Central Asia: geopolitics and the birth of nations
|page= 6
|edition= reprint
|publisher=I.B. Tauris
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-eMcn6Ik1v0C&pg=PA7
|isbn=978-1-84511-552-4
}}
</ref>
Locally, the possessions of the subsequent Seljuk Empire were ruled by Eldiguzids, technically vassals of the Seljuk sultans, but sometimes ''de facto'' rulers themselves. Under the Seljuks, local poets such as Nizami Ganjavi and Khaqani gave rise to a blossoming of Persian literature on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Neẓāmī |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |year=2009 |access-date=February 28, 2009 |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413374/Nezami |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204172005/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413374/Nezami |archive-date=December 4, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Khaqani |title=Khāqānī |author=<!--Not stated--> |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] }}</ref>

The local dynasty of the [[Social:Shirvanshah|Shirvanshah]]s became a vassal state of [[Place:Timurid Empire|Timur's empire]] and assisted him in his war with the ruler of the [[Place:Golden Horde|Golden Horde]] Tokhtamysh. Following Timur's death, two independent and rival states emerged: [[Place:Qara Qoyunlu|Qara Qoyunlu]] and Aq Qoyunlu. The Shirvanshahs returned, maintaining for numerous centuries to come a high degree of autonomy as local rulers and vassals as they had done since 861. In 1501, the Safavid dynasty of Iran subdued the Shirvanshahs and gained its possessions. In the course of the next century, the Safavids converted the formerly Sunni population to Shia Islam,<ref>
{{cite book
|last=R. Ward
|first=Steven
|year=2009
|title=Immortal: a military history of Iran and its armed forces
|url=https://archive.org/details/immortalmilitary00ward
|url-access=limited
|page= [https://archive.org/details/immortalmilitary00ward/page/n57 43]
|publisher=Georgetown University Press
|isbn=978-1-58901-258-5
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite book
|last=Malcolm Wagstaff
|first=John
|year=1985
|title=The evolution of middle eastern landscapes: an outline to A.D. 1840, Part 1840
|page= 205
|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcPWhU10mGMC&pg=PA205
|isbn=978-0-389-20577-7
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last=L. Altstadt
|first=Audrey
|year=1992
|title=The Azerbaijani Turks: power and identity under Russian rule
|page= 5
|publisher=Hoover Press
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sZVN2MwWZVAC
|isbn=978-0-8179-9182-1
}}
</ref> as they did with the population in what is modern-day Iran.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akiner|first=Shirin |year=2004|title=The Caspian: Politics, Energy and Security|page= 158 |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N8IKR0oqdRkC|isbn=978-0-7007-0501-6}}</ref> The Safavids allowed the Shirvanshahs to remain in power, under Safavid suzerainty, until 1538, when Safavid king Tahmasp I (r. 1524–1576) completely deposed them, and made the area into the Safavid province of Shirvan. The Sunni Ottomans briefly managed to occupy present-day Azerbaijan as a result of the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578–1590; by the early 17th century, they were ousted by Safavid Iranian ruler Abbas I (r. 1588–1629). In the wake of the demise of the Safavid Empire, [[Place:Baku|Baku]] and its environs were briefly occupied by the Russians as a consequence of the Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723. Remainder of present Azerbaijan was occupied by the Ottomans from 1722 to 1736.<ref name="ĀŠRAFIRANICA">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Balland |first=D. | title= ĀŠRAF ḠILZAY | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica | access-date=2011-12-31|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asraf-gilzay-the-afghan-chief-who-ruled-as-shah-over-part-of-iran-from-1137-1725-to-1142-1729}}</ref> Despite brief intermissions such as these by Safavid Iran's neighboring rivals, the land of what is today Azerbaijan remained under Iranian rule from the earliest advent of the Safavids up to the course of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Swietochowski|first=Tadeusz |author-link= Tadeusz Swietochowski |year=1995|title=Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition|pages= 69, 133 |publisher=Columbia University Press |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FfRYRwAACAAJ&q=Russia+and+Iran+in+the+great+game:+travelogues+and+orientalism|isbn=978-0-231-07068-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=L. Batalden|first=Sandra |year=1997|title=The newly independent states of Eurasia: handbook of former Soviet republics|page= 98|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WFjPAxhBEaEC&q=The+newly+independent+states+of+Eurasia:+handbook+of+former+Soviet+republics|isbn=978-0-89774-940-4}}</ref>

===Modern history===
[[File:Political map of the eastern part of the Southern Caucasus between 1795–1801.svg|300px|thumb|left|Political map of the eastern part of the South Caucasus between 1795–1801]]

After the Safavids, the area was ruled by the Iranian [[Place:Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid dynasty]]. After the death of Nader Shah (r. 1736–1747), many of his former subjects capitalized on the eruption of instability. Numerous self-ruling [[Place:Khanates of the Caucasus|khanate]]s with various forms of autonomy<ref>
{{cite book
|last1=Walker
|first1=Christopher J.
|title=Armenia, the survival of a nation
|date=1980
|publisher=Croom Helm
|page=45
|isbn=978-0-7099-0210-2
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y85tAAAAMAAJ
|quote=Tsitsianov next moved against the semi-independent Iranian khanates. On the thinnest of pretexts, he captured the Muslim town of Gandja, the seat of Islamic learning in the Caucasus (...)
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last1=Saparov
|first1=Arsène
|title=From Conflict to Autonomy in the Caucasus: The Soviet Union and the Making of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh
|date=2014
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=978-1-317-63783-7
|quote=Even though these principalities [the khanates] had not been under Iranian suzerainty since the assassination of Nadir Shah in 1747, they were traditionally considered an inalienable part of Iranian domains. (...) To the semi-independent Caucasian principalities, the appearance of the new Great Power (...)}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite journal
|last=Kashani-Sabet
|first=Firoozeh
|date=May 1997
|title=Fragile Frontiers: The Diminishing Domains of Qajar Iran
|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies
|volume=29 |issue=2 |page=210 |quote=In 1795, Ibrahim Khalil Khan, the wali of Qarabagh, warned Sultan Selim III of Aqa Muhammad Khan's ambitions. Fearing for his independence, he informed the Sultan of Aqa Muhammad Khan's ability to subdue Azerbaijan and later Qarabagh, Erivan, and Georgia.
|doi=10.1017/s0020743800064473
|doi-access=free}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last1=Barker
|first1=Adele Marie
|last2=Grant
|first2=Bruce
|title=The Russia Reader: History, Culture, Politics
|date=2010
|publisher=Duke University Press
|isbn=978-0-8223-4648-7
|page=253
|quote=But they were relatively more accessible given the organization of small, centralized, semi-independent khanates that functioned through the decline of Iranian rule after the death of Nadir Shah in the mid-eighteenth century (...)}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite book
|last1=Avery
|first1=Peter
|last2=Hambly |first2= Gavin
|title=The Cambridge History of Iran
|year=1991
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=978-0-521-20095-0
|page=126
|quote=Agha Muhammad Khan could now turn to the restoration of the outlying provinces of the Safavid kingdom. Returning to Tehran in the spring of 1795, he assembled a force of some 60,000 cavalries and infantry and in Shawwal Dhul-Qa'da/May, set off for Azarbaijan, intending to conquer the country between the rivers Aras and Kura, formerly under Safavid control. This region comprised a number of khanates of which the most important was ''Qarabagh'', with its capital at Shusha; Ganja, with its capital of the same name; Shirvan across the Kura, with its capital at Shamakhi; and to the north-west, on both banks of the Kura, Christian Georgia (Gurjistan), with its capital at Tiflis.
}}
</ref> emerged in the area. The rulers of these khanates were directly related to the ruling dynasties of Iran and were vassals and subjects of the Iranian shah.<ref>Encyclopedia of Soviet law By Ferdinand Joseph Maria Feldbrugge, Gerard Pieter van den Berg, William B. Simons, Page 457</ref> The khanates exercised control over their affairs via international trade routes between Central Asia and the West.<ref>
{{cite book
|last = King
|first = Charles
|year = 2008
|title = The ghost of freedom: a history of the Caucasus
|page = 10
|publisher = University of Michigan
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HyJpAAAAMAAJ
|isbn = 978-0-19-517775-6
}}
</ref>

Thereafter, the area was under the successive rule of the Iranian Zands and Qajars.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Hacikyan|editor1-first=Agop Jack|editor2-last=Basmaijan|editor2-first=Gabriel|editor3-last=Franchuk|editor3-first=Edward S.|editor4-last=Ouzounian|editor4-first=Nourhan|title=The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the eighteenth century to modern times|date=2005|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|isbn=978-0-8143-3221-4|page=6}}</ref> From the late 18th century, Imperial Russia switched to a more aggressive [[Earth:Geopolitics|geo-political]] stance towards its two neighbors and rivals to the south, namely Iran and the Ottoman Empire.<ref>Gabor Agoston, Bruce Alan Masters. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA125 ''Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire''] Infobase Publishing, 1 January 2009 {{ISBN|978-1-4381-1025-7}} p. 125</ref> Russia now actively tried to gain possession of the Caucasus region which was, for the most part, in the hands of Iran.<ref name=CAUCAIRANICA>
{{cite encyclopedia
| author=Multiple Authors
| title= Caucasus and Iran
| encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica
| access-date=3 September 2012|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/caucasus-index
}}</ref> In 1804, the Russians invaded and sacked the Iranian town of Ganja, sparking the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Tucker|editor1-first=Spencer C.|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=1035|isbn=978-1-85109-672-5|quote=January 1804. (...) Russo-Persian War. Russian invasion of Persia. (...) In January 1804 Russian forces under General Paul Tsitsianov (Sisianoff) invade Persia and storm the citadel of Ganjeh, beginning the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813).}}</ref> The militarily superior Russians ended the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 with a victory.<ref>{{cite book |first=Erik |last=Goldstein |title=Wars and Peace Treaties: 1816 to 1991 |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-415-07822-1 |page=67 }}</ref>

[[File:Взятии штурмом крепости Гянджи.jpg|thumb|upright|The siege of Ganja Fortress in 1804 during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813]]
Following Qajar Iran's loss in the 1804–1813 war, it was forced to concede suzerainty over most of the khanates, along with Georgia and Dagestan to the [[Place:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]], per the Treaty of Gulistan.<ref name="books.google.nl">Timothy C. Dowling (2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA728 ''Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond''] pp. 728–729 ABC-CLIO, {{ISBN|978-1-59884-948-6}}</ref>

The area to the north of the river Aras, amongst which territory lies the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan, was Iranian territory until Russia occupied it in the 19th century.<ref name="Swietochowski Borderland" /><ref>{{cite book |last=L. Batalden|first=Sandra |year=1997|title=The Newly Independent States of Eurasia: Handbook of Former Soviet Republics|page= 98|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WFjPAxhBEaEC|isbn=978-0-89774-940-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= Ebel |first1=Robert E.|last2=Menon |first2=Rajan |year=2000|title=Energy and conflict in Central Asia and the Caucasus|page= 181 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-sCpf26vBZ0C&q=Energy+and+conflict+in+Central+Asia+and+the+Caucasus|isbn=978-0-7425-0063-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Andreeva|first=Elena |year=2010|title=Russia and Iran in the great game: travelogues and orientalism|page= 6 |edition= reprint|publisher=Taylor & Francis | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FfRYRwAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-415-78153-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Çiçek, Kemal|first=Kuran, Ercüment |year=2000|title=The Great Ottoman-Turkish Civilisation|publisher=University of Michigan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5VpAAAAMAAJ|isbn=978-975-6782-18-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Karl E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FPBn2KZWNuMC |title=Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia |last2=Brysac |first2=Shareen Blair |date=2009-03-17 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-7867-3678-2 |page=66 |language=en}}</ref> About a decade later, in violation of the Gulistan treaty, the Russians invaded Iran's Erivan Khanate.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Cronin|editor1-first=Stephanie|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions since 1800|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6|page=63|quote=Perhaps the most important legacy of Yermolov was his intention from early on to prepare the ground for the conquest of the remaining khanates under Iranian rule and to make the River Aras the new border. (...) Another provocative action by Yermolov was the Russian occupation of the northern shore of Lake Gokcha (Sivan) in the Khanate of Iravan in 1825. A clear violation of Golestan, this action was the most significant provocation by the Russian side. The Lake Gokcha occupation clearly showed that it was Russia and not Iran which initiated hostilities and breached Golestan and that Iran was left with no choice but to come up with a proper response.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Dowling|editor1-first=Timothy C.|title=Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond|date=2015|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-948-6|page=729|quote=In May 1826, Russia, therefore, occupied Mirak, in the Erivan khanate, in violation of the Treaty of Gulistan.}}</ref> This sparked the final bout of hostilities between the two, the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828. The resulting Treaty of Turkmenchay, forced Qajar Iran to cede sovereignty over the Erivan Khanate, the Nakhchivan Khanate and the remainder of the Talysh Khanate,<ref name="books.google.nl"/> comprising the last parts of the soil of the contemporary Azerbaijani Republic that were still in Iranian hands. After the incorporation of all Caucasian territories from Iran into Russia, the new border between the two was set at the Aras River, which, upon the Soviet Union's disintegration, subsequently became part of the border between Iran and the Azerbaijan Republic.<ref>{{cite book |author=Alexander Mikaberidze |date=2015 |title=Historical Dictionary of Georgia |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=664 |isbn=978-1-4422-4146-6}}</ref>

Qajar Iran was forced to cede its Caucasian territories to Russia in the 19th century, which thus included the territory of the modern-day Azerbaijan Republic, while as a result of that cession, the Azerbaijani ethnic group is nowadays parted between two nations: Iran and Azerbaijan.<ref>Swietochowski, Tadeusz. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EPP3ti4hysUC&pg=PA104 ''Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia 2003''] Taylor and Francis, 2003. {{ISBN|978-1-85743-137-7}} p. 104</ref>

Despite the Russian conquest, throughout the entire 19th century, preoccupation with Iranian culture, literature, and language remained widespread amongst Shia and Sunni intellectuals in the Russian-held cities of [[Place:Baku|Baku]], Ganja and Tiflis ([[Place:Tbilisi|Tbilisi]], now Georgia).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gasimov |first1=Zaur |title=Observing Iran from Baku: Iranian Studies in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2022|volume=55|issue=1|page=38|doi=10.1080/00210862.2020.1865136|s2cid=233889871 |quote=The preoccupation with Iranian culture, literature, and language was widespread among Baku-, Ganja-, and Tiflis-based Shia as well as Sunni intellectuals, and it never ceased throughout the nineteenth century. }}</ref> Within the same century, in post-Iranian Russian-held East Caucasia, an Azerbaijani national identity emerged at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="Gasimov1">{{cite journal |last1=Gasimov |first1=Zaur |title=Observing Iran from Baku: Iranian Studies in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2022|volume=55|issue=1|page=37|doi=10.1080/00210862.2020.1865136|s2cid=233889871 |quote=Azerbaijani national identity emerged in post-Persian Russian-ruled East Caucasia at the end of the nineteenth century, and was finally forged during the early Soviet period.}}</ref>

After the collapse of the Russian Empire during [[Social:World War I|World War I]], the short-lived [[Place:Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic|Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic]] was declared, constituting the present-day republics of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.
It was followed by the March Days massacres<ref name="smithmusavat">{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Michael |date=April 2001 |title=Anatomy of Rumor: Murder Scandal, the Musavat Party and Narrative of the Russian Revolution in Baku, 1917–1920 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |volume=36 |issue=2 |page=228 |doi= 10.1177/002200940103600202|s2cid=159744435 |quote=''The results of the March events were immediate and total for the Musavat. Several hundreds of its members were killed in the fighting; up to 12,000 Muslim civilians perished; thousands of others fled Baku in a mass exodus''}}</ref><ref name="minahan">{{cite book |title=Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States |last=Minahan |first=James B. |isbn=978-0-313-30610-5 |page=22 |quote=''The tensions and fighting between the Azerbaijanis and the Armenians in the federation culminated in the massacre of some 12,000 Azerbaijanis in Baku by radical Armenians and Bolshevik troops in March 1918''|year=1998 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> that took place between 30 March and 2 April 1918 in the city of Baku and adjacent areas of the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire.<ref name="Smith">{{cite web |url=http://old.sakharov-center.ru/publications/azrus/az_004.htm |title=Pamiat' ob utratakh i Azerbaidzhanskoe obshchestvo/Traumatic Loss and Azerbaijani. National Memory |author=Michael Smith |website=Azerbaidzhan i Rossiia: obshchestva i gosudarstva (Azerbaijan and Russia: Societies and States) |publisher=Sakharov Center |access-date=21 August 2011 |language=ru |archive-date=1 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401031542/http://old.sakharov-center.ru/publications/azrus/az_004.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> When the republic dissolved in May 1918, the leading Musavat party declared independence as the [[Place:Azerbaijan Democratic Republic|Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] (ADR), adopting the name of "Azerbaijan" for the new republic; a name that prior to the proclamation of the ADR was solely used to refer to the adjacent northwestern region of contemporary Iran.<ref name="I.B.Tauris" /><ref name="I.B. Tauris" /><ref name="Amsterdam University Press" /> The ADR was the first modern [[Social:Parliamentary republic|parliamentary republic]] in the Muslim world.<ref name="Swietochowski Borderland" /><ref name="kazemzadeh" /><ref>Schulze, Reinhard. A Modern History of the Islamic World. I.B.Tauris, 2000. {{ISBN|978-1-86064-822-9}}.</ref> Among the important accomplishments of the Parliament was the extension of suffrage to women, making Azerbaijan the first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men.<ref name="kazemzadeh" /> Another important accomplishment of ADR was the establishment of [[Organization:Baku State University|Baku State University]], which was the first modern-type university founded in the Muslim East.<ref name="kazemzadeh">{{Cite book| last = Kazemzadeh | first = Firuz | title = The Struggle for Transcaucasia: 1917–1921 | publisher = The New York Philosophical Library | year= 1951 | isbn = 978-0-8305-0076-5 | pages = 124, 222, 229, 269–270 }}</ref>
[[File:1ST AZ REP.GIF|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Map presented by the delegation of Azerbaijan in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference]]

By March 1920, it was obvious that Soviet Russia would attack Baku. [[Biography:Vladimir Lenin|Vladimir Lenin]] said that the invasion was justified as [[Place:Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Soviet Russia]] could not survive without Baku's oil.<ref>{{cite web |last=Горянин |first=Александр |script-title=ru:Очень черное золото |publisher=GlobalRus |date=28 August 2003 |url=http://www.globalrus.ru/print_this/134413/ |access-date=28 August 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030906163920/http://www.globalrus.ru/print_this/134413/ |archive-date=6 September 2003 |url-status=dead |language=ru }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last =Горянин | first = Александр | script-title=ru:История города Баку. Часть 3.| publisher = Window2Baku| url = http://www.window2baku.com/001history_3.htm|language=ru}}</ref> Independent Azerbaijan lasted only 23 months until the Bolshevik 11th Soviet Red Army invaded it, establishing the Azerbaijan SSR on 28 April 1920. Although the bulk of the newly formed Azerbaijani army was engaged in putting down an Armenian revolt that had just broken out in Karabakh, Azerbaijanis did not surrender their brief independence of 1918–20 quickly or easily. As many as 20,000 Azerbaijani soldiers died resisting what was effectively a Russian reconquest.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pope|first=Hugh |year=2006|title=Sons of the conquerors: the rise of the Turkic world|page= 116 |location=New York |publisher=The Overlook Press |isbn=978-1-58567-804-4}}</ref> Within the ensuing early Soviet period, the Azerbaijani national identity was finally forged.<ref name="Gasimov1"/>

On 13 October 1921, the Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia signed an agreement with Turkey known as the Treaty of Kars. The previously independent Republic of Aras would also become the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Azerbaijan SSR by the treaty of Kars. On the other hand, [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]] was awarded the region of Zangezur and Turkey agreed to return Gyumri (then known as Alexandropol).<ref>{{cite book |title=Ethnic nationalism and regional conflict: the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia |last1=Raymond Duncan |first1=Walter |last2=Holman (Jr.)
 |first2=G. Paul |year=1994 |publisher= Westview Press |location= US |isbn= 978-0-231-07068-3 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/ethnicnationalis00dunc/page/109 109–112] |url=https://archive.org/details/ethnicnationalis00dunc|url-access=registration }}</ref>

During [[Social:World War II|World War II]], Azerbaijan played a crucial role in the strategic energy policy of the Soviet Union, with 80 percent of the Soviet Union's oil on the Eastern Front being supplied by Baku. By the Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in February 1942, the commitment of more than 500 workers and employees of the oil industry of Azerbaijan were awarded orders and medals. Operation Edelweiss carried out by the German Wehrmacht targeted Baku because of its importance as the energy (petroleum) dynamo of the USSR.<ref name="Swietochowski Borderland" /> A fifth of all Azerbaijanis fought in the Second World War from 1941 to 1945. Approximately 681,000 people with over 100,000 of them women, went to the front, while the total population of Azerbaijan was 3.4&nbsp;million at the time.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.contact.az/topics_en.asp?id=4902&pb=2&vr=en&yr=2011&mdn=1
| title = Azerbaijan celebrates day of victory over fascism|date=9 May 2011|publisher="Contact.az"
| access-date = 9 May 2011}}</ref> Some 250,000 people from Azerbaijan were killed on the front. More than 130 Azerbaijanis were named Heroes of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijani Major-General Azi Aslanov was twice awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.azernews.az/en/Nation/20409-Victory_over_Nazis_%E2%80%98was_impossible_without_Baku_oil%E2%80%99|title=Victory over Nazis 'was impossible without Baku oil'|date=8 May 2010|publisher="AzerNEWS"|access-date=8 May 2010|archive-date=4 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904204708/http://www.azernews.az/en/Nation/20409-Victory_over_Nazis_%E2%80%98was_impossible_without_Baku_oil%E2%80%99|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Independence===
[[File:RedArmy Paratroops Baku 1990.jpg|thumb|Soviet Army paratroopers during the Black January tragedy in 1990]]
Following the politics of ''glasnost'', initiated by [[Biography:Mikhail Gorbachev|Mikhail Gorbachev]], civil unrest and ethnic strife grew in various regions of the Soviet Union, including Nagorno-Karabakh,<ref name=Croissant>{{Cite book | first = Croissant | last = Michael P. | title = The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: causes and implications | place = Westport, CT | publisher = Praeger Publishers | year = 1998 | pages = 36, 37 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeP7OZZswtcC&pg=PP1| isbn = 978-0-275-96241-8 }}</ref> an autonomous region of the Azerbaijan SSR. The disturbances in Azerbaijan, in response to Moscow's indifference to an already heated conflict, resulted in calls for independence and secession, which culminated in the Black January events in Baku.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://hrw.org/reports/1995/communal|title=Human Rights Watch. "Playing the "Communal Card": Communal Violence and Human Rights"|publisher=Human Rights Watch}}</ref> Later in 1990, the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR dropped the words "Soviet Socialist" from the title, adopted the "Declaration of Sovereignty of the Azerbaijan Republic" and restored the flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic as the state flag.<ref name="Meclis">{{cite web| url=http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/content/70 |title= Milli Məclisin tarixi. Azərbaycan SSR Ali Soveti (1920–1991-ci illər) |trans-title= The history of Milli Majlis. Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR (1920–1991) |access-date=1 December 2010}}</ref> As a consequence of the failed 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt in Moscow, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted a Declaration of Independence on 18 October 1991, which was affirmed by a nationwide referendum in December 1991, while the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on 26 December 1991.<ref name="Meclis"/> The country now celebrates its Independence Day on 18 October.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NCez3ZuV3NoC&pg=PA116 |page=116 |title=Azerbaijan |author=David C. King |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2006|isbn=978-0-7614-2011-8 }}</ref>

The early years of independence were overshadowed by the First Nagorno-Karabakh war with the ethnic Armenian majority of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://peacemaker.un.org/armeniaazerbaijan-bishkekprotocol94|title=Bishkek Protocol {{!}} UN Peacemaker|publisher=United Nations|access-date=2019-08-23}}</ref> By the end of the hostilities in 1994, Armenians controlled up to 14–16 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh itself.<ref name="cia">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Azerbaijan|access-date=8 May 2022 |year=2022}}</ref><ref name="DeWaal">De Waal, Thomas (2013). ''Black Garden: Armenia And Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. New York: New York University Press, p. 286. {{ISBN|978-0-8147-1945-9|0814719457}}.</ref> During the war many atrocities and pogroms by both sides were committed including the massacres at Malibeyli and Gushchular, the Garadaghly massacre and the Khojaly massacres, along with the Baku pogrom, the Maraga massacre and the Kirovabad pogrom.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10611FF3C5D0C708CDDAA0894DA494D81 |title=Massacre by Armenians Being Reported |work=The New York Times|date=3 March 1992 |access-date=9 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smolowe |first=Jill |url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,975096,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228104647/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,975096,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2005 |magazine=Time |title=Tragedy Massacre in Khojaly |date=16 March 1992 |access-date=9 September 2013}}</ref> Furthermore, an estimated 30,000 people have been killed and more than a million people have been displaced, more than 800,000 Azerbaijanis and 300,000 Armenians.<ref>[http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/1283/conflict_that_can_be_resolved_in_time.html A Conflict That Can Be Resolved in Time: Nagorno-Karabakh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208204939/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/1283/conflict_that_can_be_resolved_in_time.html |date=8 December 2015 }}. ''International Herald Tribune''. 29 November 2003.</ref> Four United Nations Security Council Resolutions (822, 853, 874, and 884) demand for "the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan."<ref>{{cite web| title =General Assembly adopts resolution reaffirming territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, demanding withdrawal of all Armenian forces | publisher = United Nations General Assembly | date = 14 March 2008 | url = https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/ga10693.doc.htm| access-date = 14 March 2008 }}</ref> Many Russians and Armenians left and fled Azerbaijan as refugees during the 1990s.<ref>[http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp083003.shtml Southern Caucasus: Facing Integration Problems, Ethnic Russians Long For Better Life]. EurasiaNet.org. 30 August 2003.</ref> According to the 1970 census, there were 510,000 ethnic Russians and 484,000 Armenians in Azerbaijan.<ref>"[http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Azerbaijan+Soviet+Socialist+Republic Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic]". The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979).</ref>

===Aliyev family rule, 1993–present===
[[File:Nagorno-Karabakh conflict map (pre-2020).png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Military situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region prior to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]]
In 1993, democratically elected president Abulfaz Elchibey was overthrown by a military insurrection led by Colonel Surat Huseynov, which resulted in the rise to power of the former leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/World-Leaders-2003/Azerbaijan-RISE-TO-POWER.html |title=Azerbaijan: Rise to power |publisher=Encyclopedia of the Nations |date=3 October 1993 |access-date=22 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610034017/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/World-Leaders-2003/Azerbaijan-RISE-TO-POWER.html |archive-date=10 June 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref> In 1994, Surat Huseynov, by that time the prime minister, attempted another military coup against Heydar Aliyev, but he was arrested and charged with treason.<ref>{{cite news| title = Timeline: Azerbaijan A chronology of key events |work=BBC News | date = 31 March 2011| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/europe/country_profiles/1235740.stm}}</ref> A year later, in 1995, another coup was attempted against Aliyev, this time by the commander of the OMON special unit, Rovshan Javadov. The coup was averted, resulting in the killing of the latter and disbanding of Azerbaijan's OMON units.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97DB500B7A486B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D|title=Azeri rights activist says 35 imprisoned special police unit members very sick|date=2 June 2000|work=BBC Archive|access-date=15 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118081632/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97DB500B7A486B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D|archive-date=18 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="lt">{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/22723287.html?dids=22723287:22723287&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+18,+1995&author=SONNI+EFRON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Azerbaijan+Coup+Attempt+Crushed+Caucasus:+Loyal+forces+storm+a+building+and+overcome+mutinous+police+units,+president+reports.&pqatl=google|title=Azerbaijan Coup Attempt Crushed Caucasus: Loyal forces storm a building and overcome mutinous police units, president reports.|date=18 March 1995|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=15 August 2009|first=Sonni|last=Efron|archive-date=24 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624093851/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/22723287.html?dids=22723287:22723287&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+18,+1995&author=SONNI+EFRON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Azerbaijan+Coup+Attempt+Crushed+Caucasus:+Loyal+forces+storm+a+building+and+overcome+mutinous+police+units,+president+reports.&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the same time, the country was tainted by rampant corruption in the governing bureaucracy.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3191598.stm|title=Aliyev and son keep it in the family |date=14 October 2003|work=BBC News|access-date=14 October 2003|first=Stephen|last=Mulvey}}</ref> In October 1998, Aliyev was reelected for a second term.

[[Biography:Ilham Aliyev|Ilham Aliyev]], Heydar Aliyev's son, became chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party as well as President of Azerbaijan when his father died in 2003. He was reelected to a third term as president in October 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keesings.com/search?kssp_search_phrase=azerbaijan&x=0&y=0&kssp_a_id=53026n01aze&kssp_selected_tab=article |title=Nov 2013 – Action against opposition |website=Keesing's Record of World Events |volume=59 |date=November 2013 |page=53026}}</ref> In April 2018, President Ilham Aliyev secured his fourth consecutive term in the election that was boycotted by the main opposition parties as fraudulent.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Welle (www.dw.com) |first1=Deutsche |title=Azerbaijan's strongman Ilham Aliyev re-elected for fourth consecutive term {{!}} DW {{!}} 11.04.2018 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/azerbaijans-strongman-ilham-aliyev-re-elected-for-fourth-consecutive-term/a-43349870 |work=Deutsche Welle|date=11 April 2018}}</ref> On 27 September 2020, new clashes in the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resumed along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact. Both the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia reported military and civilian casualties.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh goes on despite US mediation |url=https://apnews.com/article/europe-azerbaijan-armenia-41a103bcde14fa8b28968000d7992b84 |work=Associated Press |date=24 October 2020}}</ref> The Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement and the end of the six-week war between Azerbaijan and Armenia was widely celebrated in Azerbaijan, as they made significant territorial gains.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fury and celebrations as Russia brokers peace deal to end Nagorno-Karabakh war |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-armenia-azerbaijan-war-fighting-peace-deal-b1720219.html |work=The Independent |date=11 November 2020}}</ref> Despite the much improved economy,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strong economic performance in Caucasus amid geopolitical turmoil |url=https://www.ebrd.com/news/2022/strong-economic-performance-in-caucasus-amid-geopolitical-turmoil.html |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=www.ebrd.com |language=en}}</ref> particularly with the exploitation of the Azeri–Chirag–Guneshli oil field and Shah Deniz gas field, the Aliyev family rule has been criticized due to election fraud,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Azerbaijan: The veneer of democracy is peeling off Baku's authoritarian political structure |url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-the-veneer-of-democracy-is-peeling-off-bakus-authoritarian-political-structure}}</ref> high levels of economic inequality<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haas |first=Devin |date=2023-08-14 |title=Rural Azerbaijan risks falling further behind wealthy Baku |url=https://emerging-europe.com/news/rural-azerbaijan-risks-falling-further-behind-wealthy-baku/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=Emerging Europe |language=en-GB}}</ref> and domestic corruption.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stocks |first=Miranda Patrucic, Ilya Lozovsky, Kelly Bloss, and Tom |title=Azerbaijan's Ruling Aliyev Family and Their Associates Acquired Dozens of Prime London Properties Worth Nearly $700 Million |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/the-pandora-papers/azerbaijans-ruling-aliyev-family-and-their-associates-acquired-dozens-of-prime-london-properties-worth-nearly-700-million |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=OCCRP |language=en}}</ref> In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched an offensive against the breakaway [[Place:Republic of Artsakh|Republic of Artsakh]] in Nagorno-Karabakh that resulted in the dissolution and reintigration of Artsakh on 1 January 2024 and the flight of nearly all ethnic Armenians from the region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Demourian |first=Avet |date=2023-09-29 |title=More than 80% of Nagorno-Karabakh's population flees as future uncertain for those who remain |url=https://apnews.com/article/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-armenia-separatist-government-5f7b940643a3d6e63a6f3d512158e51a |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map AZE present.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Earth:Köppen climate classification|Köppen-Geiger climate classification]] map for Azerbaijan<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Beck |first1=Hylke E. |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Niklaus E. |last3=McVicar |first3=Tim R. |last4=Vergopolan |first4=Noemi |last5=Berg |first5=Alexis |last6=Wood |first6=Eric F.|author6-link=Eric Franklin Wood |title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution |journal=Scientific Data |date=30 October 2018 |volume=5 |pages=180214 |doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214|url=https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/bitstream/20.500.11850/302311/2/sdata2018214.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/bitstream/20.500.11850/302311/2/sdata2018214.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |pmid=30375988 |pmc=6207062 |bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B }}</ref>]]

Geographically, Azerbaijan is located in the [[Place:South Caucasus|South Caucasus]] region of [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasia]], straddling Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It lies between latitudes 38° and 42° N, and longitudes 44° and 51° E. The total length of Azerbaijan's land borders is {{convert|2648|km|0|abbr=on}}, of which {{convert|1007|km|0|abbr=on}} are with Armenia, {{convert|756|km|0|abbr=on}} with Iran, 480&nbsp;kilometers with Georgia, {{convert|390|km|0|abbr=on}} with Russia and {{convert|15|km|0|abbr=on}} with Turkey.<ref name="STA">{{cite web|title=Geographical data |publisher=The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan |url=http://www.azstat.org/publications/azfigures/2007/en/001.shtml#t1_2 |access-date=26 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525040712/http://www.azstat.org/publications/azfigures/2007/en/001.shtml#t1_5 |archive-date=25 May 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> The coastline stretches for {{convert|800|km|0|abbr=on}}, and the length of the widest area of the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea is {{convert|456|km|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="STA"/> The country has a landlocked exclave, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Naxcivan {{!}} History & Geography {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Naxcivan-republic-Azerbaijan|access-date=2022-01-29|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Budug Azerbaijan16.jpg|thumb|left|[[Place:Caucasus Mountains|Caucasus Mountains]] in northern Azerbaijan]]
Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the country's center. There are also three mountain ranges, the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, and the Talysh Mountains, together covering approximately 40% of the country.<ref name="GEO">{{cite web|title=Azerbaijan: Biodiversity |url=http://www.cac-biodiversity.org/aze/aze_biodiversity.htm |publisher=Central Asia and Transcaucasus Network on Plant Genetic Resources |access-date=17 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208012911/http://www.cac-biodiversity.org/aze/aze_biodiversity.htm |archive-date=8 February 2012 |year=2003 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> The highest peak of Azerbaijan is Mount Bazardüzü {{convert|4466|m|0|abbr=on}}, while the lowest point lies in the Caspian Sea {{convert|−28|m|0|abbr=on}} . Nearly half of all the [[Earth:Mud volcano|mud volcano]]es on Earth are concentrated in Azerbaijan, [[Earth:Mud volcanoes in Azerbaijan|these volcanoes]] were also among nominees for the New 7 Wonders of Nature.<ref>{{cite news|title=Azerbaijan's mud volcanoes on Seven Wonders of Nature shortlist |publisher=News.Az |url=http://www.news.az/articles/8581 |access-date=8 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210062717/http://www.news.az/articles/8581 |archive-date=10 February 2010 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

The main water sources are surface waters. Only 24 of the 8,350 rivers are greater than {{convert|100|km|0|abbr=on}} in length.<ref name="GEO"/> All the rivers drain into the Caspian Sea in the east of the country.<ref name="GEO"/> The largest lake is Sarysu {{convert|67|km2|0|abbr=on}}, and the longest river is Kur {{convert|1515|km|0|abbr=on}}, which is transboundary with [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]]. Azerbaijan has several islands along the Caspian sea, mostly located in the Baku Archipelago.

Since the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991, the Azerbaijani government has taken measures to preserve the environment of Azerbaijan. National protection of the environment accelerated after 2001 when the state budget increased due to new revenues provided by the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline. Within four years, protected areas doubled and now make up eight percent of the country's territory. Since 2001 the government has set up seven large reserves and almost doubled the sector of the budget earmarked for environmental protection.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://enrin.grida.no/htmls/azer/soe/ecology/html/ecology.html |title=Ecological problems in Azerbaijan |publisher=Enrin.grida.no |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref>

===Landscape===
[[File:Bazarduzu detail.JPG|thumb|Mount Bazarduzu, the highest peak of Azerbaijan, as seen from Mount Shahdagh]]
[[File:Azerbajiani landscape - Another version.jpg|thumb|The landscape of Khinalug valley]]
Azerbaijan is home to a wide variety of landscapes. Over half of Azerbaijan's landmass consists of mountain ridges, crests, [[Earth:Highland|highland]]s, and plateaus which rise up to hypsometric levels of 400–1000&nbsp;meters (including the Middle and Lower lowlands), in some places (Talis, Jeyranchol-Ajinohur and Langabiz-Alat foreranges) up to 100–120&nbsp;meters, and others from 0–50&nbsp;meters and up (Qobustan, Absheron). The rest of Azerbaijan's terrain consists of plains and lowlands. Hypsometric marks within the Caucasus region vary from about −28&nbsp;meters at the Caspian Sea shoreline up to 4,466&nbsp;meters (Bazardüzü peak).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://enrin.grida.no/htmls/azer/soe/ecology/html/ecologicalzones.html |title=Orography of Azerbaijan |publisher= United Nations Environment Programme |access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref>

The formation of climate in Azerbaijan is influenced particularly by cold arctic [[Earth:Air mass|air mass]]es of Scandinavian [[Earth:Anticyclone|anticyclone]], temperate air masses of Siberian anticyclone, and Central Asian anticyclone.<ref name="CLIM">{{cite web| title =Azerbaijan – Climate| publisher = Heydar Aliyev Foundation| url = http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Geography/_Climate/_climate_e.html| access-date = 26 May 2007}}</ref> Azerbaijan's diverse landscape affects the ways air masses enter the country.<ref name="CLIM"/> The Greater Caucasus protects the country from direct influences of cold air masses coming from the north. That leads to the formation of [[Earth:Subtropics|subtropical climate]] on most foothills and plains of the country. Meanwhile, plains and foothills are characterized by high [[Astronomy:Sunlight|solar radiation]] rates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dtxk.gov.az/azerbaijan/nature/nature04_e.html#1 |title=Climate |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718204957/http://www.dtxk.gov.az/azerbaijan/nature/nature04_e.html#1 |archive-date=2014-07-18 |publisher=State Land and Cartography Committee}}</ref>

Nine out of eleven existing [[Earth:Köppen climate classification|climate zones]] are present in Azerbaijan.<ref name="KL">{{cite web|title=Climate |website=Water Resources of the Azerbaijan Republic |publisher=Institute of Hydrometeorology, Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources |url=http://www.azhydromet.com/SRIH/Water%20Resurs.html |access-date=26 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070524005453/http://www.azhydromet.com/SRIH/Water%20Resurs.html |archive-date=24 May 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Both the absolute minimum temperature (<span style="white-space:nowrap">{{convert|-33|°C|°F|1|disp=or}} </span>) and the absolute maximum temperature{{Quantify|date=September 2022}} were observed in Julfa and Ordubad – regions of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.<ref name="KL"/> The maximum annual precipitation falls in Lankaran ({{convert|1600|to|1800|mm|abbr=on|disp=or}}) and the minimum in Absheron ({{convert|200|to|350|mm|abbr=on|disp=or}}).<ref name="KL"/>
[[File:Murov mountain in Azerbaijan-Caucasus3.jpg|thumb|left|Murovdag is the highest mountain range in the Lesser Caucasus.]]
Rivers and lakes form the principal part of the water systems of Azerbaijan, they were formed over a long geological timeframe and changed significantly throughout that period. This is particularly evidenced by remnants of ancient rivers found throughout the country. The country's water systems are continually changing under the influence of natural forces and human-introduced industrial activities. Artificial rivers (canals) and ponds are a part of Azerbaijan's water systems. In terms of water supply, Azerbaijan is below the average in the world with approximately {{convert|100000|m3|0|abbr=off}} per year of water per square kilometer.<ref name="KL"/> All big [[Earth:Reservoir|water reservoirs]] are built on Kur. The hydrography of Azerbaijan basically belongs to the Caspian Sea basin.

The Kura and Aras are the major rivers in Azerbaijan. They run through the Kura-Aras Lowland. The rivers that directly flow into the Caspian Sea, originate mainly from the north-eastern slope of the Major Caucasus and Talysh Mountains and run along the Samur–Devechi and Lankaran lowlands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/major-rivers-of-azerbaijan.html |title=Major Rivers Of Azerbaijan |author=Joyce Chepkemoi |date=25 April 2017 |website=worldatlas.com }}</ref>

Yanar Dag, translated as "burning mountain", is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near [[Place:Baku|Baku]], which itself is known as the "land of fire." Flames jet out into the air from a thin, porous sandstone layer. It is a tourist attraction to visitors to the Baku area.<ref>{{cite book| last = Kleveman|first = Lutz|title = The new great game: blood and oil in Central Asia|page=[https://archive.org/details/newgreatgame00lutz/page/15 15]|publisher = Atlantic Monthly Press| year = 2003|url = https://archive.org/details/newgreatgame00lutz| url-access = registration| access-date = November 21, 2010 |isbn=978-0-87113-906-1}}</ref>

===Biodiversity===
[[File:Stamp of Azerbaijan 750.jpg|thumb|The Karabakh horse is the national animal of Azerbaijan.]]
The first reports on the richness and diversity of animal life in Azerbaijan can be found in travel notes of Eastern travelers. Animal carvings on architectural monuments, ancient rocks, and stones survived up to the present times. The first information on flora and fauna of Azerbaijan was collected during the visits of naturalists to Azerbaijan in the 17th century.<ref name="GEO"/>

There are 106 species of mammals, 97 species of fish, 363 species of birds, 10 species of amphibians, and 52 species of reptiles which have been recorded and classified in Azerbaijan.<ref name="GEO"/> The national animal of Azerbaijan is the Karabakh horse, a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse endemic to Azerbaijan. The Karabakh horse has a reputation for its good temper, speed, elegance, and intelligence. It is one of the oldest breeds, with ancestry dating to the ancient world, but today the horse is an endangered species.<ref>{{cite web| title = The Karabakh Horse| publisher = Karabakh Foundation| url = http://www.karabakhfoundation.org/pages/history-and-culture/karabakh-region/the-karabakh-horse/| url-status=dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101013010330/http://karabakhfoundation.org/pages/history-and-culture/karabakh-region/the-karabakh-horse/| archive-date = 13 October 2010}}</ref>

Azerbaijan's flora consists of more than 4,500 species of higher plants. Due to the unique climate in Azerbaijan, the flora is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other republics of the South Caucasus. 66 percent of the species growing in the whole [[Earth:Caucasus|Caucasus]] can be found in Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Geography/_Planting/_planting_e.html |title=Azerbaijan – Flora |publisher=Heydar Aliyev Foundation|access-date=5 March 2010 }}</ref> The country lies within four ecoregions: Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests, Caucasus mixed forests, Eastern Anatolian montane steppe, and Azerbaijan shrub desert and steppe.<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287|doi-access=free}}</ref> Azerbaijan had a 2018 [[Earth:Forest Landscape Integrity Index|Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 6.55/10, ranking it 72nd globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Government and politics==
[[File:Gobierno de Azerbaiyán, Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-26, DD 27.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Government building in Baku]]

Azerbaijan's government functions as an authoritarian regime in practice;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Geybulla |first1=Arzu |title=Uncensored journalism in censored times: Challenges of reporting on Azerbaijan |journal=Journalism |date=February 2023 |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=313–327 |doi=10.1177/14648849211036872 |s2cid=238548904 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14648849211036872 |language=en |issn=1464-8849}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rookwood |first1=Joel |title=From sport-for-development to sports mega-events: conflict, authoritarian modernisation and statecraft in Azerbaijan |journal=Sport in Society |date=3 April 2022 |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=847–866 |doi=10.1080/17430437.2021.2019710|s2cid=245453904 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Toepfl |first1=Florian |last2=Litvinenko |first2=Anna |title=Critically Commenting Publics as Authoritarian Input Institutions: How Citizens Comment Beneath their News in Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkmenistan |journal=Journalism Studies |date=12 March 2021 |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=475–495 |doi=10.1080/1461670X.2021.1882877|s2cid=232081024 |url=https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Critically_Commenting_Publics_as_Authoritarian_Input_Institutions_How_Citizens_Comment_Beneath_their_News_in_Azerbaijan_Russia_and_Turkmenistan/13951592 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lebanidze |first1=Bidzina |series=Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft |title=Russia, EU and the Post-Soviet Democratic Failure |date=2020 |publisher=Springer Fachmedien |isbn=978-3-658-26446-8 |pages=1–16 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-26446-8_1 |language=en |chapter=Introduction|doi=10.1007/978-3-658-26446-8_1 |s2cid=242740253 }}</ref> although it regularly holds elections, these are marred by electoral fraud and other unfair election practices.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Umudov |first1=Agshin |title=Politik und Gesellschaft im Kaukasus: Eine unruhige Region zwischen Tradition und Transformation |date=2019 |publisher=Springer Fachmedien |isbn=978-3-658-26374-4 |pages=67–68 |language=de |chapter=Europeanization of Azerbaijan: Assessment of Normative Principles and Pragmatic Cooperation}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Goyushov |first1=Altay |last2=Huseynli |first2=Ilkin |title=Politik und Gesellschaft im Kaukasus: Eine unruhige Region zwischen Tradition und Transformation |date=2019 |publisher=Springer Fachmedien |isbn=978-3-658-26374-4 |pages=27–51 |chapter-url=https://philarchive.org/rec/GOYHDG |language=de |chapter=Halted Democracy: Government Hijacking of the New Opposition in Azerbaijan|doi=10.1007/978-3-658-26374-4_2 |s2cid=211343684 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bedford |first1=Sofie |last2=Vinatier |first2=Laurent |title=Resisting the Irresistible: 'Failed Opposition' in Azerbaijan and Belarus Revisited |journal=Government and Opposition |date=October 2019 |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=686–714 |doi=10.1017/gov.2017.33 |s2cid=149006054 |language=en |issn=0017-257X}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kamilsoy |first1=Najmin |title=Unintended transformation? Organizational responses to regulative crackdown on civil society in Azerbaijan |journal=Southeast European and Black Sea Studies |date=1 September 2023 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.1080/14683857.2023.2243698|s2cid=261468959 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bajek |first1=Mateusz |title=The meaning behind Azerbaijan's forged elections |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=882681 |access-date=6 September 2023 |work=New Eastern Europe |date=2020 |pages=107–113 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Synovitz |first1=Ron |title=Azerbaijan's 'Equal Coverage' Law Stifles Media Reports On Elections |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-elections-equal-coverage-law-media-reports-stifled/30420889.html |access-date=6 September 2023 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=7 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kramer |first1=Richard Kauzlarich, David J. |title=Azerbaijan's Election Is a Farce |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/11/azerbaijans-election-is-a-farce/ |access-date=6 September 2023 |work=Foreign Policy |date=11 April 2018}}</ref> Azerbaijan has been ruled by the Aliyev political family and the New Azerbaijan Party (''Yeni Azərbaycan Partiyası'', YAP) established by Heydar Aliyev continuously since 1993.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Chris|last=McCallion|title=A small war in Central Asia is a big problem for Joe Biden's narrative about taking on Russia and China|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/azerbaijan-armenia-war-biden-good-vs-bad-china-russia-narrative-2022-9|date=22 September 2022|access-date=22 September 2022|website=Insider.com|language=en}}</ref> It is categorised as "not free" by [[Organization:Freedom House|Freedom House]],<ref name="Freedom_House">{{cite web|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/azerbaijan|title=Freedom House: Azerbaijan|access-date=7 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="frh">{{Cite web |title=freedomhouse.org: Combined Average Ratings: Independent Countries 2009 |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=475&year=2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223101637/http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=475&year=2009 |archive-date=2011-12-23 |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=[[Organization:Freedom House|Freedom House]]}}</ref> who ranked it 9/100 on Global Freedom Score in 2022, calling it a "consolidated authoritarian regime".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Azerbaijan: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/azerbaijan/freedom-world/2022 |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=Freedom House |language=en}}</ref>

The structural formation of Azerbaijan's political system was completed by the adoption of the new Constitution on 12 November 1995. According to Article 23 of the Constitution, the state symbols of the Azerbaijan Republic are the flag, the coat of arms, and the national anthem. The state power in Azerbaijan is limited only by law for internal issues, but international affairs are also limited by international agreements' provisions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.courts.gov.az/en/main/page/State-power_3056 |title=State power |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=courts.gov.az |access-date=23 November 2020 |archive-date=6 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806154236/https://courts.gov.az/en/main/page/State-power_3056 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=September 2023}}

The Constitution of Azerbaijan states that it is a presidential republic with three branches of power – Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The legislative power is held by the unicameral National Assembly and the Supreme National Assembly in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The Parliament of Azerbaijan, called Milli Majlis, consists of 125 deputies elected based on majority vote, with a term of five years for each elected member. The elections are held every five years, on the first Sunday of November. The Parliament is not responsible for the formation of the government, but the Constitution requires the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers by Milli Majlis.<ref>(Constitution of Azerbaijan Republic, Articles 104–107)</ref> The New Azerbaijan Party, and independents loyal to the ruling government, currently hold almost all of the Parliament's 125 seats. During the 2010 Parliamentary election, the opposition parties, Musavat and Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, failed to win a single seat. European observers found numerous irregularities in the run-up to the election and on election day.<ref>{{cite news|title=Monitors criticize Azerbaijani elections |publisher=Al Jazeera |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/11/2010118152810836488.html |access-date=8 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111072636/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/11/2010118152810836488.html |archive-date=11 November 2010 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

[[File:Munich Security Conference 2010 - dett aliyew 0014.jpg|upright|thumb|Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's fourth and current President, succeeded his father Heydar Aliyev in 2003.]]

The executive power is held by the President, who is elected for a seven-year term by direct elections, and the Prime Minister. The president is authorized to form the Cabinet, a collective executive body accountable to both the President and the National Assembly.<ref name="LaPorte2016" /> The Cabinet of Azerbaijan consists primarily of the prime minister, his deputies, and ministers. The 8th Government of Azerbaijan is the administration in its current formation. The president does not have the right to dissolve the National Assembly but has the right to veto its decisions. To override the presidential veto, the parliament must have a majority of 95 votes. The judicial power is vested in the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and the Economic Court. The president nominates the judges in these courts.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Azerbaijan's system of governance nominally can be called two-tiered. The top or highest tier of the government is the Executive Power headed by President. The President appoints the Cabinet of Ministers and other high-ranking officials. The Local Executive Authority is merely a continuation of Executive Power. The Provision determines the legal status of local state administration in Azerbaijan on Local Executive Authority (''Yerli Icra Hakimiyati''), adopted 16 June 1999. In June 2012, the President approved the new Regulation, which granted additional powers to Local Executive Authorities, strengthening their dominant position in Azerbaijan's local affairs<ref>{{cite web |title=Azərbaycan Prezidentinin Rəsmi internet səhifəsi |url=https://president.az/ |website=president.az |language=az}}</ref> The Security Council is the deliberative body under the president, and he organizes it according to the Constitution. It was established on 10 April 1997. The administrative department is not a part of the president's office but manages the financial, technical and pecuniary activities of both the president and his office.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://president.az/pages/22/print |title=Təhlükəsizlik Şurası |language=az |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=president.az |access-date=24 November 2020 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721023237/https://president.az/pages/22/print |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Foreign relations===

[[File:İlham Əliyevə Türk Dünyasının Ali Ordeni təqdim edilib (2).jpg|thumb|President İlham Aliyev receiving the Supreme Order of the Turkic World from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the 8th summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Istanbul, Turkey, November 12, 2021]]

The short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic succeeded in establishing diplomatic relations with six countries, sending diplomatic representatives to Germany and Finland.<ref name="CSUS">{{cite web| title =Azerbaijan – Foreign Relations | publisher = Country Studies| url = http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/36.htm| access-date = 31 May 2007}}</ref> The process of international recognition of Azerbaijan's independence from the collapsing Soviet Union lasted roughly one year. The most recent country to recognize Azerbaijan was Bahrain, on 6 November 1996.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bilateral relations |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |url=http://www.mfa.gov.az/eng/foreign_policy/bilat.shtml |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504074309/http://www.mfa.gov.az/eng/foreign_policy/bilat.shtml |archive-date=4 May 2007 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Full diplomatic relations, including mutual exchanges of missions, were first established with Turkey, Pakistan, the United States, Iran<ref name="CSUS"/> and Israel.<ref name="israelmfa">{{cite web|url=http://baku.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/113213.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://baku.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/113213.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=15th anniversary of Israel-Azerbaijan diplomatic relations |access-date=21 March 2008 |last=Lenk |first=Arthur |date=7 March 2007 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel}}</ref> Azerbaijan has placed a particular emphasis on its "special relationship" with [[Place:Turkey|Turkey]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kardas|first=Saban|title=Turkey Develops Special Relationship with Azerbaijan|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=34116|publisher=Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume|access-date=23 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Katik|first=Mevlut|title=Azerbaijan and Turkey Coordinate Nagorno-Karabakh Negotiation Position|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav042304.shtml|publisher=EurasiaNet|access-date=23 December 2010}}</ref>

Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries so far and holds membership in 38 international organizations.<ref name="FCO" /> It holds observer status in the Non-Aligned Movement and [[Organization:World Trade Organization|World Trade Organization]] and is a correspondent at the [[Organization:International Telecommunication Union|International Telecommunication Union]].<ref name="FCO"/>

On 9 May 2006 Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly established Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly. The term of office began on 19 June 2006.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.un.org/ga/60/elect/hrc/
 |title=Elections & Appointments – Human Rights Council
 |publisher=United Nations
 |access-date=3 January 2009
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220224503/http://www.un.org/ga/60/elect/hrc/
 |archive-date=20 December 2008
 |url-status=live}}</ref> Azerbaijan was first elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2011 with the support of 155 countries.

[[File:Heads of state attended ceremony to release young sturgeons into Caspian Sea 2.jpg|thumb|left|President Ilham Aliyev and other heads of state hosted by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Caspian Summit in Aktau, Kazakhstan, August 12, 2018]]

Foreign policy priorities of Azerbaijan include, first of all, the restoration of its territorial integrity; elimination of the consequences of occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other regions of Azerbaijan surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh;<ref name="NSC AZ"/><ref>{{cite news | last = Selim Özertem | first = Hasan | title =Independence of Kosovo and the Nagorno-Karabakh Issue | publisher = TurkishWeekly | url =http://www.turkishweekly.net/columnist/2886/independence-of-kosovo-and-the-nagorno-karabakh-issue.html| access-date = 24 April 2008}}</ref> integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structure; contribution to international security; cooperation with international organizations; regional cooperation and bilateral relations; strengthening of defense capability; promotion of security by domestic policy means; strengthening of democracy; preservation of ethnic and religious tolerance; scientific, educational, and cultural policy and preservation of moral values; economic and social development; enhancing internal and border security; and migration, energy, and transportation security policy.<ref name="NSC AZ">{{cite web| title =National Security Concept of the Republic of Azerbaijan | publisher = United Nations| date = 23 May 2007| url = http://www.un.int/azerbaijan/pdf/National_security.pdf| access-date = 23 May 2007}}</ref>

Azerbaijan is an active member of international coalitions fighting international terrorism, and was one of the first countries to offer support after the [[Religion:September 11 attacks|September 11 attacks]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Rex Tillerson affirms US support for Azerbaijan's efforts to diversify its economy|url=http://azertag.az/en/xeber/Rex_Tillerson_affirms_US_support_for_Azerbaijan_039s_efforts_to_diversify_its_economy-1046148|access-date=14 April 2017|language=en|date=29 March 2017}}</ref> The country is an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program, contributing to peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} Azerbaijan is also a member of the Council of Europe since 2001 and maintains good relations with the [[Social:European Union|European Union]]. The country may eventually apply for EU membership.<ref name="NSC AZ"/>

[[File:Ilham Aliyev, President of European Council Charles Michel held one-on-one meeting in Brussels 01.jpg|thumb|President Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Council Charles Michel in Brussels, Belgium, April 6, 2022]]

On 1 July 2021, the US Congress advanced legislation that will have an impact on the military aid that Washington has sent to Azerbaijan since 2012. This was due to the fact that the packages to [[Place:Armenia|Armenia]], instead, are significantly smaller.<ref>{{Cite web|title=US Congress puts the squeeze on military aid to Azerbaijan|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/us-news/2021/07/01/us-congress-puts-the-squeeze-on-military-aid-to-azerbaijan/|access-date=2021-07-02|website=The National| date=July 2021 }}</ref>

Azerbaijan has been harshly criticized for bribing foreign officials and diplomats to promote its causes abroad and legitimize its elections at home, a practice termed caviar diplomacy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Disgraced: Azerbaijan and the End of Election Monitoring As We Know It|url=http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/esi_document_id_145.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/esi_document_id_145.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=European Stability Initiative|date=5 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/24/azerbaijan-caviar-diplomacy-for-mps|title=Plush hotels and caviar diplomacy: how Azerbaijan's elite wooed MPs|author=Jamie Doward|work=The Guardian|access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://euobserver.com/opinion/118320|title=Europe's caviar diplomacy with Azerbaijan must end|access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijan-baku-caviar-oil/25162410.html|title=Baku Smooths Over Its Rights Record with a Thick Layer of Caviar|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref> The [[Finance:Azerbaijani laundromat|Azerbaijani laundromat]] [[Finance:Money laundering|money laundering]] operation involved the bribery of foreign politicians and journalists to serve the Azerbaijani government's public relations interests.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Project |first1=Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting |title=The Azerbaijani Laundromat |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/azerbaijanilaundromat/ |access-date=6 September 2023 |work=OCCRP |language=en}}</ref>

===Military===
[[File:Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended TEKNOFEST Azerbaijan festival in Baku 46.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Azerbaijani Navy ships during the 2022 Teknofest Azerbaijan festival in Baku]]

The history of the modern Azerbaijan army dates back to [[Place:Azerbaijan Democratic Republic|Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] in 1918 when the National Army of the newly formed Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was created on 26 June 1918.<ref>[http://www.azembassy.com.pk/en/book/?get=c3 ''Azerbaijan: Short History of Statehood''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718172824/http://www.azembassy.com.pk/en/book/?get=c3 |date=18 July 2007 }}, Embassy of Republic of Azerbaijan in Pakistan, 2005, Chapter 3.</ref><ref>[http://www.calend.ru/holidays/0/0/1393/ Creation of National Army in 1918] {{in lang|ru}}.</ref> When Azerbaijan gained independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan were created according to the Law on the Armed Forces of 9 October 1991.<ref>[http://www.base.spinform.ru/show_doc.fwx?Regnom=2893 Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Armed Forces], No. 210-XII, 9 October 1991 {{in lang|ru}}.</ref> The original date of the establishment of the short-lived National Army is celebrated as Army Day (26 June) in today's Azerbaijan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-06-26 |title=Army Day Celebrated in Azerbaijan |url=https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/politics/1232458.html |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=Trend.Az |language=en}}</ref>
As of 2021, Azerbaijan had 126,000 active personnel in its armed forces. There are also 17,000 paramilitary troops and 330,00 reserve personnel.<ref name=Blandy12>C. W. Blandy [http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/arag/document-listings/caucasus/08(17)CWB.pdf Azerbaijan: Is War Over Nagornyy Karabakh a Realistic Option? Advanced Research and Assessment Group. Caucasus Series 08/17. – Defense Academy of the United Kingdom, 2008, p. 12] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510000120/http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/arag/document-listings/caucasus/08(17)CWB.pdf |date=10 May 2011 }}</ref> The armed forces have three branches: the Land Forces, the {{wipe|Azerbaijani Air Forces}} and the Navy. Additionally the armed forces embrace several military sub-groups that can be involved in state defense when needed. These are the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Border Service, which includes the Coast Guard as well.<ref name="cia"/> The Azerbaijan National Guard is a further paramilitary force. It operates as a semi-independent entity of the Special State Protection Service, an agency subordinate to the President.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.aliyev-heritage.org/ru/652072.html |script-title=ru:Выступление Президента Азербайджанской Республики, Верховного Главнокомандующего Гейдара Алиева на церемонии, посвященной 5-й годовщине образования Национальной гвардии – Штаб Национальной гвардии Азербайджана |publisher=Heydar Aliyev Heritage Research Center |date=25 December 1996 |language=ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724235004/http://library.aliyev-heritage.org/ru/652072.html |archive-date=24 July 2011  }}</ref>

[[File:Servicemen of the "Yarasa" Special Forces at Victory Parade in Baku.jpg|thumb|Members of the Special Forces of Azerbaijan during the Baku Victory Parade of 2020]]

Azerbaijan adheres to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and has signed all major international arms and weapons treaties. Azerbaijan closely cooperates with NATO in programs such as Partnership for Peace and Individual Partnership Action Plan/pfp and ipa. Azerbaijan has deployed 151 of its Peacekeeping Forces in Iraq and another 184 in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|last=Abbasov |first=Shahin |title=Azerbaijan: Baku Can Leapfrog over Ukraine, Georgia for NATO Membership |publisher=EurasiaNet |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060409.shtml |access-date=3 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606053322/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav060409.shtml |archive-date=6 June 2009 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

Azerbaijan spent $2.24 billion on its defence budget {{as of|2020|lc=y}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.CD?locations=AZ|title=Military expenditure (current USD) – Azerbaijan|work=[[Organization:World Bank|World Bank]]|access-date=4 September 2022}}</ref> which amounted to 5.4% of its total GDP,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?locations=AZ|title=Military expenditure (% of GDP) – Azerbaijan|work=[[Organization:World Bank|World Bank]]|access-date=4 September 2022}}</ref> and some 12.7% of general government expenditure.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.ZS?locations=AZ|title=Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) – Azerbaijan|work=[[Organization:World Bank|World Bank]]|access-date=4 September 2022}}</ref> Azerbaijani defense industry manufactures small arms, artillery systems, tanks, armors and [[Physics:Night vision device|night vision device]]s, aviation bombs, UAV'S/unmanned aerial vehicle, various military vehicles and military planes and helicopters.<ref>{{cite web| title =Azerbaijan to start manufacturing arms, military hardware in 2008 | publisher = BBC Monitoring Service | url = http://www.un-az.org/undp/bulnews55/en3.php| access-date = 26 January 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Azerbaijan to produce tanks, aviation bombs and pilotless vehicles in 2009 |publisher=panarmenian |url=http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=28123 |access-date=24 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109213303/http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=28123 |archive-date=9 January 2009 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title =Uzeir Jafarov: "Azerbaijan will be unable to produce competitive military technique in the next five years" | publisher = Today.Az | url = http://www.today.az/news/business/47845.html| access-date = 26 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title =President Ilham Aliyev attends the openings of several defense-related facilities | publisher = Today.Az | url = http://www.today.az/news/politics/81912.html| access-date = 4 March 2011}}</ref>

===Administrative divisions===
[[File:Economic Regions of Azerbaijan (2021; labelled).png|thumb|upright=1.8| Azerbaijan is divided into 14 economic regions.]]
Azerbaijan is administratively divided into 14 economic regions; 66 rayons ({{lang|az|rayonlar}}, singular {{lang|az|rayon}}) and 11 cities ({{lang|az|şəhərlər}}, singular {{lang|az|şəhər}}) under the direct authority of the republic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/en/001_1.shtml |title=The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Administrative and territorial units of Azerbaijan Republic |publisher=Azstat.org |access-date=22 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512043157/http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/en/001_1.shtml |archive-date=12 May 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Moreover, Azerbaijan includes the Autonomous Republic ({{lang|az|muxtar respublika}}) of Nakhchivan.<ref name="cia"/> The President of Azerbaijan appoints the governors of these units, while the government of Nakhchivan is elected and approved by the parliament of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
{{div col|colwidth=20em|content=
* Baku Economic Region
** [[Place:Baku|Baku]]{{efn|name="control"}}
* Absheron-Khizi Economic Region
** Absheron (Abşeron)
** Khizi (Xızı)
** Sumgait{{efn|name="control"}} (Sumqayıt)
* Central Aran Economic Region
** Aghdash (Ağdaş)
** Goychay (Göyçay)
** Kurdamir (Kürdəmir)
** Ujar (Ucar)
** Yevlakh (Yevlax)
** Yevlakh{{efn|name="control"}} (Yevlax; city)
** Zardab (Zərdab)
** Mingachevir{{efn|name="control"}} (Mingəçevir)
* Mil-Mughan Economic Region
** Beylagan (Beyləqan)
** Imishli (İmişli)
** Saatly (Saatlı)
** Sabirabad (Sabirabad)
* Shirvan-Salyan Economic Region
** Bilasuvar (Biləsuvar)
** Hajigabul (Hacıqabul)
** Neftchala (Neftçala)
** Salyan (Salyan)
** Yevlakh (Yevlax)
** Shirvan{{efn|name="control"}} (Şirvan)
* Mountainous Shirvan Economic Region
** Aghsu (Ağsu)
** Gobustan (Qobustan)
** Ismayilli (İsmayıllı)
** Shamakhi (Şamaxı)
* Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region
** Dashkasan (Daşkəsən)
** Goranboy (Goranboy)
** Goygol (Göygöl)
** Samukh (Samux)
** Ganja{{efn|name="control"}} (Gəncə)
** Naftalan{{efn|name="control"}} (Naftalan)
* Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region
** Aghstafa (Ağstafa)
** Gadabay (Gədəbəy)
** Gazakh (Qazax)
** Shamkir (Şəmkir)
** Tovuz (Tovuz)
* Guba-Khachmaz Economic Region
** Guba (Quba)
** Gusar (Qusar)
** Khachmaz (Xaçmaz)
** Shabran (Şabran)
** Siyazan (Siyəzən)
* East Zangezur Economic Region
** Gubadly (Qubadlı)
** Jabrayil (Cəbrayıl)
** Kalbajar (Kəlbəcər)
** Lachin (Laçın)
** Zangilan (Zəngilan)
* Lankaran-Astara Economic Region
** Astara (Astara)
** Jalilabad (Cəlilabad)
** Lankaran (Lənkəran)
** Lerik (Lerik)
** Masally (Masallı)
** Yardimli (Yardımlı)
** Lankaran{{efn|name="control"}} (Lənkəran; city)
* Nakhchivan Economic Region
** Babek (Babək)
** Julfa (Culfa)
** Kangarli (Kəngərli)
** Ordubad (Ordubad)
** Sadarak (Sədərək)
** Shahbuz (Şahbuz)
** Sharur (Şərur)
** Nakhchivan{{efn|name="control"}} (Naxçıvan)
* Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region
** Balakan (Balakən)
** Gabala (Qəbələ)
** Gakh (Qax)
** Oghuz (Oğuz)
** Shaki (Şəki)
** Zagatala (Zaqatala)
** Shaki{{efn|name="control"}} (Şəki; city)
* Karabakh Economic Region
** Aghjabadi (Ağcabədi)
** Barda (Bərdə)
** Aghdam (Ağdam)
** Fuzuli (Füzuli)
** Khojaly (Xocalı)
** Khojavend (Xocavənd)
** Shusha (Şuşa)
** Tartar (Tərtər)
** [[Place:Stepanakert|Khankendi]]{{efn|name="control"}} (Xankəndi)
}}

==Economy==
[[File:GPD per capita development of Azerbaijan.jpg|thumb|right|Change in per capita GDP of Azerbaijan since 1973. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars.]]
After gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan became a member of the [[Organization:International Monetary Fund|International Monetary Fund]], the [[Organization:World Bank|World Bank]], the [[Organization:European Bank for Reconstruction and Development|European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]], the Islamic Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.<ref name="AZE">
{{cite web
 |title=Azerbaijan – General Information
 |publisher=Heydar Aliyev Foundation
 |url=http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Economy/_GeneralInfo/_generalInfo_e.html
 |access-date=22 May 2007
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505020428/http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Economy/_GeneralInfo/_generalInfo_e.html
 |archive-date=5 May 2007
 |url-status=live
}}
</ref> The banking system of Azerbaijan consists of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, [[Finance:Commercial bank|commercial bank]]s, and non-banking credit organizations. The National (now Central) Bank was created in 1992 based on the Azerbaijan State Savings Bank, an affiliate of the former State Savings Bank of the USSR. The Central Bank serves as Azerbaijan's central bank, empowered to issue the national currency, the Azerbaijani manat, and to supervise all commercial banks. Two major commercial banks are UniBank and the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan, run by Abbas Ibrahimov.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ibar.az/az/haqqimizda/rehberlik |title=Rəhbərlik |language=az |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=ibar.az |publisher=International Bank of Azerbaijan }}</ref>

Pushed up by spending and demand growth, the 2007 Q1 inflation rate reached 16.6%.<ref name="INF">{{cite web
| title =Azerbaijan's Q1 inflation rate 16.6%, National Bank Chief says
| publisher = Today.Az
| url = http://www.un-az.org/undp/bulnews48/e3.php
| access-date = 29 May 2007
}}
</ref> Nominal incomes and monthly wages climbed 29% and 25% respectively against this figure, but price increases in the non-oil industry encouraged inflation.<ref name="INF"/> Azerbaijan shows some signs of the so-called "[[Finance:Dutch disease|Dutch disease]]" because of its fast-growing energy sector, which causes inflation and makes non-energy exports more expensive.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Dutch disease and the Azerbaijan economy |journal=Communist and Post-Communist Studies |date=1 December 2013 |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=463–480 |doi=10.1016/j.postcomstud.2013.09.001 }}</ref>
In the early 2000s, chronically high inflation was brought under control. This led to the launch of a new currency, the new Azerbaijani manat, on 1 January 2006, to cement the economic reforms and erase the vestiges of an unstable economy.<ref>
{{cite web
| last = Mehdizade
| first = Sevinj
| title = Azerbaijan's New Manats: Design and Transition to a New Currency
| publisher = Azerbaijan International
| url = http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai143_folder/143_articles/143_manat.html
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|last=Ismayilov
|first=Rovshan
|title=Azerbaijan's Manat Makeover: Good Times Ahead?
|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/business/articles/eav030106.shtml
|publisher=EurasiaNet
|access-date=7 December 2010
}}
</ref>
Azerbaijan is also ranked 57th in the Global Competitiveness Report for 2010–2011, above other CIS countries.<ref>
{{cite web
 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf
 |title=World Economic Forum – The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011
 |access-date=4 January 2011
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206104835/http://www3.weforum.org//docs//WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf
 |archive-date=6 December 2010
 |url-status=live
}}</ref> By 2012 the [[Finance:Gross domestic product|GDP]] of Azerbaijan had increased 20-fold from its 1995 level.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/09454.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/09454.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Bibliothek der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung|access-date=11 November 2019}}</ref>

===Energy and natural resources===
[[File:Oil Rocks near Baku.jpg|thumb|left|Oil Rocks (Neft Daşları) near Baku]]{{Update section|date=December 2023|reason=some future tense sentences have years in the past}}
Two-thirds of Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas.<ref name="AZ">
{{cite web
 |title=Azerbaijan – General Information
 |publisher=Heydar Aliyev Foundation
 |url=http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Geography/_GeneralInfo/_generalInfo_e.html
 |access-date=22 May 2007
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528033940/http://www.azerbaijan.az/_Geography/_GeneralInfo/_generalInfo_e.html
 |archive-date=28 May 2007
 |url-status=live
}}
</ref>
The history of the oil industry of Azerbaijan dates back to the ancient period. Arabian historian and traveler Ahmad Al-Baladhuri discussed the economy of the Absheron peninsula in antiquity, mentioning its oil in particular.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.azerbaijan.az/portal/Economy/OilStrategy/oilStrategy_02_e.html|title=History of Development of Oil Industry}}</ref> There are many pipelines in Azerbaijan. The goal of the Southern Gas Corridor, which connects the giant Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan to Europe,<ref name="naturalgas">{{cite news |title=Southern Gas Corridor project about to come on stream |url=https://www.dw.com/en/southern-gas-corridor-project-about-to-come-on-stream/a-55555077 |work=Deutsche Welle |date=11 November 2020}}</ref> is to reduce European Union's dependency on Russian gas.<ref>{{cite news |title=New gas pipeline could heat up Azeri-Russian rivalry |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/azerbaijan-russia-gas-int-idUSKBN26R27G |work=Reuters |date=6 October 2020}}</ref>

The region of the Lesser Caucasus accounts for most of the country's gold, silver, iron, copper, [[Chemistry:Titanium|titanium]], [[Chemistry:Chromium|chromium]], [[Chemistry:Manganese|manganese]], [[Chemistry:Cobalt|cobalt]], [[Chemistry:Molybdenum|molybdenum]], complex [[Earth:Ore|ore]] and [[Chemistry:Antimony|antimony]].<ref name="AZ" /> In September 1994, a 30-year contract was signed between the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and 13&nbsp;oil companies, among them Amoco, [[Company:BP|BP]], [[Company:ExxonMobil|ExxonMobil]], Lukoil and [[Company:Equinor|Equinor]].<ref name="AZE" /> As Western oil companies are able to tap deepwater oilfields untouched by the Soviet exploitation, Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for [[Chemistry:Hydrocarbon exploration|oil exploration]] and development.<ref>{{cite web
 |title=Azerbaijan: Economy
 |publisher=globalEDGE
 |url=http://globaledge.msu.edu/countryInsights/economy.asp?countryID=11&regionID=3
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012194537/http://globaledge.msu.edu/countryInsights/economy.asp?countryID=11&regionID=3
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=12 October 2007
 |access-date=29 May 2007
}}</ref> Meanwhile, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan was established as an extra-budgetary fund to ensure macroeconomic stability, transparency in the management of oil revenue, and safeguarding of resources for future generations.
[[File:Baku pipelines.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|The South Caucasus Pipeline is bringing natural gas through Turkey to Europe.]]
Access to biocapacity in Azerbaijan is less than world average. In 2016, Azerbaijan had 0.8 global hectares<ref name=footprintdata>{{cite web|url=http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/countryTrends?cn=52&type=BCpc,EFCpc|title=Country Trends|publisher=Global Footprint Network|access-date= 4 June 2020}}</ref> of biocapacity per person within its territory, half the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lin|first1=David|last2=Hanscom|first2=Laurel|last3=Murthy|first3=Adeline|last4=Galli|first4=Alessandro|last5=Evans|first5=Mikel|last6=Neill|first6=Evan|last7=Mancini|first7=MariaSerena|last8=Martindill|first8=Jon|last9=Medouar|first9=FatimeZahra|last10=Huang|first10=Shiyu|last11=Wackernagel|first11=Mathis|year=2018|title=Ecological Footprint Accounting for Countries: Updates and Results of the National Footprint Accounts, 2012–2018|journal=Resources|language=en|volume=7|issue=3|pages=58|doi=10.3390/resources7030058|doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2016 Azerbaijan used 2.1 global hectares of biocapacity per person&nbsp;– their [[Earth:Ecological footprint|ecological footprint]] of consumption. This means they use more biocapacity than Azerbaijan contains. As a result, Azerbaijan is running a biocapacity deficit.<ref name=footprintdata/>

Azeriqaz, a sub-company of SOCAR, intends to ensure full gasification of the country by 2021.<ref>
{{cite web
 |url=http://abc.az/eng/news_13_02_2010_42618.html
 |title=SOCAR plans to completed full gasification of Azerbaijan only by 2021
 |publisher=Azerbaijan Business Center
 |access-date=6 June 2010
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003221052/http://abc.az/eng/news_13_02_2010_42618.html
 |archive-date=3 October 2011
}}
</ref>
Azerbaijan is one of the sponsors of the east–west and north–south energy transport corridors. Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway line will connect the Caspian region with Turkey, which is expected to be completed in July 2017. The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will deliver natural gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz gas to Turkey and Europe.<ref name="naturalgas"/>

Azerbaijan extended the agreement on development of ACG until 2050 according to the amended PSA signed on 14 September 2017 by SOCAR and co-ventures ([[Company:BP|BP]], [[Company:Chevron Corporation|Chevron]], Inpex, [[Company:Equinor|Equinor]], [[Company:ExxonMobil|ExxonMobil]], TP, ITOCHU and ONGC Videsh).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/media/press-releases/the-azerbaijan-government-and-co-venturers-sign-amended-and-restated-azeri-chirag-deepwater-gunashli-psa.html|title=The Azerbaijan government and co-venturers sign amended and restated Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli PSA {{!}} Press releases {{!}} Media {{!}} BP|website=bp.com|language=en|access-date=21 September 2017}}</ref>

===Agriculture===
Azerbaijan has the largest agricultural basin in the region. About 54.9 percent of Azerbaijan is agricultural land.<ref name="STA"/> At the beginning of 2007 there were 4,755,100&nbsp;hectares of utilized agricultural area.<ref name="AG">
{{cite web
 |title=Natural resources
 |publisher=The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan
 |url=http://www.azstat.org/publications/azfigures/2007/en/003.shtml
 |access-date=26 May 2007
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610085820/http://www.azstat.org/publications/azfigures/2007/en/003.shtml
 |archive-date=10 June 2007
 |url-status=dead
}}
</ref> In the same year the total wood resources counted 136&nbsp;million m<sup>3</sup>.<ref name="AG"/> Azerbaijan's agricultural scientific research institutes are focused on meadows and pastures, horticulture and subtropical crops, green vegetables, viticulture and wine-making, cotton growing and [[Biology:Medicinal plants|medicinal plants]].<ref>
{{cite web
 |title=Azerbaijan: Status of Database
 |publisher=Central Asia and Caucasus Institute
 |url=http://www.cac-biodiversity.org/aze/aze_database.htm
 |access-date=28 May 2007
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320100930/http://www.cac-biodiversity.org/aze/aze_database.htm
 |archive-date=20 March 2007
}}
</ref> In some areas it is profitable to grow grain, potatoes, [[Biology:Sugar beet|sugar beet]]s, cotton<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/azerbaijan.htm
|title=Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Azerbaijan
|access-date=4 July 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514143610/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/azerbaijan.htm
|archive-date=14 May 2015
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> and tobacco. Livestock, dairy products, and wine and spirits are also important farm products. The Caspian fishing industry concentrates on the dwindling stocks of [[Biology:Sturgeon|sturgeon]] and beluga. In 2002 the Azerbaijani merchant marine had 54 ships.<ref>
{{cite web
 |title=Azerbaijan: Transportation
 |publisher=Encyclopedia of the Nations
 |url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Azerbaijan-TRANSPORTATION.html
 |access-date=24 May 2007
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418210415/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Azerbaijan-TRANSPORTATION.html
 |archive-date=18 April 2007
 |url-status=live
}}
</ref>

Some products previously imported from abroad have begun to be produced locally. Among them are Coca-Cola by Coca-Cola Bottlers LTD., beer by Baki-Kastel, parquet by Nehir and oil pipes by EUPEC Pipe Coating Azerbaijan.<ref>
{{cite web
 |title=Industry
 |publisher=Statistical Yearbook of Azerbaijan 2004
 |url=http://www.azstat.org/publications/yearbook/SYA2004/Pdf/18en.pdf
 |access-date=26 May 2007
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202100114/http://www.azstat.org/publications/yearbook/SYA2004/Pdf/18en.pdf
 |archive-date=2 February 2007
 |url-status=dead
}}
</ref>

===Tourism===
[[File:Shahdag01.jpg|thumb|left|Shahdag Mountain Resort is the country's largest winter resort.]]

Tourism is an important part of the economy of Azerbaijan.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} The country was a well-known tourist spot in the 1980s. The fall of the Soviet Union, and the First Nagorno-Karabakh War during the 1990s, damaged the tourist industry and the image of Azerbaijan as a tourist destination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osce.org/baku/27857 |title=Rapid Tourism Assessment for the Azerbaijan Tourism Sector Development Program – Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) |access-date=9 September 2013}}</ref>

It was not until the 2000s that the tourism industry began to recover, and the country has since experienced a high rate of growth in the number of tourist visits and overnight stays.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.azadliq.org/a/388501.html|title=Azərbaycan Qarabağın turizm imkanlarını təbliğ edir|website=Azadlıq Radiosu|date=18 April 2007 |language=az}}</ref>

In recent years, Azerbaijan has also become a popular destination for religious, spa, and health care tourism.<ref name="Baku Boom Has Yet to Hit Regions">{{cite web|last=Ismayilov |first=Rovshan |title=Azerbaijan: Baku Boom Has Yet to Hit Regions |publisher=EurasiaNet |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav081307.shtml |access-date=12 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819211953/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav081307.shtml |archive-date=19 August 2007 |url-status=live  }}</ref> During winter, the Shahdag Mountain Resort offers skiing with state of the art facilities.<ref>{{cite web|title=$2 bn to be invested in Shahdag winter-summer resort in Azerbaijan|url=http://news.az/articles/economy/33770|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408085442/http://www.news.az/articles/economy/33770|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 April 2011|publisher=News.az|access-date=11 July 2011}}</ref>

The government of Azerbaijan has set the development of Azerbaijan as an elite tourist destination as a top priority. It is a national strategy to make tourism a major, if not the single largest, contributor to the Azerbaijani economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tourism.az/?menu=1&submenu=12&lang=eng |title=Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan: Goals |publisher=Tourism.az |date=6 February 2004 |access-date=4 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128233315/http://tourism.az/?menu=1&submenu=12&lang=eng |archive-date=28 November 2010 |url-status=live  }}</ref> These activities are regulated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.

There are 63 countries which have a visa-free score.<ref>[https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php?ccode=az Global Passport Power Rank | Passport Index 2017]. Passportindex.org. Retrieved 1 July 2017.</ref>
E-visa<ref>[https://evisa.gov.az/en/ Home Page | The Electronic Visa System of Azerbaijan Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220213600/https://evisa.gov.az/en/ |date=20 December 2016 }}. Evisa.gov.az. Retrieved 1 July 2017.</ref> – for a visit of foreigners of visa-required countries to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 of the World Economic Forum, Azerbaijan holds 84th place.<ref>Crotti, Robert and Misrahi, Tiffany(2015) [http://www3.weforum.org/docs/TT15/WEF_TTCR_Chapter1.1_2015.pdf Chapter 1.1 "The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2015: T&T as a Resilient Contribution to National Development"] in ''The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index 2015''. World Economic Forum</ref>

According to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council, Azerbaijan was among the top ten countries showing the strongest growth in visitor exports between 2010 and 2016,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/2017-documents/global-economic-impact-and-issues-2017.pdf |title=Research |year=2017 |website=wttc.org |access-date=22 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113052505/https://www.wttc.org/-/media/files/reports/economic-impact-research/2017-documents/global-economic-impact-and-issues-2017.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In addition, Azerbaijan placed first (46.1%) among countries with the fastest-developing travel and tourism economies, with strong indicators for inbound international visitor spending last year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40641560|title=Where's hot? This summer's most popular holiday spots|first=Katie|last=Hope|date=19 July 2017|publisher=BBC}}</ref>

{{wide image|Vista de Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-26, DD 101-106 PAN.jpg|800px|align-cap=center|Panoramic view of [[Place:Baku|Baku]], the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan}}

===Transportation===
The convenient location of Azerbaijan on the crossroad of major international traffic arteries, such as the Silk Road and the south–north corridor, highlights the strategic importance of the transportation sector for the country's economy.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ziyadov |first=Taleh |title=The New Silk Roads |publisher=Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Silk Road Studies Program |url=http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/publications/GCA/GCAPUB-10.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725084438/http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/publications/GCA/GCAPUB-10.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2013  }}</ref> The transport sector in the country includes roads, railways, aviation, and maritime transport.

Azerbaijan is also an important economic hub in the transportation of raw materials. The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) became operational in May 2006 and extends more than {{convert|1774|km|0|abbr=on}} through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. The BTC is designed to transport up to 50&nbsp;million tons of crude oil annually and carries oil from the Caspian Sea oilfields to global markets.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Zeyno Baran|title=The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline: Implications for Turkey |url=http://www.silkroadstudies.org/BTC_6.pdf |journal=The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline: Oil Window to the West |pages=103–118 |year=2005 |access-date=30 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227022300/http://www.silkroadstudies.org/BTC_6.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2008  }}</ref> The South Caucasus Pipeline, also stretching through the territory of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, became operational at the end of 2006 and offers additional gas supplies to the European market from the Shah Deniz gas field. Shah Deniz is expected to produce up to 296&nbsp;billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.<ref>{{cite press release|title=SCP Commissioning Commences |publisher=[[Company:BP|BP]] |url=http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=9006615&contentId=7018471 |date=1 June 2006 |access-date=4 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011104709/http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=9006615&contentId=7018471 |archive-date=11 October 2007  }}</ref> Azerbaijan also plays a major role in the EU-sponsored Silk Road Project.<ref>{{cite web |last= Ziyadov |first= Taleh |title= The New Silk Roads |publisher= Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Silk Road Studies Program |url= http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/publications/GCA/GCAPUB-10.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130725084438/http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/publications/GCA/GCAPUB-10.pdf |archive-date= 25 July 2013 |df= dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2002, the Azerbaijani government established the Ministry of Transport with a broad range of policy and regulatory functions. In the same year, the country became a member of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cracowrent.pl/uploads/pliki/CP_Vienna_convention.pdf |title=List of Contracting Parties to the Convention on Road Traffic |publisher=UN Economic Commission for Europe |access-date=23 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814012703/http://cracowrent.pl/uploads/pliki/CP_Vienna_convention.pdf |archive-date=14 August 2011  }}</ref> Priorities are upgrading the transport network and improving transportation services to better facilitate the development of other sectors of the economy.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

The 2012 construction of Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway was meant to improve transportation between Asia and Europe by connecting the railways of China and Kazakhstan in the east to the European railway system in the west via Turkey. In 2010 Broad-gauge railways and electrified railways stretched for {{convert|2918|km|0|abbr=on}} and {{convert|1278|km|0|abbr=on}} respectively. By 2010, there were 35 airports and one heliport.<ref name="cia"/>

===Science and technology===
[[File:Shamakhi observatory.jpg|thumb|Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory]]
In the 21st century, a new oil and gas boom helped improve the situation in Azerbaijan's science and technology sectors. The government launched a campaign aimed at modernization and innovation. The government estimates that profits from the information technology and communication industry will grow and become comparable to those from oil production.<ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan aims for hi-tech state|url=http://www.euronews.net/2010/11/26/azerbaijan-aims-for-hi-tech-state/|publisher=Euronews|access-date=19 December 2010}}</ref>

Azerbaijan has a large and steadily growing Internet sector, mostly uninfluenced by the [[Finance:Financial crisis of 2007–2008|financial crisis of 2007–2008]]; rapid growth is forecast for at least five more years.<ref>{{cite web|title=Azerbaijan is in TOP 10 of countries showing dynamic growth in Internet and mobile communications penetration|url=http://www.bakutel.az/2012/?p=news__read&t=top&q=55&l=en|website=bakutel.az|access-date=15 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507054828/http://www.bakutel.az/2012/?p=news__read&t=top&q=55&l=en|archive-date=7 May 2013}}</ref> Azerbaijan was ranked 89th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=www.wipo.int |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-10-28|title=Global Innovation Index|url=https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|access-date=2021-09-02|website=INSEAD Knowledge|language=en|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101622/https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The country has also been making progress in developing its telecoms sector. The Ministry of Communications & Information Technologies (MCIT) and an operator through its role in Aztelekom are both policy-makers and regulators. Public payphones are available for local calls and require the purchase of a token from the telephone exchange or some shops and kiosks. Tokens allow a call of indefinite duration. {{As of|2009}}, there were 1,397,000 main telephone lines<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2150rank.html CIA.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003948/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2150rank.html |date=13 June 2007 }}, CIA World Factbook Telephones – main lines in use, Azerbaijan 1,397,000 main lines</ref> and 1,485,000 internet users.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2153rank.html CIA.gov] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104130822/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2153rank.html |date=4 January 2018 }}, CIA World Factbook Internet users, Azerbaijan Internet users: 1,485,000.</ref> There are four GSM providers: Azercell, {{ill|Bakcell|az|vertical-align=sup}}, Azerfon (Nar Mobile), Nakhtel mobile network operators and one CDMA.

In the 21st century a number of prominent Azerbaijani [[Earth:Geodynamics|geodynamics]] and geotectonics scientists, inspired by the fundamental works of Elchin Khalilov and others, designed hundreds of earthquake prediction stations and earthquake-resistant buildings that now constitute the bulk of The Republican Center of Seismic Service.<ref>{{cite news | title =Azerbaijani scientist invents earthquake-resistant building| publisher = News.Az| url = http://www.news.az/articles/society/33169| access-date = 18 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title =International Station for the Forecasting of Earthquakes Atropatena-AZ3, Baku, Azerbaijan | publisher = Global Network for the Forecasting of Earthquakes| url = http://seismonet.org/page.html?id_node=190}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | script-title=ru:Азербайджанский ученый изобрел метод оповещения о землетрясении | publisher = BlackSea News| url = http://www.blackseanews.net/read/14548| access-date = 29 March 2011|language=ru}}</ref>

The [[Organization:Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency|Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency]] launched its first satellite AzerSat 1 into orbit on 7 February 2013 from [[Organization:Guiana Space Centre|Guiana Space Centre]] in French Guiana at orbital positions 46° East.<ref>{{cite news|title=Arianespace signs deal to launch Azerbaijani satellite |url=http://www.news.az/articles/tech/26038 |publisher=News.Az |access-date=5 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108155851/http://www.news.az/articles/tech/26038 |archive-date=8 November 2010 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Azerbaijan signs deal with Arianespace to launch satellite |url=http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Azerbaijan_signs_deal_with_Arianespace_to_launch_satellite_999.html |publisher=Space Travel |access-date=5 November 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20101106142156/http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Azerbaijan_signs_deal_with_Arianespace_to_launch_satellite_999.html |archive-date=6 November 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.satellitetoday.com/st/headlines/Orbital-Contracted-to-Build-Azerbaijans-First-Satellite_34220.html |title=Orbital Contracted to Build Azerbaijan's First Satellite |publisher=SatelliteToday |date=28 November 2010 |access-date=1 April 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110510101859/http://www.satellitetoday.com/st/headlines/Orbital-Contracted-to-Build-Azerbaijans-First-Satellite_34220.html |archive-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref> The satellite covers Europe and a significant part of Asia and Africa and serves the transmission of TV and radio broadcasting as well as the Internet.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=baku-developing-satellite-to-kick-off-national-space-program-2009-12-03 |title=Baku developing satellite to kick off national space program |newspaper=Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review |date=3 December 2009 |access-date=4 January 2011 |archive-date=7 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007035924/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=baku-developing-satellite-to-kick-off-national-space-program-2009-12-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The launching of a satellite into orbit is Azerbaijan's first step in realizing its goal of becoming a nation with its own space industry, capable of successfully implementing more projects in the future.<ref>{{cite news |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511074234/http://www.news.az/articles/2595 |archive-date=11 May 2011|url=http://www.news.az/articles/2595 |title=Meeting held to coordinate orbital slots for Azersat |publisher=News.Az |date=16 November 2009 |access-date= 18 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title =Азербайджан рассчитывает запустить спутник связи AzerSat | publisher = ComNews| url = http://www.comnews.ru/index.cfm?id=46893&tempo=150| access-date = 29 July 2009|language=ru}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
[[File:Azerbaijan single age population pyramid 2020.png|thumb|Population pyramid]]
As of March 2022, 52.9% of Azerbaijan's total population of 10,164,464 is [[Engineering:Urban area|urban]], with the remaining 47.1% being rural.<ref name="reportpop">{{cite web |url=https://report.az/en/sosial-security/population-of-azerbaijan-revealed/ |website=Report |title=Population of Azerbaijan revealed |date=15 April 2022 |access-date=3 May 2022}}</ref> In January 2019, the 50.1% of the total population was female. The [[Social:Human sex ratio|sex ratio]] in the same year was 0.99 males per female.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.az/news/index.php?id=4131|title=Azərbaycanda demoqrafik vəziyyət|website=State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan|language=az|access-date=2019-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219130340/https://www.stat.gov.az/news/index.php?id=4131|archive-date=19 February 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 2011 population growth-rate was 0.85%, compared to 1.09% worldwide.<ref name="cia"/> A significant factor restricting population growth is a high level of migration. In 2011 Azerbaijan saw a migration of −1.14/1,000 people.<ref name="cia"/>

The Azerbaijani diaspora is found in 42 countries<ref>{{cite web| title =Xaricdəki təşkilatlar | publisher =State Committee on Work with Diaspora| url = http://www.diaspora.gov.az/index.php?options=content&id=87| access-date = 25 May 2007|language=Az}}</ref> and in turn there are many centers for ethnic minorities inside Azerbaijan, including the German cultural society "Karelhaus", Slavic cultural center, Azerbaijani-Israeli community, Kurdish cultural center, International Talysh Association, Lezgin national center "Samur", Azerbaijani-Tatar community, Crimean Tatars society, etc.<ref name="MIN">{{cite web|title=Ethnic minorities |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |url=http://www.mfa.gov.az/eng/foreign_policy/inter_affairs/human/ethnic.shtml |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417093650/http://www.mfa.gov.az/eng/foreign_policy/inter_affairs/human/ethnic.shtml |archive-date=17 April 2007 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

In total, Azerbaijan has 78 cities, 63 city districts, and one special legal status city. 261 urban-type settlements and 4248 villages follow these.<ref name="stat.gov.az">[http://www.stat.gov.az/source/demoqraphy/ap/ Azərbaycanın əhalisi | Azərbaycan Respublikasının Dövlət Statistika Komitəsi]. Stat.gov.az. Retrieved 1 July 2017.</ref>


===Ethnicity===
{{Pie chart|color1=green|value13=0.11|label10=Ukrainians|value10=0.24|color11=seagreen|label11=Tsakhurs|value11=0.14|label12=Udis|value12=0.04|color12=purple|radius=100|label13=Georgians|label9=Tats|color13=blue|label14=[[Religion:Jews|Jews]]|color14=dodgerblue|value14=0.1|value15=0.07|color15=honeydew|label15=Kurds|color16=black|label16=Others|value16=0.16|color10=aqua|value9=0.28|label1=Azerbaijanis|color5=gold|value1=91.6|value2=2.02|label2=Lezgins|color2=brown|color3=lime|label3=Russians|value3=1.35|value4=1.35|label4=Armenians|color4=red|value5=1.26|color9=orange|label5=Talyshs|color6=violet|label6=Avars|value6=0.56|label7=Turks|value7=0.43|color7=crimson|color8=beige|value8=0.29|label8=Tatars|caption=Demographics of Azerbaijan}}
The ethnic composition of the population according to the 2009 population census: 91.6% Azerbaijanis, 2.0% Lezgins, 1.4% Armenians (almost all Armenians live in the break-away region of Nagorno-Karabakh), 1.3% Russians, 1.3% Talysh, 0.6% Avars, 0.4% Turks, 0.3% Tatars, 0.3% Tats, 0.2% Ukrainians, 0.1% Tsakhurs, 0.1% Georgians, 0.1% Jews, 0.1% Kurds, other 0.2%.<ref name="auto">[https://web.archive.org/web/20131110034957/http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/az/AP_/AZ_1.shtml The State Statistical Committee of the Azerbaijan Republic, The ethnic composition of the population according to the 2009 census.] azstat.org</ref>

===Languages===
The official language of Azerbaijan is [[Social:Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], a [[Social:Turkic languages|Turkic language]]. Approximately 92% of the national population speak it as their mother tongue.<ref name=UNLANGDATA>[http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a27%3bcountryCode%3a31%3brefYear%3a1999%2c2009%3bareaCode%3a0%3bsexCode%3a0&c=2,3,10,15,16&s=_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc,areaCode:asc&v=1 Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence], UN Data. Retrieved 27 August 2016.</ref>

Russian and [[Social:Armenian language|Armenian]] (only in [[Place:Nagorno-Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh]]) are still spoken in Azerbaijan. Each is the mother tongue of around 1.5% of the national population.<ref name=UNLANGDATA/> In 1989, Armenian was the majority language in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, spoken by about 76% of the regional population.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Donald E. |first2= Lorna Touryan |last2=Miller |date=2003 |title=Armenia: Portraits of Survival and Hope |location=Berkeley, California |publisher=University of California Press |page=7 |isbn=978-0-520-23492-5}}</ref> After the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, native speakers of Armenian composed around 95% of the regional population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/overview.shtml |title=Nagorno Karabakh Republic – Country Overview |publisher=Nkrusa.org |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419102410/http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/overview.shtml |archive-date=19 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

A dozen other minority languages are spoken natively in Azerbaijan,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=AZ |title=Ethnologue report for Azerbaijan |publisher=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |access-date=3 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218031424/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=AZ |archive-date=18 December 2008 |url-status=live  }}</ref> including [[Social:Avar language|Avar]], Budukh,<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages">{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/chris.html|title=Endangered languages in Europe and North Asia|access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref> [[Social:Georgian language|Georgian]], Juhuri,<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages"/> Khinalug,<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages"/> Kryts,<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages"/> [[Social:Lezgian language|Lezgin]], [[Social:Rutul language|Rutul]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages"/> [[Social:Talysh language|Talysh]], [[Social:Tat language (Caucasus)|Tat]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages"/> [[Social:Tsakhur language|Tsakhur]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages"/> and [[Social:Udi language|Udi]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages"/> All these are spoken only by small minority populations, some of which are tiny and decreasing.<ref>Clifton, John M., editor. 2002 (vol. 1), 2003 (vol. 2). ''Studies in languages of Azerbaijan''. Baku, Azerbaijan and Saint Petersburg, Russia: Institute of International Relations, Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and North Eurasian Group, SIL International.</ref>

===Religion===

[[File:Bibi Heybat Mosque Baku 1.jpg|thumb|left|The Bibi-Heybat Mosque in Baku. The mosque is built over the tomb of a descendant of Muhammad.<ref name="Bibi">{{cite web|last=Sharifov|first=Azad|title=Legend of the Bibi-Heybat Mosque|url=http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/63_folder/63_articles/63_bibiheybat.html|publisher=Azerbaijan International|access-date= 11 July 2010}}</ref>]]

Azerbaijan is considered the most secular Muslim-majority country.<ref>{{cite news|title= Islam and Secularism: the Azerbaijani experience and its reflection in France  |publisher= PR Web|url= http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/6/prweb10839650.htm|access-date=2013-08-16}}</ref> Around 97% of the population are Muslims.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf |title=Mapping The Global Muslim Population |access-date=22 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519092435/http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf |archive-date=19 May 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Around 55–85% of Muslims are estimated to be [[Religion:Shia Islam|Shia]], while 15–45% of Muslims are Sunnis.<ref name="Pres">{{Cite web |url=https://files.preslib.az/projects/remz/pdf_en/atr_din.pdf |title=Religion |publisher=Administrative Department of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan – Presidential Library |access-date=2023-12-20}}</ref><ref>Sources:
{{Cite web |date=2 June 2022 |title=2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Azerbaijan |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/azerbaijan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604000708/https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/azerbaijan/ |archive-date=4 June 2022 |website=U.S Department of State|quote=According to 2011 SCWRA data (the most recent available), 96 percent of the population is Muslim, of which approximately 65 percent is Shia and 35 percent Sunni.}}
* {{Cite web |last=Greenger |first=Nurit |date=8 May 2017 |title=Azerbaijan a Destination Worthwhile. My week travel log in Azerbaijan – Day two |url=https://m.jpost.com/blogs/think-with-me/azerbaijan-a-destination-worthwhile-my-week-travel-log-in-azerbaijan-489899/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119062158/https://www.jpost.com/blogs/think-with-me/azerbaijan-a-destination-worthwhile-my-week-travel-log-in-azerbaijan-489899 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |website=The Jerusalem Post}}
* {{Cite web |last=Balci |first=Bayram |date=18 March 2013 |title=The Syrian Crisis: A View from Azerbaijan |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/2013/03/18/syrian-crisis-view-from-azerbaijan-pub-52295 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118105418/https://carnegieendowment.org/2013/03/18/syrian-crisis-view-from-azerbaijan-pub-52295 |archive-date=18 January 2022 |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ismayilov |first=Murad |title=The Dialectics of Post-Soviet Modernity and the Changing Contours of Islamic Discourse in Azerbaijan |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2018 |isbn=9781498568364 |location=London|pages=2 |chapter=1: Hybrid Intentionality and Exogenus Sources of Elite's Manifold Attitudes to Islam in Azerbaijan|quote=The country's population historically divided between the Shia (currently some 50-65 percent of the population) and the Sunni (about 35–50 percent).}}
* {{Cite book |last1=S. Nielsem |first1=Jorgen |title=Yearbook of Muslims in Europe: Volume 5 |last2=Balciz Goyushov |first2=Bayram, Altay |publisher=Brill |year=2013 |isbn=978-90-04-25456-5 |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |pages=65 |chapter=Azerbaijan|quote=quote:"While traditionally approximately 65% of local Muslims are considered Shi'i and 35% Sunnis, due to a great success of international Sunni missionary organisations after the collapse of the Soviet Union, currently the estimated number of practicising Sunni and Shi'i Muslims in the big urban areas are almost equal"}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoIbBQAAQBAJ&dq=Azerbaijan+Sunni+35&pg=PT201 |title=Whitaker's Shorts 2015: International |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2014 |isbn=9781472914842}}
* {{Cite web |last=Mammadli |first=Nijat |date=7 June 2018 |title=Islam and Youth in Azerbaijan |url=https://bakuresearchinstitute.org/en/islam-and-youth-in-azerbaijan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420120859/https://bakuresearchinstitute.org/en/islam-and-youth-in-azerbaijan/ |archive-date=20 April 2023 |website=Baku Research Institute|quote=quote:"Also, according to rough estimates, Shiites constitute 60–65% of the Muslim population, and Sunnis – 35–40%."}}</ref> Other faiths are practised by the country's various ethnic groups. Under article 48 of its Constitution, Azerbaijan is a [[Philosophy:Secular state|secular state]] and ensures religious freedom. In a 2006–2008 Gallup poll, only 21% of respondents from Azerbaijan stated that religion is an important part of their daily lives.<ref>[http://www.gallup.com/poll/114211/Alabamians-Iranians-Common.aspx Gallup – What Alabamians and Iranians Have in Common] – data accessed on 19 August 2014</ref>

Of the nation's religious minorities, the estimated 280,000 Christians (3.1%)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://features.pewforum.org/global-christianity/map.php#/Azerbaijan,ALL|title=Global Christianity|date=1 December 2014|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=4 July 2015|archive-date=19 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719204928/http://features.pewforum.org/global-christianity/map.php#/Azerbaijan,ALL|url-status=dead}}</ref> are mostly [[Religion:Russian Orthodox Church|Russian]] and [[Religion:Georgian Orthodox Church|Georgian]] [[Religion:Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] and Armenian Apostolic (almost all Armenians live in the break-away region of Nagorno-Karabakh).<ref name="cia"/> In 2003, there were 250 Roman Catholics.<ref>{{cite web|title=Catholic Church in Azerbaijan |publisher=Catholic-Hierarchy |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/az.html |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429114809/http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/az.html |archive-date=29 April 2007 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Other Christian denominations as of 2002 include [[Religion:Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Religion:Baptists|Baptists]] and Molokans.<ref name="AZR">{{cite web | last = Corley | first = Felix | title = Azerbaijan: 125 religious groups re-registered | publisher = Keston News Service | date = 9 March 2002 | url = http://www.keston.org.uk/kns/2002/020409AZ.htm | access-date = 9 April 2002 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724052726/http://www.keston.org.uk/kns/2002/020409AZ.htm | archive-date = 24 July 2011 | url-status=dead}}</ref> There is also a small Protestant community.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.day.az/society/85160.html|title=5,000 Azerbaijanis adopted Christianity|publisher=Day.az|date=7 July 2007|language=ru|access-date=30 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://azeri.irib.ir/tehliller/item/148029-xristian-missioner-t%C9%99riq%C9%99tl%C9%99r-ar-da-aktivl%C9%99sir?tmpl=component&print=1|title=Christian Missionaries Becoming Active in Azerbaijan|publisher=Tehran Radio|date=19 June 2011|language=az|access-date=12 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219223500/http://azeri.irib.ir/tehliller/item/148029-xristian-missioner-t%C9%99riq%C9%99tl%C9%99r-ar-da-aktivl%C9%99sir?tmpl=component&print=1|archive-date=19 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Azerbaijan also has an ancient Jewish population with a 2,000-year history; Jewish organizations{{Who|date=June 2022}} estimate that 12,000 Jews remain in Azerbaijan, which is home to the only Jewish-majority town outside of [[Place:Israel|Israel]] and the {{wipe|United States}}.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rothholz|first1=Peter|title=Jewish Life in Azerbaijan Embodies Muslim-Majority Nation's Culture of Tolerance|url=https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/54248/jewish-life-azerbaijan-embodies-muslim-majority-nations-culture-tolerance-jewish-world/|agency=Jewish News Syndicate|publisher=BreakingIsraelNews|date=20 November 2015|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121165438/https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/54248/jewish-life-azerbaijan-embodies-muslim-majority-nations-culture-tolerance-jewish-world/|archive-date=21 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Baku gives land for Jewish cultural center, kosher restaurant|url=http://www.jta.org/2013/12/11/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/jews-in-azerbaijani-capital-to-get-first-kosher-restaurant|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=11 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Allen-Ebrahimian|first1=Bethany|title=How I Accidentally Became a Lobbyist for Azerbaijan|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/01/how-i-accidentally-became-a-lobbyist-for-azerbaijan-human-rights-religion-israel/|magazine=Foreign Policy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Sloame|first1=Joanna|title=Azerbaijan|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Azerbaijan.html|website=Jewish Virtual Library|publisher=American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise}}</ref> Azerbaijan also is home to members of the [[Social:Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]], [[Organization:International Society for Krishna Consciousness|Hare Krishna]] and Jehovah's Witnesses communities, as well as adherents of the other religious communities.<ref name="AZR"/> Some religious communities have been unofficially restricted from religious freedom. A U.S. State Department report on the matter mentions detention of members of certain Muslim and Christian groups, and many groups have difficulty registering with the agency who regulates religion, The State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SCWRA).<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/192997.pdf Azerbaijan]. state.gov</ref>

===Education===
[[File:Dunya1.jpg|thumb|right|Classroom in [[Organization:Khazar University|Dunya School]]]]
A relatively high percentage of Azerbaijanis have obtained some form of higher education, most notably in scientific and technical subjects.<ref name="AZ study">{{cite web| title =Azerbaijan: A Country Study, Education, Health, and Welfare | publisher = Country Studies| url = http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/23.htm}}</ref> In the Soviet era, literacy and average education levels rose dramatically from their very low starting point, despite two changes in the standard alphabet, from Perso-Arabic script to Latin in the 1920s and from Roman to Cyrillic in the 1930s. According to Soviet data, 100 percent of males and females (ages nine to forty-nine) were literate in 1970.<ref name="AZ study"/> According to the United Nations Development Program Report 2009, the literacy rate in Azerbaijan is 99.5 percent.<ref>{{cite web| title = Human Development Report 2009 | date = January 2009| publisher = United Nations Development Program 2009| url = http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf}}</ref>

Since independence, one of the first laws that Azerbaijan's Parliament passed to disassociate itself from the Soviet Union was to adopt a [[Social:Azerbaijani alphabet|modified-Latin alphabet]] to replace Cyrillic.<ref>{{cite web|title= Education in Azerbaijan, The Challenges of Transition | publisher = Azerbaijan International|url = http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/44_folder/44_articles/44_education.html| access-date =12 March 2016}}</ref> Other than that the Azerbaijani system has undergone little structural change. Initial alterations have included the reestablishment of religious education (banned during the Soviet period) and curriculum changes that have reemphasized the use of the Azerbaijani language and have eliminated ideological content. In addition to elementary schools, the education institutions include thousands of preschools, general secondary schools, and vocational schools, including specialized secondary schools and technical schools. Education through the ninth grade is compulsory.<ref name=":02">{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{Cite book|last=Curtis|first=Glenn E.|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/94045459/|title=Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia : country studies|date=1995|publisher=Federal Research Division|isbn=978-0-8444-0848-4|edition=1st|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=111–113|oclc=31709972}} }}</ref>

==Culture==
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| header            = The Azerbaijani carpet and Kalaghai, a [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]] Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage of Humanity
| image1            = Şəkil-Bico xalçası (1).jpg
| alt1              = An Azerbaijani carpet from the Shirvan group from Bijo village, mid-19th century
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| image2            = Azərbaycan ipəyindən kəlağayılar 1.JPG
| alt2              = Silk Kalaghais
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}}

The culture of Azerbaijan has developed as a result of many influences; that is why Azerbaijanis are, in many ways, bi-cultural. Today, national traditions are well preserved in the country despite Western influences, including [[Social:Globalization|globalized]] consumer culture. Some of the main elements of the Azerbaijani culture are: music, literature, folk dances and art, cuisine, architecture, cinematography and Novruz Bayram. The latter is derived from the traditional celebration of the New Year in the ancient Iranian religion of [[Religion:Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrianism]]. Novruz is a family holiday.<ref>{{cite web| last = Waters| first = Zena| title = What exactly is Novruz Bayram| publisher = Azerbaijan Today| url = http://www.azerbaijantoday.az/ARCHIVE/12/life1.html| access-date = 22 March 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110514214646/http://www.azerbaijantoday.az/ARCHIVE/12/life1.html| archive-date = 14 May 2011}}</ref>

The profile of Azerbaijan's population consists, as stated above, of Azerbaijanis, as well as other nationalities or ethnic groups, compactly living in various areas of the country. Azerbaijani national and traditional dresses are the Chokha and Papakhi. There are radio broadcasts in Russian, [[Social:Georgian language|Georgian]], Kurdish, [[Social:Lezgian language|Lezgian]] and [[Social:Talysh language|Talysh]] languages, which are financed from the state budget.<ref name="MIN"/> Some local radio stations in Balakan and Khachmaz organize broadcasts in [[Social:Avar language|Avar]] and [[Social:Tat language (Caucasus)|Tat]].<ref name="MIN"/> In Baku several newspapers are published in Russian, Kurdish (''Dengi Kurd''), Lezgian (''Samur'') and Talysh languages.<ref name="MIN"/> Jewish society "Sokhnut" publishes the newspaper ''Aziz''.<ref name="MIN"/>

===Music and folk dances===
[[File:Uzeyir Hajibeyov.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Uzeyir Hajibeyov merged traditional Azerbaijani music with Western styles in the early 20th century.]]
Music of Azerbaijan builds on [[Social:Folk music|folk traditions]] that reach back nearly a thousand years.<ref>David C. King. ''Azerbaijan'', Marshall Cavendish, 2006, p. 94{{I}}</ref> For centuries Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies.<ref name="EMD">Энциклопедический музыкальный словарь, 2-е изд., Москва, 1966 (''Encyclopedical Music Dictionary'' (1966), 2nd ed., Moscow)</ref> Azerbaijani music has a branchy mode system, where chromatization of major and minor scales is of great importance.<ref name="EMD"/> Among national musical instruments there are 14 [[Engineering:String instrument|string instrument]]s, eight percussion instruments and six wind instruments.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Azerbaijan musical instruments |website=Atlas.musigi-dunya.az |url=http://atlas.musigi-dunya.az/atlas/en/instruments.html |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826153640/http://atlas.musigi-dunya.az/atlas/en/instruments.html |archive-date=26 August 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> According to ''The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', "in terms of ethnicity, culture and religion the Azerbaijani are musically much closer to Iran than Turkey."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=During|first=Jean|title=Azerbaijan|encyclopedia=The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|year=2001|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-23111-1}}</ref>
[[File:Pht-Vugar_Ibadov_eurovision_(2).jpg|thumb|Alim Qasimov performs mugham at Eurovision Song Contest 2012. The Azerbaijani Mugham was inscribed in 2008 as a UNESCO Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage of Humanity.]]
Mugham, meykhana and ashiq art are among the many musical traditions of Azerbaijan. Mugham is usually a suite with poetry and instrumental interludes. When performing mugham, the singers have to transform their emotions into singing and music. In contrast to the mugham traditions of Central Asian countries, Azerbaijani mugham is more free-form and less rigid; it is often compared to the improvised field of jazz.<ref>{{cite web|last=Duncan |first=Ishhad |title=The Baku Jazz Festival: Reviving a Tradition in Azerbaijan |publisher=EurasiaNet |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav042805.shtml |access-date=27 April 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050508164545/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/civilsociety/articles/eav042805.shtml |archive-date=8 May 2005 |url-status=live  }}</ref> [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]] proclaimed the Azerbaijani mugham tradition a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003. Meykhana is a kind of traditional Azerbaijani distinctive folk unaccompanied song, usually performed by several people improvising on a particular subject.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopaedia of the Muslim World |last1=Bahl |first1=Taru |last2=Syed |first2= M. H. |publisher=Anmol Publications PVT |isbn= 978-81-261-1419-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJTdr3JI46wC&pg=PA25 |page=25 |year=2003 }}</ref>

Ashiq combines poetry, storytelling, dance, and vocal and instrumental music into a traditional performance art that stands as a symbol of Azerbaijani culture. It is a mystic troubadour or traveling bard who sings and plays the saz. This tradition has its origin in the Shamanistic beliefs of ancient Turkic peoples.<ref name="European University Institute, Florence, Italy">[http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-6/cae05.html "ashik, shaman"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170526122055/http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-6/cae05.html |date=26 May 2017 }} – ''European University Institute, Florence, Italy'' (retrieved 10 August 2006).</ref> Ashiqs' songs are semi-improvised around common bases. Azerbaijan's ashiq art was included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO on 30 September 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=Azerbaijan's ashug art included into UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage |publisher=Today.Az |url=http://www.today.az/news/politics/56083.html |access-date=1 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002213552/http://www.today.az/news/politics/56083.html |archive-date=2 October 2009 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

Since the mid-1960s, Western-influenced Azerbaijani pop music, in its various forms, that has been growing in popularity in Azerbaijan, while genres such as rock and hip hop are widely produced and enjoyed. Azerbaijani pop and Azerbaijani folk music arose with the international popularity of performers like Alim Qasimov, Rashid Behbudov, Vagif Mustafazadeh, Muslim Magomayev, Shovkat Alakbarova and Rubaba Muradova.<ref>{{cite news| last =Hutcheon | first =David | title =Alim Qasimov: the living legend you've never heard of |work=The Times | date = 19 September 2008| url = http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article4781720.ece| access-date = 19 September 2008 | location=London}}</ref> Azerbaijan is an enthusiastic participant in the Eurovision Song Contest. Azerbaijan made its debut appearance at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The country's entry gained third place in 2009 and fifth the following year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Washington Post: Azerbaijan duo upset favorites Ireland for first-time win at 2011 Eurovision Song Contest |url=https://president.az/az/articles/view/2160 |access-date=2023-10-04 |website=president.az |language=}}</ref> Ell and Nikki won the first place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Running Scared", entitling Azerbaijan to host the contest in 2012, in Baku.<ref>{{cite news|title=Azerbaijan wins the Eurovision Song Contest |work=BBC News |date=14 May 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13387886 |access-date=14 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514035914/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13387886 |archive-date=14 May 2011 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Lusher|first=Adam|title=Azerbaijan wins Eurovision Song Contest|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/eurovision/8514539/Azerbaijan-wins-Eurovision-Song-Contest.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/eurovision/8514539/Azerbaijan-wins-Eurovision-Song-Contest.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Telegraph|access-date=15 May 2011|location=London|date=15 May 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> They have qualified for every Grand Final up until the 2018 edition of the contest, entering with X My Heart by singer Aisel.<ref>{{cite web|title=2018 First Semi-final Scoreboard|url=https://eurovision.tv/event/lisbon-2018/first-semi-final/scoreboard|publisher=Eurovision Song Contest|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-date=12 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512234516/https://eurovision.tv/event/lisbon-2018/first-semi-final/scoreboard|url-status=dead}}</ref>

There are dozens of Azerbaijani [[Social:Folk dance|folk dance]]s. They are performed at formal celebrations and the dancers wear national clothes like the Chokha, which is well-preserved within the national dances. Most dances have a very fast rhythm.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Азербайджанская Советская Социалистическая Республика |encyclopedia=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]] }}</ref>

===Literature===
[[File:Khurshidbanu Natavan.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Painting of Khurshidbanu Natavan, one of the most distinguished Azerbaijani poets. She was also the daughter of the last ruler of the Karabakh Khanate.]]
Among the medieval authors born within the territorial limits of modern Azerbaijani Republic was Persian poet and philosopher Nizami, called Ganjavi after his place of birth, Ganja, who was the author of the Khamsa ("The Quintuplet"), composed of five romantic poems, including "The Treasure of Mysteries", "Khosrow and Shīrīn", and "Leyli and Mejnūn".<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/46781/Azerbaijan/44294/Education Azerbaijan. Cultural life]. ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''.</ref>

The earliest known figure in written Azerbaijani literature was Izzeddin Hasanoghlu, who composed a divan consisting of Persian and Azerbaijani [[Engineering:Ghazal|ghazal]]s.<ref name="beale">{{cite book |title=An Oriental Biographical Dictionary |last=Beale |first=Thomas William |author2=Keene Henry George |year=1894 |publisher=W.H.Allen |page=311 |isbn=9781404706484 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxgaAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA311}}</ref><ref name="caferoglu">A.Caferoglu, "Adhari(azeri)", in ''Encyclopedia of Islam'', (new edition), Vol. 1, (Leiden, 1986)</ref> In Persian ghazals he used his pen-name, while his Azerbaijani ghazals were composed under his own name of Hasanoghlu.<ref name="beale"/>

Classical literature in Azerbaijani was formed in the 14th century based on the various Early Middle Ages dialects of [[Place:Tabriz|Tabriz]] and [[Place:Shirvan|Shirvan]]. Among the poets of this period were Gazi Burhanaddin, Haqiqi (pen-name of Jahan Shah Qara Qoyunlu), and Habibi.<ref name="tyrrell1">{{cite book |title=Aesopian Literary Dimensions of Azerbaijani Literature of the Soviet Period, 1920–1990 |last=Tyrrell |first=Maliheh S. |year=2001 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-0169-8 |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h4N_dneMybQC&pg=PA12}}</ref> The end of the 14th century was also the period of starting literary activity of Imadaddin Nasimi,<ref>{{cite book |last=Průšek |first=Jaroslav |title=Dictionary of Oriental Literatures |year=1974 |publisher=Basic Books |page=138 }}</ref> one of the greatest Azerbaijani<ref>{{cite web |title=AZERBAIJAN viii. Azeri Turkish |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/azerbaijan-viii |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=9 May 2022 |date=15 December 1988 |quote=The oldest poet of the Azeri literature known so far (and '''indubitably of Azeri''', not of East Anatolian of Khorasani, '''origin''') is ʿEmād-al-dīn Nasīmī (about 1369–1404, q.v.).}}</ref><ref name="burrill">{{cite book |last=Burrill |first=Kathleen R.F. |title=The Quatrains of Nesimi Fourteenth-Century Turkic Hurufi |year=1972 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG |page=46 |isbn=978-90-279-2328-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Balan |first1=Canan |title=Transience, absurdity, dreams and other illusions: Turkish shadow play |journal=Early Popular Visual Culture |date=1 July 2008 |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=177 |doi=10.1080/17460650802150424 |s2cid=191493938 |issn=1746-0654}}</ref> Hurufi [[Philosophy:Mysticism|mystical]] poets of the late 14th and early 15th centuries<ref name="nesimibritannica">{{cite encyclopedia
 |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055331/Seyid-Imadeddin-Nesimi
 |title=Seyid Imadeddin Nesimi
 |access-date=1 September 2008
 |year=2008
 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118133336/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055331/Seyid-Imadeddin-Nesimi
 |archive-date=18 January 2008
 |url-status=live
}}</ref> and one of the most prominent early divan masters in Turkic literary history,<ref name="nesimibritannica"/> who also composed poetry in [[Social:Persian language|Persian]]<ref name="burrill"/><ref name="babinger">{{cite web | url = http://www.brillonline.nl/public/LOGIN?sessionid=9e48c95d2ac06a8aacef322fe2b5e652&authstatuscode=400 | title = Nesīmī, Seyyid ʿImād al-Dīn | access-date = 1 September 2008 | last = Babinger | first = Franz | year = 2008 | website = Encyclopaedia of Islam | publisher = Brill Online | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200729045944/http://www.brillonline.nl/public/LOGIN?sessionid=9e48c95d2ac06a8aacef322fe2b5e652&authstatuscode=400 | archive-date = 29 July 2020 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Social:Arabic language|Arabic]].<ref name="nesimibritannica"/> The divan and ghazal styles were further developed by poets Qasem-e Anvar, Fuzuli and Khatai (pen-name of Safavid Shah Ismail I).

The ''Book of Dede Korkut'' consists of two manuscripts copied in the 16th century,<ref name="Meeker">Michael E. Meeker, "The Dede Korkut Ethic", International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Aug. 1992), 395–417. excerpt: The Book of Dede Korkut is an early record of oral Turkic folktales in Anatolia, and as such, one of the mythic charters of Turkish nationalist ideology. The oldest versions of the Book of Dede Korkut consist of two manuscripts copied in the 16th century. The twelve stories that are recorded in these manuscripts are believed to be derived from a cycle of stories and songs circulating among Turkic peoples living in northeastern Anatolia and northwestern Azerbaijan. According to Lewis (1974), an older substratum of these oral traditions dates to conflicts between the ancient Oghuz and their Turkish rivals in Central Asia (the Pecheneks and the Kipchaks), but this substratum has been clothed in references to the 14th-century campaigns of the Akkoyunlu Confederation of Turkic tribes against the Georgians, the Abkhaz, and the Greeks in Trebizond. Such stories and songs would have emerged no earlier than the beginning of the 13th century, and the written versions that have reached us would have been composed no later than the beginning of the 15th century. By this time, the Turkic peoples in question had been in touch with Islamic civilization for several centuries, had come to call themselves "Turcoman" rather than "Oghuz," had close associations with sedentary and urbanized societies, and were participating in Islamized regimes that included nomads, farmers, and townsmen. Some had abandoned their nomadic way of life altogether.</ref> and was not written earlier than the 15th century.<ref name="Kafadar">Cemal Kafadar(1995), "in Between Two Worlds: Construction of the Ottoman states", University of California Press, 1995. Excerpt: "It was not earlier than the fifteenth century. Based on the fact that the author is buttering up both the Akkoyunlu and Ottoman rulers, it has been suggested that the composition belongs to someone living in the undefined border region lands between the two states during the reign of Uzun Hassan (1466–78). G. Lewis, on the other hand, dates the composition "fairly early in the 15th century at least."</ref><ref name="IranicaOguzKhan">İlker Evrım Bınbaş, Encyclopædia Iranica, "Oguz Khan Narratives" [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/oguz-khan-narratives Encyclopædia Iranica | Articles]. Retrieved October 2010. "The Ketāb-e Dede Qorqut, which is a collection of twelve stories reflecting the oral traditions of the Turkmens in the 15th-century eastern Anatolia, is also called Oḡuz-nāma"</ref> It is a collection of 12 stories reflecting the oral tradition of Oghuz nomads.<ref name="IranicaOguzKhan"/> The 16th-century poet, Muhammed Fuzuli produced his timeless philosophical and lyrical ''Qazals'' in Arabic, Persian, and Azerbaijani. Benefiting immensely from the fine literary traditions of his environment, and building upon the legacy of his predecessors, Fuzuli was destined to become the leading literary figure of his society. His major works include ''The Divan of Ghazals'' and ''The Qasidas''. In the same century, Azerbaijani literature further flourished with the development of Ashik ({{lang-az|Aşıq}}) poetic genre of bards. During the same period, under the pen-name of Khatāī ({{lang-ar|خطائی}} for ''sinner'') Shah Ismail I wrote about 1400 verses in Azerbaijani,<ref name="minorsky1">{{cite journal |last=Minorsky |first=Vladimir |year=1942 |title=The Poetry of Shah Ismail |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |volume=10 |issue=4 |page=1053 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00090182 |s2cid=159929872 }}</ref> which were later published as his ''Divan''. A unique literary style known as ''qoshma'' ({{lang-az|qoşma}} for ''improvisation'') was introduced in this period, and developed by Shah Ismail and later by his son and successor, Shah Tahmasp I.<ref name="Mino">V. Minorsky, "The Poetry of Shah Ismail I," ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', University of London 10/4 (1942): 1006–53.</ref>

In the span of the 17th and 18th centuries, Fuzuli's unique genres as well Ashik poetry were taken up by prominent poets and writers such as Qovsi of Tabriz, Shah Abbas Sani, {{ill|Agha Mesih Shirvani|ru|Ага Масих Ширвани|vertical-align=sup}}, Nishat, Molla Vali Vidadi, Molla Panah Vagif, Amani, Zafar and others. Along with Turks, Turkmens and Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis also celebrate the Epic of Koroglu (from {{lang-az|kor oğlu}} for ''blind man's son''), a legendary folk hero.<ref name="samuel">{{cite book |title=Tantra and Popular Religion in Tibet |last1=Samuel |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Gregor |first2= Hamish|last3=Stutchbury |first3= Elisabeth |year=1994 |publisher=International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan |isbn=978-81-85689-68-5 |page=60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n74KAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> Several documented versions of Koroglu epic remain at the Institute for Manuscripts of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.<ref name="caferoglu"/>

Modern Azerbaijani literature in Azerbaijan is based on the Shirvani dialect mainly, while in Iran it is based on the Tabrizi one. The first newspaper in Azerbaijani, ''Akinchi'' was published in 1875.<ref>{{cite book |first1=  Vladimir |last1=Friche |first2=Anatoly |last2=Lunacharsky |date=1929–1939 |title=Литературная энциклопедия. — В 11 т.; М.: издательство Коммунистической академии, Советская энциклопедия, Художественная литература |language=ru }}</ref> In the mid-19th century, it was taught in the schools of [[Place:Baku|Baku]], Ganja, Shaki, [[Place:Tbilisi|Tbilisi]], and [[Place:Yerevan|Yerevan]]. Since 1845, it was also taught in the University of Saint Petersburg in Russia.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

===Folk art===
[[File:Azerbaijan tradition.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Traditional Azerbaijani clothing and musical instruments]]
Azerbaijanis have a rich and distinctive culture, a major part of which is decorative and applied art. This art form is represented by a wide range of handicrafts, such as chasing, jeweling, engraving in metal, carving in wood, stone, bone, carpet-making, lasing, pattern weaving and printing, and knitting and embroidery. Each of these types of decorative art, evidence of the endowments of the Azerbaijan nation, is very much in favor here. Many interesting facts pertaining to the development of arts and crafts in Azerbaijan were reported by numerous merchants, travelers, and diplomats who had visited these places at different times.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eanpages.org/2018/09/01/country-of-the-month-azerbaijan |title=Country of the month – Azerbaijan |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1 September 2018 |website=eanpages.org }}</ref>

The Azerbaijani carpet is a traditional handmade textile of various sizes, with a dense texture and a pile or pile-less surface, whose patterns are characteristic of Azerbaijan's many carpet-making regions. In November 2010 the Azerbaijani carpet was proclaimed a Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage by [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00389 |title=The traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving in the Republic of Azerbaijan |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=4 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205005739/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00011&RL=00389 |archive-date=5 December 2010 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=134436 |title=Azerbaijani carpet entered UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage |publisher=Azerbaijan Press Agency |access-date=4 January 2011 |archive-date=11 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311005157/http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=134436 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Lahic folk art.png|thumb|left|Handwork coppery in Lahij]]
Azerbaijan has been since ancient times known as a center of a large variety of crafts. The archeological dig on the territory of Azerbaijan testifies to the well-developed agriculture, stock raising, metalworking, pottery, ceramics, and carpet-weaving that date as far back as to the 2nd millennium BC. Archeological sites in Dashbulaq, Hasansu, Zayamchai, and Tovuzchai uncovered from the BTC pipeline have revealed early Iron Age artifacts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.agt.si.edu/site_overviews/azerbaijan/zayam_tovuz_artifact_catalogue.html|title=Ancient Heritage of the BTC – SCP Pipeline Corridor|website=Smithsonian|access-date=21 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423041508/http://www.agt.si.edu/site_overviews/azerbaijan/zayam_tovuz_artifact_catalogue.html|archive-date=23 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Azerbaijani carpets can be categorized under several large groups and a multitude of subgroups. Scientific research of the Azerbaijani carpet is connected with the name of Latif Karimov, a prominent scientist and artist. It was his classification that related the four large groups of carpets with the four geographical zones of Azerbaijan, Guba-Shirvan, Ganja-Kazakh, Karabakh and Tabriz.<ref>{{cite web| title =Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura | publisher = [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]] | url = http://portal.unesco.org/es/ev.php-URL_ID=31108&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
[[File:Azərbaycan dolması.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Dolma, a traditional Azerbaijani meal]]
The traditional cuisine is famous for an abundance of vegetables and greens used seasonally in the dishes. Fresh herbs, including mint, cilantro (coriander), dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, leeks, chives, thyme, marjoram, green onion, and watercress, are very popular and often accompany main dishes on the table. Climatic diversity and fertility of the land are reflected in the national dishes, which are based on fish from the Caspian Sea, local meat (mainly mutton and beef), and an abundance of seasonal vegetables and greens. Saffron-rice plov is the flagship food in Azerbaijan and black tea is the national beverage.<ref>{{cite web| last = Akhmedov| first = IA| script-title=ru:Азербайджанская кухня | publisher = Издательство "Ишыг"| url = http://www.azeri.ru/az/cuisine/azerbaydjanskaya_kuhnya|language=ru}}</ref> Azerbaijanis often use traditional [[Engineering:Armudu|armudu]] (pear-shaped) glass as they have very strong tea culture.<ref name="aze">{{cite web| url = http://aze.info/azerbaijan_traditions/chaihana_baku/| title = Chaihana: culture in action| publisher = Aze.info| access-date = 14 December 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130105070850/http://www.aze.info/azerbaijan_traditions/chaihana_baku/| archive-date = 5 January 2013| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sZVN2MwWZVAC|title=The Azerbaijani Turks: power and identity under Russian rule. Audrey L. Altstadt |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8179-9182-1|year=1992 }}</ref> Popular traditional dishes include bozbash (lamb soup that exists in several regional varieties with the addition of different vegetables), qutab (fried turnover with a filling of greens or minced meat) and dushbara (sort of dumplings of dough filled with ground meat and flavor).

===Architecture===
[[File:Momine Hatoon Mausoleum.jpg|thumb|left|Momine Khatun Mausoleum in Nakhchivan, built in the 12th century]]
Azerbaijani architecture typically combines elements of [[Place:Eastern world|East]] and [[Social:Western culture|West]].<ref>{{cite web| last = Khanlou | first = Pirouz | title =Baku's Architecture A Fusion of East and West | publisher = Azerbaijan International| url = http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/24_folder/24_articles/24_architecture.html| access-date =12 March 2016}}</ref> Azerbaijani architecture has heavy influences from Persian architecture. Many ancient architectural treasures such as the Maiden Tower and Palace of the Shirvanshahs in the [[Place:Baku|Walled City of Baku]] survive in modern Azerbaijan. Entries submitted on the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list include the Ateshgah of Baku, Momine Khatun Mausoleum, Hirkan National Park, [[Earth:Binagadi asphalt lake|Binagadi asphalt lake]], Lökbatan Mud Volcano, Shusha State Historical and Architectural Reserve, Baku Stage Mountain, Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions, Ordubad National Reserve and the Palace of Shaki Khans.<ref>{{cite web| title =Azerbaijan Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List | publisher = [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]] | url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/az}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title =World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan | publisher = World Heritage Site | url = http://www.worldheritagesite.org/countries/azerbaijan.html}}</ref>

Among other architectural treasures are Quadrangular Castle in Mardakan, Parigala in Yukhary Chardaglar, a number of bridges spanning the Aras River, and several mausoleums. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, little monumental architecture was created, but distinctive residences were built in Baku and elsewhere. Among the most recent architectural monuments, the Baku subways are noted for their lavish decor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Over 70 underground stations to be built in Baku|url=http://news.az/articles/economy/25958|publisher=News.Az|access-date=18 February 2011}}</ref>

The task for modern Azerbaijani architecture is diverse application of modern aesthetics, the search for an architect's own artistic style and inclusion of the existing historico-cultural environment. Major projects such as Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, Flame Towers, Baku Crystal Hall, Baku White City and SOCAR Tower have transformed the country's skyline and promotes its contemporary identity.<ref>{{cite web |author= Jon Walton |url=http://www.constructiondigital.com/under_construction/100-billion-khazar-islands-taking-shape |title=$100 Billion Khazar Islands Taking Shape |publisher=Construction Digital |date=1 February 2012 |access-date=25 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713004934/http://www.constructiondigital.com/under_construction/100-billion-khazar-islands-taking-shape |archive-date=13 July 2012  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Glass|first=Nick|title=Flame Towers light up Baku's historic skyline|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/26/world/asia/great-buildings-barry-hughes|publisher=CNN |access-date=14 April 2013|}}</ref>

===Visual art===
[[File:Sheki dvoretc rospisi az.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|A miniature painting of a battle scene on the walls of the Palace of Shaki Khans, 18th century, city of Shaki]]
The Gamigaya Petroglyphs, which date back to the 1st to 4th millennium BC, are located in Azerbaijan's Ordubad District. They consist of some 1500 dislodged and carved rock paintings with images of deer, goats, bulls, dogs, snakes, birds, fantastic beings, and people, carriages, and various symbols were found on basalt rocks.<ref>[http://irs-az.com/pdf/090621154956.pdf Наскальные рисунки Гямигая]. irs-az.com.</ref> Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl was convinced that people from the area went to [[Place:Scandinavia|Scandinavia]] in about 100 AD, took their boat building skills with them, and transmuted them into the Viking boats in Northern Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ornaments Coming from Gobustan |url=http://divainternational.ch/spip.php?article169|website=Diva International}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Gobustan Rock Art|url=http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/gobustan.html|website=worldheritagesite.org|access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref>

Over the centuries, Azerbaijani art has gone through many stylistic changes. Azerbaijani painting is traditionally characterized by a warmth of colour and light, as exemplified in the works of Azim Azimzade and Bahruz Kangarli, and a preoccupation with religious figures and cultural motifs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Azerbaijani Artists |url=http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/soviet/Azerbaijani-Artists.html|website=arthistoryarchive.com|access-date=11 October 2013}}</ref> Azerbaijani painting enjoyed preeminence in Caucasus for hundreds of years, from the Romanesque and Ottoman periods, and through the [[Social:Socialist realism|Soviet]] and [[History:Baroque|Baroque]] periods, the latter two of which saw fruition in Azerbaijan. Other notable artists who fall within these periods include Sattar Bahlulzade, Togrul Narimanbekov, Tahir Salahov, Alakbar Rezaguliyev, Mirza Gadim Iravani, Mikayil Abdullayev and Boyukagha Mirzazade.<ref>{{cite web|title=Steps of Time & Art is not only ugly|url=http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2008/azerbaijan_art|website=universes-in-universe.org|access-date=11 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315004428/http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2008/azerbaijan_art|archive-date=15 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<gallery class="center" perrow="7" widths="130px" heights="160px">
File:Shaki khan palace interier.jpg|Usta Gambar Karabakhi – Tree of Life<br />(Palace of Shaki Khans)
File:Portrait of sitting woman by Irevani.jpg|Mirza Gadim Iravani – Portrait of sitting woman<br />(National Art Museum of Azerbaijan)
File:Dağ mənzərəsi – Bəhruz Kəngərli.jpg|Bahruz Kangarli – Landscape with mountains<br />(National Art Museum of Azerbaijan)
File:Ruins of Reichstag.jpg|Azim Azimzade – Ruins of Reichstag<br />(National Art Museum of Azerbaijan)
</gallery>

===Cinema===
[[File:Film of Azerbaijan 1916.jpg|thumb|Scene from the Azerbaijani film ''In the Kingdom of Oil and Millions'', 1916]]
The film industry in Azerbaijan dates back to 1898. Azerbaijan was among the first countries involved in [[Engineering:Cinematography|cinematography]],<ref name="mishon">{{cite news |url= http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/53_folder/53_articles/53_100years.html|title=Cinema in Azerbaijan: Pre-Soviet Era|date=Autumn 1997|publisher=Azerbaijan International|access-date=12 March 2016}}</ref> with the apparatus first showing up in [[Place:Baku|Baku]].<ref name="cinemainazerbaijan">[http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/53_folder/53_articles/53_100years.html Celebrating 100 Years in Film, not 80] by Aydin Kazimzade. Azerbaijan International, Autumn 1997</ref> In 1919, during the [[Place:Azerbaijan Democratic Republic|Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]], a documentary ''The Celebration of the Anniversary of Azerbaijani Independence'' was filmed on the first anniversary of Azerbaijan's independence from Russia, 27 May, and premiered in June 1919 at several theatres in Baku.<ref name="ocaz">{{cite web| title =Azerbaijani cinema in 1920–1935: Silent films | publisher = OCAZ.eu| url = http://www.ocaz.eu/cinema-theatre.html}}</ref> After the Soviet power was established in 1920, Nariman Narimanov, Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan, signed a decree nationalizing Azerbaijan's cinema. This also influenced the creation of Azerbaijani animation.<ref name="ocaz"/>

In 1991, after Azerbaijan gained its independence from the Soviet Union, the first Baku International Film Festival East-West was held in Baku. In December 2000, the former President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, signed a decree proclaiming 2 August to be the professional holiday of filmmakers of Azerbaijan. Today Azerbaijani filmmakers are again dealing with issues similar to those faced by cinematographers prior to the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1920. Once again, both choices of content and sponsorship of films are largely left up to the initiative of the filmmaker.<ref name="mishon"/>

===Television===
There are three state-owned television channels: AzTV, Idman TV and Medeniyyet TV. There is one public channel and 6 private channels: İctimai Television, Space TV, Lider TV, Azad Azerbaijan TV, {{ill|Xazar TV|az|Xəzər TV|vertical-align=sup}}, {{ill|Real TV (Azerbaijan) {{!}} Real TV|az|Real TV (Azərbaycan)|vertical-align=sup}} and ARB.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ntrc.gov.az/az/content/left/2.html |title=Ümumrespublika Televiziya Kanalları |language=az |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=ntrc.gov.az |access-date=23 November 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125170255/http://www.ntrc.gov.az/az/content/left/2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Human rights===
[[File:Rashadat Akhundov.jpg|thumb|Rashadat Akhundov, the co-founder of Nida Civic Movement, was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment on 6 May 2014.]]
The Constitution of Azerbaijan claims to guarantee freedom of speech, but this is denied in practice. After several years of decline in press and media freedom, in 2014, the media environment in Azerbaijan deteriorated rapidly under a governmental campaign to silence any opposition and criticism, even while the country led the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (May–November 2014). Spurious legal charges and impunity in violence against journalists have remained the norm.<ref name=pace>Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, [http://www.cfom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/PACE-HORSLEY-FINAL-2014-REPORT-AAC-25_14-Flego-protection-of-media-freedom-18-June.pdf The Protection of media freedom in Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702011459/http://www.cfom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/PACE-HORSLEY-FINAL-2014-REPORT-AAC-25_14-Flego-protection-of-media-freedom-18-June.pdf |date=2 July 2016 }}.Background report prepared by Mr William Horsley, special representative for media freedom of the Association of European Journalists</ref> All foreign broadcasts are banned in the country.<ref name=FH>[[Organization:Freedom House|Freedom House]], [https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/azerbaijan Azerbaijan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910091140/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2015/azerbaijan |date=10 September 2015 }} 2015 Press Freedom report</ref>

According to the 2013 [[Organization:Freedom House|Freedom House]] Freedom of the Press report, Azerbaijan's press freedom status is "not free", and Azerbaijan ranks 177th out of 196 countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=Freedom of the Press 2013|url=https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTP%202013%20Full%20Report.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTP%202013%20Full%20Report.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=Freedom House}}</ref>

Christianity is officially recognized. All religious communities are required to register to be allowed to meet, under the risk of imprisonment. This registration is often denied. "Racial discrimination contributes to the country's lack of religious freedom, since many of the Christians are ethnic Armenian or Russian, rather than Azeri Muslim".<ref>{{cite web |title=Azerbaijan |url=https://www.vomcanada.com/azerbaijan.htm |website=The Voice of the Martyrs Canada |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2018 Report on International Religious Freedom: Azerbaijan |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/azerbaijan/ |website=US Department of State |access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America are banned in Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Threat to retransmission of BBC, Voice of America and Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe|date=17 October 2006|url=https://rsf.org/en/news/threat-retransmission-bbc-voice-america-and-radio-libertyradio-free-europe|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-date=19 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919083631/https://rsf.org/en/news/threat-retransmission-bbc-voice-america-and-radio-libertyradio-free-europe|url-status=dead}}</ref> Discrimination against LGBT people in Azerbaijan is widespread.<ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan: Anti-Gay Crackdown |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/10/03/azerbaijan-anti-gay-crackdown |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=3 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan named most anti-LGBT+ country in Europe |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/azerbaijan-worst-country-gay-lgbt-ilga-europe-law-a8912456.html |work=The Independent |date=13 May 2019}}</ref>

During the last few years,{{when|date=December 2017}} three journalists were killed and several prosecuted in trials described as unfair by international human rights organizations. Azerbaijan had the biggest number of journalists imprisoned in Europe in 2015, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and is the 5th most censored country in the world, ahead of Iran and China.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ognianova|first1=Nina|title=Baku 2015: Press freedom, Azerbaijan, and the European Games|date=11 June 2015|url=https://cpj.org/blog/2015/06/baku-2015-press-freedom-azerbaijan-and-the-europea.php|publisher=Committee to Protect Journalists}}</ref> Some critical journalists have been [[Social:COVID-19 misinformation#Efforts to combat misinformation|arrested]] for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan: Crackdown on Critics Amid Pandemic |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/16/azerbaijan-crackdown-critics-amid-pandemic |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=16 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan abuses quarantine rules to jail critical journalists and bloggers |url=https://ipi.media/azerbaijan-abuses-quarantine-rules-to-jail-critical-journalists-and-bloggers/ |publisher=International Press Institute |date=23 April 2020 |access-date=17 May 2020 |archive-date=3 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503130216/https://ipi.media/azerbaijan-abuses-quarantine-rules-to-jail-critical-journalists-and-bloggers/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A report by an Amnesty International researcher in October 2015 points to "...the severe deterioration of human rights in Azerbaijan over the past few years. Sadly Azerbaijan has been allowed to get away with unprecedented levels of repression and in the process almost wipe out its civil society."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nozadze|first1=Natalia|title=Azerbaijan closes its doors|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/10/azerbaijan-closes-its-doors/|website=News|date=8 October 2015|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=15 June 2016}}</ref> Amnesty's 2015/16 annual report<ref>{{cite web|last1=Amnesty|first1=International|title=Annual report on Azerbaijan|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia/azerbaijan/|publisher=Amnesty International}}</ref> on the country stated "... persecution of political dissent continued. Human rights organizations remained unable to resume their work. At least 18 prisoners of conscience remained in detention at the end of the year. Reprisals against independent journalists and activists persisted both in the country and abroad, while their family members also faced harassment and arrests. International human rights monitors were barred and expelled from the country. Reports of torture and other ill-treatment persisted."<ref>{{cite web |title=Amnesty International Report 2015/16 – Azerbaijan |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/56d05b753f.html |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=29 April 2022 |date=24 February 2016 |via=Refworld}}</ref>

''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'' reported in April 2017 that "Azerbaijan's ruling elite operated a secret $2.9bn (£2.2bn) scheme to pay prominent Europeans, buy luxury goods and launder money through a network of opaque British companies .... Leaked data shows that the Azerbaijani leadership, accused of serial human rights abuses, systemic corruption and rigging elections, made more than 16,000 covert payments from 2012 to 2014. Some of this money went to politicians and journalists, as part of an international lobbying operation to deflect criticism of Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, and to promote a positive image of his oil-rich country." There was no suggestion that all recipients were aware of the source of the money as it arrived via a disguised route.<ref name="Gdn4917">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/04/uk-at-centre-of-secret-3bn-azerbaijani-money-laundering-and-lobbying-scheme|title=UK at centre of secret $3bn Azerbaijani money laundering and lobbying scheme|last1=Harding|first1=Luke|last2=Barr|first2=Caelainn|last3=Nagapetyants|first3=Dina|date=4 September 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=26 December 2017}}</ref>

===Sport===
<!-- If you want to expand this section, please add new info into the main article: "Sport in Azerbaijan" your work will be very appreciated. -->
{{multiple image
| align             = right
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| image1            = Mamedyarov, Shamkir 2016.JPG
| width1            = 168
| caption1          = Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was the 2013 World Rapid Chess and three-time European Team Chess champion.
| image2            = Teymur Rəcəbov.jpg
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| caption2          = Teimour Radjabov was the 2019 World Cup and three-time European Team Chess champion.
}}

Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally regarded as Azerbaijan's national sport, in which Azerbaijan won up to fourteen medals, including four golds since joining the International Olympic Committee. Currently, the most popular sports include football and wrestling.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://report.az/en/individual/named-the-most-popular-kinds-of-sports-in-azerbaijan |title=Named the most popular kinds of sports in Azerbaijan |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2 August 2017 |website=report.az }}</ref>

Football is the most popular sport in Azerbaijan, and the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan with 9,122 registered players, is the largest sporting association in the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=Azərbaycanda nə qədər futbolçu var?|url=http://news.milli.az/sport/14802.html|website=news.milli.az|access-date=27 January 2014|language=az|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202105308/http://news.milli.az/sport/14802.html|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Football in Azerbaijan|url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association=aze/goalprogramme/newsid=520992.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820011028/http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=aze/goalprogramme/newsid=520992.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 August 2007|publisher=FIFA|access-date=27 January 2014}}</ref> The national football team of Azerbaijan demonstrates relatively low performance in the international arena compared to the nation football clubs. The most successful Azerbaijani football clubs are Neftçi, Qarabağ, and Gabala. In 2012, Neftchi Baku became the first Azerbaijani team to advance to the group stage of a European competition, beating APOEL of Cyprus 4–2 on aggregate in the play-off round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ru:"Нефтчи" стал первым азербайджанским футбольным клубом, вышедшим в групповой этап еврокубков – ФОТО |url=http://www.1news.az/sport/football/20120831010854839.html |website=1news.az |access-date=30 August 2012 |language=ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901042323/http://www.1news.az/sport/football/20120831010854839.html |archive-date=1 September 2012  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|script-title=ru:ЦСКА вылетел из еврокубков|url=http://ru.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=1853379.html|publisher=UEFA |access-date=30 August 2012|language=ru|date = 30 August 2012}}</ref> In 2014, Qarabağ became the second Azerbaijani club advancing to the group stage of UEFA Europa League. In 2017, after beating Copenhagen 2–2 (a) in the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League, Qarabağ became the first Azerbaijani club to reach the Group stage.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2494816.html|title= Liverpool and Sporting make it as Qarabağ create history|date=23 August 2017|publisher=UEFA|access-date=24 August 2017}}</ref> Futsal is another popular sport in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan national futsal team reached fourth place in the 2010 UEFA Futsal Championship, while domestic club Araz Naxçivan clinched bronze medals at the 2009–10 UEFA Futsal Cup and 2013–14 UEFA Futsal Cup.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/futsalcup/matches/season=2010/round=2000066/match=2002325/postmatch/report/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223085129/http://www.uefa.com/futsalcup/matches/season%3D2010/round%3D2000066/match%3D2002325/postmatch/report/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2010 |title=Araz clinch third place on penalties |publisher=UEFA |date=25 April 2010 |access-date=25 April 2010 }}</ref> Azerbaijan was the main sponsor of Spanish football club Atlético de Madrid during seasons 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, a partnership that the club described should 'promote the image of Azerbaijan in the world'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.clubatleticodemadrid.com/noticias/much-more-than-a-sponsorship|title=Azerbaijan: Official Atlético sponsor|publisher=Club Atlético de Madrid|access-date=25 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531231638/http://en.clubatleticodemadrid.com/noticias/much-more-than-a-sponsorship|archive-date=31 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Azerbaijan is one of the traditional powerhouses of world chess,<ref>{{cite web|title=Chess with Luke McShane|url=http://www.express.co.uk/sport/othersport/101021/Chess-with-Luke-McShane|work=Daily Express|date=17 May 2009|access-date=12 April 2014}}</ref> having hosted many international chess tournaments and competitions and became European Team Chess Championship winners in 2009, 2013 and 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://today.az/news/society/57078.html |title=Azerbaijan's chess team became European champion |publisher=Today.Az |date=31 October 2009 |access-date= 30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2009/azerbaijan-russia-win-etcc-novi-sad |title=Azerbaijan, Russia take gold at the European Team Chess Championship |publisher=Chessdom |access-date=30 June 2010 |archive-date=2 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502095605/http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2009/azerbaijan-russia-win-etcc-novi-sad |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/84_folder/84_articles/84_chess_mammadyarova.html |title=World Chess Champion: Zeynab Mammadyarova |publisher=Azerbaijan International |access-date= 30 June 2010}}</ref> Notable chess players from the country's chess schools that have made a great impact on the game include Teimour Radjabov, Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Vladimir Makogonov, Vugar Gashimov and former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. {{As of|2014}}, country's home of Shamkir Chess a category 22 event and one of the highest rated tournaments of all time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Carlsen beats Nakamura for perfect 2/2 start in the Gashimov Memorial|url=http://www.theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/vugar-gashimov-memorial-2014/carlsen-beats-nakamura-for-perfect-22-start-in-the-gashimov-memorial|work=The Week in Chess|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref> Backgammon also plays a major role in Azerbaijani culture.<ref>{{cite web| script-title=ru:История нард | publisher = 1-Kalyan| url = http://www.1-kalyan.ru/about/art/backgammon-history/| access-date = 27 May 2007|language=ru}}</ref> The game is very popular in Azerbaijan and is widely played among the local public.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.inforing.net/publications/infopress/sport.php?ELEMENT_ID=3348|title=Нарды – игра, требующая сноровки и удачи|website=inforing.net|language=ru|access-date=25 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014085205/http://www.inforing.net/publications/infopress/sport.php?ELEMENT_ID=3348|archive-date=14 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are also different variations of backgammon developed and analyzed by Azerbaijani experts.<ref>{{cite web| script-title=ru:История Нард | publisher = Nards| url = http://nards.ru/?categoryID=106|language=ru}}</ref>
[[File:Closing ceremony of the IV Islamic Solidarity Games 15.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Baku National Stadium was used for the first European Games in June 2015.]]
Azerbaijan Women's Volleyball Super League is one of the strongest women leagues in the world. Its women's national team came fourth at the 2005 European Championship.<ref>{{cite press release |title=More than just Mammadova: Azerbaijan's ladies cause World Championship upset|url=http://www.fivb.org/viewPressRelease.asp?No=44180&Language=en|work=fivb.org|access-date=8 May 2014}}</ref> Over the last years, clubs like Rabita Baku and Azerrail Baku achieved great success at European cups.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vakıfbank women achieve historic success, winning intercontinental volleyball trophy|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/vakifbank-women-achieve-historic-success-winning-intercontinental-volleyball-trophy.aspx?pageID=238&nID=56196&NewsCatID=367|work=Hürriyet Daily News|access-date=8 May 2014}}</ref> Azerbaijani volleyball players include likes of Valeriya Korotenko, Oksana Parkhomenko, Inessa Korkmaz, Natalya Mammadova, and Alla Hasanova.

Other Azerbaijani athletes are Namig Abdullayev, Toghrul Asgarov, Rovshan Bayramov, Sharif Sharifov, Mariya Stadnik and Farid Mansurov in wrestling, Nazim Huseynov, Elnur Mammadli, Elkhan Mammadov and Rustam Orujov in judo, Rafael Aghayev in karate, Magomedrasul Majidov and Aghasi Mammadov in boxing, Nizami Pashayev in Olympic weightlifting, Azad Asgarov in pankration, Eduard Mammadov in kickboxing, and K-1 fighter Zabit Samedov.

Azerbaijan has a Formula One race-track, made in June 2012,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.racingcircuits.info/asia/azerbaijan/baku.html|title=Baku|website=RacingCircuits.info|access-date=28 October 2018}}</ref> and the country hosted its first Formula One Grand Prix on 19 June 2016<ref>{{cite news|title=F1 Will Race in Azerbaijan in 2016 Says Ecclestone|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2014/07/24/f1-will-race-in-azerbaijan-in-2016-says-ecclestone/|website=Forbes|access-date=25 July 2014|first=Christian|last=Sylt}}</ref> and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Other annual sporting events held in the country are the Baku Cup tennis tournament and the Tour d'Azerbaïdjan cycling race.

Azerbaijan hosted several major sport competitions since the late 2000s, including the 2013 F1 Powerboat World Championship, 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships, 2010 European Wrestling Championships, 2009 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, 2014 European Taekwondo Championships, 2014 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships, and 2016 World Chess Olympiad.<ref>{{cite web|title=Azerbaijan is a country known for its love of sport and sportsmanship |url=http://www.baku2015.com/en/azerbaijan/sport.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926191539/http://www.baku2015.com/en/azerbaijan/sport.aspx |url-status=usurped |archive-date=26 September 2013 |website=baku2015.com |access-date=27 January 2014 }}</ref> On 8 December 2012, [[Place:Baku|Baku]] was selected to host the 2015 European Games, the first to be held in the competition's history.<ref>{{cite news |title=Baku 2015 heralds new era in European sports movement|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/10/baku-2015-heralds-new-era-european-sports-movement/ |newspaper=The Washington Times|access-date=27 January 2014}}</ref> Baku also hosted the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baku2017.com/en|title=Baku 2017|website=www.baku2017.com|access-date=2017-05-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622015706/https://www.baku2017.com/en|archive-date=2017-06-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the 2019 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurolympic.org/baku-to-host-2019-summer-european-youth-olympic-festival/|title=Baku to host 2019 Summer European Youth Olympic Festival|publisher=European Olympic Committees|date=17 January 2017|access-date=9 July 2018}}</ref> and it is also one of the hosts of UEFA Euro 2020, which because of Covid-19 is being held in 2021.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dunbar |first=Graham |location=Geneva |url=https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-turkey-international-soccer-brussels-baku-929f9f53d4ad8892cf35dcbbc9f359b4 |title=Euro 2020 not at risk from UEFA block on Azerbaijan hosting |work=Associated Press |date=20 October 2020 |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Place:Outline of Azerbaijan|Outline of Azerbaijan]]
* Index of Azerbaijan-related articles
* List of World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan
* ''The Defense & Foreign Affairs Handbook on Azerbaijan'' (2006)
* List of startups of Azerbaijan

==Notes==
{{notelist|refs=
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{{efn|name="region"|The region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.}}
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{{efn|name="control"|City under the direct authority of the republic.}}
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== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Altstadt, Audrey. ''Frustrated Democracy in Post-Soviet Azerbaijan'' (2018)
* Broers, Broers Laurence. ''Armenia and Azerbaijan: Anatomy of a rivalry'' (Edinburgh University Press, 2019).
* Cornell, Svante E. ''Azerbaijan since independence'' (Routledge, 2015).
* Dragadze, Tamara. "Islam in Azerbaijan: The Position of Women" in ''Muslim Women's Choices'' (Routledge, 2020) pp.&nbsp;152–163.
* Elliott, Mark. ''Azerbaijan with Georgia'' (Trailblazers Publications, 1999).
* Ergun, Ayça. "Citizenship, National Identity, and Nation-Building in Azerbaijan: Between the Legacy of the Past and the Spirit of Independence." ''Nationalities Papers'' (2021): 1–18. [https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/B42D38E5F6DA18CDD6FF2A030A851B0D/S0090599220000811a.pdf/citizenship_national_identity_and_nationbuilding_in_azerbaijan_between_the_legacy_of_the_past_and_the_spirit_of_independence.pdf online]
* Goltz, Thomas. ''Azerbaijan Diary : A Rogue Reporter's Adventures in an Oil-Rich, War-Torn, Post-Soviet Republic''. M E Sharpe (1998). {{ISBN|978-0-7656-0244-2}}
* Habibov, Nazim, Betty Jo Barrett, and Elena Chernyak. "Understanding women's empowerment and its determinants in post-communist countries: Results of Azerbaijan national survey." ''Women's Studies International Forum.'' Vol. 62. Pergamon, 2017.
* Olukbasi, Suha. ''Azerbaijan: A Political History''. I.B. Tauris (2011). Focus on post-Soviet era.

== External links ==

===General information===
* [http://AZER.com Azerbaijan International]
* [http://www.azerbaijan.az Heydar Aliyev Foundation]
* {{curlie|Regional/Asia/Azerbaijan}}
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/azerbaijan/ Azerbaijan]. ''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080820164509/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/azerbaijan.htm Azerbaijan] at University of Colorado at Boulder
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17043424 Country profile] from BBC
* [https://www.ifs.du.edu/IFs/frm_CountryProfile/AZ Key Development Forecasts for Azerbaijan] from [[International Futures]]
* [http://www.visions.az/en/ Visions of Azerbaijan Journal] of The European Azerbaijan Society

===Major government resources===
* [http://www.president.az/?locale=en President of Azerbaijan website]
* [https://www.stat.gov.az/?lang=en Azerbaijan State Statistical Committee]
* [https://azerbaijan.un.org/en United Nations Office in Azerbaijan]

===Major news media===
* [http://news.net.az/ Network NEWS Azerbaijan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114233541/http://news.net.az/ |date=14 November 2016 }}
* [http://today.az/ Azerbaijan Today]
* [http://en.trend.az/ Trend News Agency]
* [http://www.news.az/ News.Az]

===Tourism===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090816203105/http://azerbaijan.tourism.az/?%2Fen%2F Azerbaijan Tourism Portal]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170925183154/http://www.visions.az/en/travel_tourism/page/1/ Travel in Azerbaijan] in Visions of Azerbaijan Journal

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[[Category:South Caucasus]]

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