Azerbaijan

Overview

Azerbaijan is an energy-rich, predominantly Shi’i Muslim country of eastern Transcaucasia, lying between Russia, Iran and Turkey. It is bounded by Russia in the north, the Caspian Sea in the east, Iran in the south, Armenia in the west and Georgia in the north-west. Its capital is Baku, and its population was estimated at 10,291,000 in 2026 (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Azerbaijan was an independent nation from 1918 to 1920 before being incorporated into the Soviet Union, and it declared independence again on 30 August 1991 (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Industry dominates its economy, built on oil of which the country was the world’s leading producer at the start of the 20th century (Encyclopaedia Britannica). This profile covers its land, climate, people, economy and recent history.

Land and geography

Azerbaijan sits on the southern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains, with a wide variety of landscapes produced by broken relief, drainage patterns, climatic differences and sharp altitudinal zoning (Encyclopaedia Britannica). More than two-fifths of its territory is lowland, about half lies between 400 and 1,500 metres, and a little more than one-tenth sits above 1,500 metres (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The highest peaks — Bazardyuzyu at 4,466 metres, Shakhdag and Tufan — belong to the Greater Caucasus range, whose crest forms part of the northern boundary (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The Lesser Caucasus in the south-west includes the Shakhdag, Murovdag and Zangezur ranges and the Karabakh Upland (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The exclave of Naxçıvan lies south-west of Azerbaijan proper, bounded by Armenia, Iran and Turkey (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Although Azerbaijan has a Caspian coast, it counts today as landlocked because neither it nor the Caspian connects to an open ocean (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Rivers, canals and climate

The Kura-Aras Lowland takes its name from the main river, the Kura, and its tributary the Aras, and a developed canal network between the two makes it possible to irrigate much of the lowland (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The Upper Karabakh Canal, 172 km long, links the Aras with the Mingäçevir Reservoir on the Kura; the reservoir covers 606 sq km and reaches 75 metres deep (Encyclopaedia Britannica). That canal alone irrigates more than 100,000 hectares of fertile land and supplies the Aras with water during dry summers, while the Upper Shirvan Canal, 122 km long, irrigates a similar area (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Central and eastern Azerbaijan have a dry subtropical climate with a mild winter and a long, very hot summer averaging about 27 °C and reaching 43 °C (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The south-east is humid subtropical with the country’s highest rainfall, 1,200 to 1,400 mm a year, mostly in the cold months (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

People and society

Turkic-speaking Azerbaijanis make up about nine-tenths of the population, with small concentrations of Lezgians, Russians and Armenians (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Azerbaijan is predominantly Muslim, with more than three-fifths of the population Shi’i and about one-third Sunni, and it has no official religion (Encyclopaedia Britannica). In 2022, 52.9% of the population lived in urban areas and 47.1% in rural ones (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Life expectancy at birth in 2025 stood at 74.5 years for men and 79.2 years for women (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The people of remoter areas retain many distinctive folk traditions, but modernisation — industrialisation, the development of power resources and the growth of cities — has much influenced daily life (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Fine horses and caviar continue as some of the republic’s more distinctive traditional exports (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Azerbaijani is the official language, and the country’s population was projected to reach 10,618,000 by 2030 (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The 2026 estimate put the population at 10,291,000, ranking the country 92nd in the world (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Economy and government

Industry dominates Azerbaijan’s economy, and more diversified pursuits have supplemented the exploitation of oil (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Azerbaijan was the world’s leading oil producer at the beginning of the 20th century, and oil and gas remain the core of its economic story (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Gross national income in 2024 stood at 74,770 million US dollars, or 7,330 dollars per person (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The economy also has a growing engineering, light industry and food production sector (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Agriculture draws on the irrigated lowlands: the Kura-Aras canals water hundreds of thousands of hectares, and the Upper Karabakh and Upper Shirvan canals each irrigate about 100,000 hectares (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The country’s distinctive traditional exports, fine horses and caviar, sit alongside that industrial base (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Its Caspian position gives Baku, whose harbour is the best on the sea, a trade outlet that the interior lacks (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The republic is a unitary multiparty republic whose head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

History and the Karabakh dispute

Azerbaijan was an independent nation from 1918 to 1920 but was then incorporated into the Soviet Union, becoming a constituent union republic in 1936 (Encyclopaedia Britannica). It declared sovereignty on 23 September 1989 and independence on 30 August 1991, as the Soviet Union collapsed (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Since independence the country has largely been ruled by Heydar Aliyev and, after his death, his son Ilham Aliyev, who has held control into a fifth term through constitutional amendments — including one abolishing presidential term limits — crackdowns on political activity and restrictions on media (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Relations with neighbouring Armenia have been tense since the Soviet collapse, chiefly over the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh (Encyclopaedia Britannica). In 2025, after nearly four decades of tension, the two countries announced that they were on the cusp of a peace treaty (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The exclave of Naxçıvan, bounded by Armenia, Iran and Turkey, sits apart from Azerbaijan proper (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Measure	Value
Population (2026 est.)	10,291,000
Area	86,600 sq km
Capital	Baku
Official language	Azerbaijani
Currency	(new) manat (AZN)
GNI per capita (2024)	US$7,330

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Frequently asked questions

What is the main religion in Azerbaijan? Azerbaijan is predominantly Muslim, with more than three-fifths of the population Shi’i and about one-third Sunni. The country has no official religion. Its population is mostly Turkic-speaking Azerbaijani, with small concentrations of Lezgians, Russians and Armenians living in the country.

What are Azerbaijan’s main economic activities? Industry dominates, above all oil and natural gas production; Azerbaijan was the world’s leading oil producer at the start of the 20th century. Engineering, light industry and food production are growing sectors. Agriculture benefits from the canal-irrigated Kura-Aras Lowland, and fine horses and caviar remain distinctive traditional exports.

How is Azerbaijan governed? Azerbaijan is a unitary multiparty republic with a single legislative house, the National Assembly of 125 members. Its head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. Since independence it has largely been ruled by Heydar Aliyev and then his son Ilham Aliyev.

What is Nagorno-Karabakh? Nagorno-Karabakh is the region at the centre of the conflict that has made relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia tense since the Soviet Union’s collapse. In 2025, after nearly four decades of tension, the two countries announced that they were on the cusp of a peace treaty.

What this profile does not claim

• It does not describe the Karabakh conflict’s battles, casualties or territorial changes in detail; the source read covers the dispute in general terms only.
• It does not assert the current status of a peace treaty beyond the 2025 “cusp” announcement reported by the source.
• It does not cover Azerbaijan’s culture, cuisine or tourism in detail.
• It does not give city-level detail for Baku or other cities; those belong in their own profiles.