Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a <a href="/facts/Boundaries_between_the_continents/ySWqVsR8">transcontinental</a> and <a href="/facts/Landlocked_country/9AqwXqMF">landlocked country</a> at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the <a href="/facts/South_Caucasus/MQaTkhRJ">South Caucasus</a> region and is bounded by the <a href="/facts/Caspian_Sea/Ymc08gkR">Caspian Sea</a> to the east, Russia's republic of <a href="/facts/Dagestan/luq7F4vT">Dagestan</a> to the north, <a href="/facts/Georgia_(country)/ccBF8bBE">Georgia</a> to the northwest, <a href="/facts/Armenia/t3GQx9sU">Armenia</a> and <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a> to the west, and <a href="/facts/Iran/24yukge8">Iran</a> to the south. <a href="/facts/Baku/oUVVcRN1">Baku</a> is the capital and largest city.
The territory of what is now Azerbaijan was ruled first by <a href="/facts/Caucasian_Albania/jppU4yPe">Caucasian Albania</a> and later by various <a href="/facts/Persian_empires/0Q0WRDqo">Persian empires</a>. Until the 19th century, it remained part of <a href="/facts/Qajar_Iran/qSYcpC8f">Qajar Iran</a>, but the Russo-Persian wars of <a href="/facts/Russo-Persian_War_(1804%25E2%2580%25931813)/PPeaUu8n">1804–1813</a> and <a href="/facts/Russo-Persian_War_(1826%25E2%2580%25931828)/IblUJoFl">1826–1828</a> forced the Qajar Empire to cede its Caucasian territories to the <a href="/facts/Russian_Empire/hg1g5SpV">Russian Empire</a>; the treaties of <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Gulistan/k9qDVafV">Gulistan</a> in 1813 and <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Turkmenchay/vYGcuz7K">Turkmenchay</a> in 1828 defined the border between Russia and Iran. The region north of the <a href="/facts/Aras_(river)/Cs9jTTlL">Aras</a> was part of Iran until it was conquered by Russia in the 19th century, where it was administered as part of the <a href="/facts/Caucasus_Viceroyalty_(1801%25E2%2580%25931917)/snLovbTy">Caucasus Viceroyalty</a>.
By the late 19th century, an <a href="/facts/Azerbaijani_national_identity/dBHFh1hT">Azerbaijani national identity</a> emerged when the <a href="/facts/Azerbaijan_Democratic_Republic/mgadN3Lz">Azerbaijan Democratic Republic</a> proclaimed its independence from the <a href="/facts/Transcaucasian_Democratic_Federative_Republic/5YeUwP6K">Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic</a> in 1918, a year after the Russian Empire <a href="/facts/Russian_Revolution/kk1z6pnH">collapsed</a>, and became the first <a href="/facts/Secularity/uCj9a25U">secular</a> democratic <a href="/facts/Muslim_world/n9vVGogr">Muslim-majority</a> state. In 1920, the country was conquered and incorporated into the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a> as the <a href="/facts/Azerbaijan_Soviet_Socialist_Republic/T4CNqSTa">Azerbaijan SSR</a>. The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, shortly before the <a href="/facts/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union/Fyn5jw3n">dissolution of the Soviet Union</a>. In September 1991, the ethnic <a href="/facts/Armenians/SxHfJF8N">Armenian</a> majority of the <a href="/facts/Nagorno-Karabakh_Autonomous_Oblast/cnhgkN9w">Nagorno-Karabakh</a> region formed the self-proclaimed <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Artsakh/3gTq2aY4">Republic of Artsakh</a>, which became de facto independent with the end of the <a href="/facts/First_Nagorno-Karabakh_War/Qebuyqdf">First Nagorno-Karabakh War</a> in 1994, although the region and <a href="/facts/Armenian-occupied_territories_surrounding_Nagorno-Karabakh/cAGnVHzF">seven surrounding districts</a> remained internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Following the <a href="/facts/Second_Nagorno-Karabakh_War/98YP5m1c">Second Nagorno-Karabakh War</a> in 2020, the seven districts and parts of Nagorno-Karabakh were returned to Azerbaijani control. An <a href="/facts/2023_Azerbaijani_offensive_in_Nagorno-Karabakh/SuNwHhbK">Azerbaijani offensive in 2023</a> ended the Republic of Artsakh and resulted in the <a href="/facts/Flight_of_Nagorno-Karabakh_Armenians/7J9Jok2p">flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians</a>.
Azerbaijan is a <a href="/facts/Unitary_state/HAxK1eMM">unitary</a> <a href="/facts/Semi-presidential_system/vncj96gR">semi-presidential</a> republic. It is one of six independent Turkic states and an active member of the <a href="/facts/Organization_of_Turkic_States/xMl695nL">Organization of Turkic States</a> and the <a href="/facts/International_Organization_of_Turkic_Culture/Gnm95dhK">TÜRKSOY</a> community. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 182 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations, including the United Nations, the <a href="/facts/Council_of_Europe/51I3TyDg">Council of Europe</a>, the <a href="/facts/Non-Aligned_Movement/PIdnjRvD">Non-Aligned Movement</a>, the <a href="/facts/Organization_for_Security_and_Co-operation_in_Europe/Lo5lUrA6">OSCE</a>, and the <a href="/facts/NATO/dCeTddMY">NATO</a> <a href="/facts/Partnership_for_Peace/pJxvW61z">PfP</a> program. It is one of the founding members of <a href="/facts/GUAM_Organization_for_Democracy_and_Economic_Development/YIxcmN6A">GUAM</a>, the <a href="/facts/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States/DqccXsyS">Commonwealth of Independent States</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Organisation_for_the_Prohibition_of_Chemical_Weapons/JdE4bTa9">OPCW</a>. Azerbaijan is an observer state of the <a href="/facts/World_Trade_Organization/p7hgb1lP">World Trade Organization</a>.
The vast majority of the country's population (97%) is <a href="/facts/Cultural_Muslims/keeCzqJF">nominally</a> Muslim. The <a href="/facts/Constitution_of_Azerbaijan/eQYBDSqg">Constitution of Azerbaijan</a> does not declare an official religion, and all major political forces in the country are secular. Azerbaijan is a <a href="/facts/Developing_country/eTfS4kxl">developing country</a> and ranks 89th on the <a href="/facts/Human_Development_Index/hQpz064I">Human Development Index</a>. The ruling <a href="/facts/New_Azerbaijan_Party/ylC5oUMY">New Azerbaijan Party</a>, in power since 1993, has been accused of authoritarianism under presidents <a href="/facts/Heydar_Aliyev/hKDVWw07">Heydar Aliyev</a> and his son <a href="/facts/Ilham_Aliyev/q08Vpuf1">Ilham Aliyev</a>, and worsening the country's <a href="/facts/Human_rights_in_Azerbaijan/tgCVc82y">human rights record</a>, including increasing restrictions on civil liberties, particularly on <a href="/facts/Media_freedom_in_Azerbaijan/TTtwa790">press freedom</a>, and political repression.

Azerbaijan open-in-new

Azerbaijan