Azerbaijan

Republic of Azerbaijan Azərbaycan Respublikası  (Azerbaijani)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  Azərbaycan marşı "March of Azerbaijan"
Location of Azerbaijan (green)
Capital and largest city	Baku 40°23′43″N 49°52′56″E / 40.39528°N 49.88222°E / 40.39528; 49.88222
Official languages	Azerbaijani[1]
Minority languages	See full list
Ethnic groups (2009[2])	91.6% Azerbaijani 2.0% Talysh 2.0% Lezgin 1.4% Armenian 1.3% Russian 2.4% others
Religion	96.9% Islam 3.0% Christianity 0.1% Other[3]
Demonym(s)	Azerbaijani Azeri
Government	Unitary semi-presidential republic[4]
• President	Ilham Aliyev
• Vice President	Mehriban Aliyeva
• Prime Minister	Ali Asadov
• National Assembly Speaker	Sahiba Gafarova
Legislature	National Assembly
Formation
• Democratic Republic	28 May 1918
• Soviet Socialist Republic	28 April 1920
• Independence from Soviet Union	30 August 1991 (declared) 18 October 1991 (independence) 25 December 1991 (completed)
• Full membership into the CIS	21 December 1991
• Admitted to the United Nations	2 March 1992
• Constitution adopted	12 November 1995
Area
• Total	86,600 km2 (33,400 sq mi) (112th)
• Water (%)	1.6
Population
• April 2021 estimate	10,130,100[5] (90th)
• Density	115/km2 (297.8/sq mi) (99th)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$189.050 billion[6]
• Per capita	$18,793[6]
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$45.284 billion[6]
• Per capita	$4,498[6]
Gini (2008)	33.7[7] medium
HDI (2019)	0.756[8] high · 88th
Currency	Manat (₼) (AZN)
Time zone	UTC+4 (AZT)
Date format	dd.mm.yyyy (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+994
ISO 3166 code	AZ
Internet TLD	.az

Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan; officially called the Republic of Azerbaijan) is a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It is next to Russia in the north, Georgia, Armenia in the west, Iran in the south, and Caspian Sea on the east. Its capital city is Baku.

Azerbaijan also includes the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an enclave, which is next to Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest.

Azerbaijan's land is both in Asia and Europe. This means it is a Eurasian country. Because Azerbaijan is close to Europe and its history is related to Europe, Azerbaijan is a member of a number of European groups, including the Council of Europe since 2001. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries. They have membership in 38 international organizations.^[9] On May 9, 2006 Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly made Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly.^[10]

More than 90% of the people are ethnic Azerbaijanis. Minorities include Russians, Georgians and other minorities. The Constitution of Azerbaijan does not say there is an official religion. But, Shia Islam, is by far the largest religion in the country, followed by Sunni Islam. There are also a small number of Christians (mainly Eastern Orthodox), Jews (mainly Ashkenazi), agnostics and atheists.

1. ↑ "The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan" (PDF). President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Official Website of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2020. I. The official language of the Republic of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani Language. The Republic of Azerbaijan guarantees the development of Azerbaijani Language.
2. ↑ The State Statistical Committee of the Azerbaijan Republic, The ethnic composition of the population according to the 2009 census. azstat.org
3. ↑ "Central Intelligence Agency". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
4. ↑ LaPorte, Jody (2016). "Semi-presidentialism in Azerbaijan". In Elgie, Robert; Moestrup, Sophia (eds.). Semi-Presidentialism in the Caucasus and Central Asia. London: Palgrave Macmillan (published 15 May 2016). pp. 91–117. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-38781-3_4. ISBN 978-1-137-38780-6. LCCN 2016939393. OCLC 6039791976. LaPorte examines the dynamics of semi-presidentialism in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's regime is a curious hybrid, in which semi-presidential institutions operate in the larger context of authoritarianism. The author compares formal Constitutional provisions with the practice of politics in the country, suggesting that formal and informal sources of authority come together to enhance the effective powers of the presidency. In addition to the considerable formal powers laid out in the Constitution, Azerbaijan's president also benefits from the support of the ruling party and informal family and patronage networks. LaPorte concludes by discussing the theoretical implications of this symbiosis between formal and informal institutions in Azerbaijan's semi-presidential regime.
5. ↑ "Azərbaycan əhalisinin sayı artıb - RƏSMİ". oxu.az. 19 May 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". imf.org. International Monetary Fund. April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
7. ↑ "Gini Index coefficient". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
8. ↑ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
9. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Membership of international groupings/organisations". British Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Retrieved May 26, 2007.
10. ↑ "Elections & Appointments – Human Rights Council". United Nations. Retrieved January 3, 2009.