Azerbaijan: population, size and ethnic composition

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

What is the population of Azerbaijan? What nationalities live in this country, and how long ago did they settle there? You will find answers to these questions in this article.

Azerbaijan: population and number by years

This small state is located on the shores of the Caspian Sea, right on the border of Asia and Europe, Eastern and Western culture. How many people live in Azerbaijan at the moment? And what ethnic groups make up its structure?

The population of Azerbaijan, according to the latest UN data, is 9.7 million people. According to this indicator, the country ranks first in the Transcaucasus region. At the same time, about 120-140 thousand of them live in the territory of the unrecognized state of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The population of Azerbaijan reached its 9 million mark in 2010. The birth of the nine millionth citizen of the country was even recorded. It happened in the city of Nakhichevan on the morning of January 15 of the mentioned year.

According to statistics, the population of Azerbaijan has grown almost five times over the past hundred years. Over the 25 years of independence, the total population growth of this countryamounted to about 2.5 million people, which is a very high figure for the post-Soviet states. More clearly, the dynamics of the population of Azerbaijan is presented in the following graph.

The birth rate in this country is three times the death rate. This can explain the steady annual growth of its population. However, life expectancy in Azerbaijan is not that high (72 years). Although, again, for the countries of the post-Soviet space, this is a pretty good indicator.

There are slightly more women in Azerbaijan than men (50.3%). The country's population density is 98 people per square kilometer.

The population of Azerbaijan and its religious composition

According to the Constitution in Azerbaijan, the church is separated from the state and has no influence on education, culture or any other spheres of public life.

The religious composition of the country is represented by various movements and confessions, the leading role among which is Islam. 99% of the total population profess this particular religion. Moreover, approximately 85% of them are Shiite Muslims.

Besides this, temples of other religions function freely in Azerbaijan: synagogues, Catholic cathedrals, Orthodox and Protestant churches. Even the community of Zoroastrians is registered and operates in the country.

Christianity is practically not widespread in Azerbaijan. So, on the territory of the state now there are only sixOrthodox churches (of which half are located in the capital). The Catholic Church in this country originated in the XIV century. The most significant event in the life of Azerbaijani Catholics was the arrival in Baku of Pope John Paul III, which took place in the spring of 2002.

Ethnic diversity of Azerbaijan's population

Representatives of many nationalities and ethnic groups live in Azerbaijan. Their top ten in terms of numbers is as follows:

• Azerbaijanis (91%);
• Lezgins (2%);
• Armenians (1.4%);
• Russians (1.3%);
• Talyshi (1, 3%);
• Avars (0.6%);
• Turks (0.4%);
• Tatars (0, 3%);
• Ukrainians (0, 2%);
• Georgians (0, 1%).

The absolute majority in the ethnic structure of the country belongs to the Azerbaijanis. This people dominates in all regions and cities of the state (with the exception of Nagorno-Karabakh). In the early 1990s, the share of this ethnic group in the structure of the country's population increased significantly due to the active resettlement of Azerbaijanis from neighboring Armenia (due to the Karabakh conflict).

The most numerous nationalities of Azerbaijan and their placement

According to the latest census, about 120,000 Armenians live in Azerbaijan. These people live compactly within Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory not controlled by the authorities of the country, as well as in the city of Baku.

The first Russian communities emerged on the territory of Azerbaijan in the 19th century. Currently living in the countryabout 200 thousand Russians, but their number is decreasing every year (mainly due to leaving the state).

A fairly large and integral Ukrainian diaspora has formed in Azerbaijan. Ukrainians began to move to this country at the end of the 19th century due to the active industrial development of Azerbaijan. At the same time, Poles began to arrive en masse in the country (mainly in Baku). Their resettlement was connected, first of all, with the "oil boom" in Azerbaijan. Both highly qualified engineers and ordinary workers came to Baku from Poland.

Cities of Azerbaijan

The population of the cities of Azerbaijan is only 53% of the total number of its inhabitants (by European standards, this is very small). There are only ten cities with a population of over 50 thousand people in this country. Moreover, the capital of the state - the city of Baku, significantly broke away from them in terms of population. At the moment, it is the only city with a population of one million in the state.

The largest cities of Azerbaijan: Baku, Ganja, Sumgayit, Mingachevir, Khirdalan, Nakhichevan, Sheki.

In the capital of the state, according to demographers, today about 2.1 million people live. This city is strikingly different from all other Azerbaijani cities. Today it is actively developing and acquiring modern high-rise buildings.

In conclusion…

Today, about 9.7 million people live in Azerbaijan, and the population of this country is rapidly approaching the 10 million mark. The ethnic composition of this state is quite motley. In addition to the indigenous people, representatives of many other nationalities live here - Armenians, Russians, Lezgins, Kurds, Tatars, Turks, Ukrainians, Talysh.