Azerbaijanis are the most numerous people of the Caucasus. Small peoples of Azerbaijan What nations live in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is located on the territory of eastern Transcaucasia, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. The population of this country is quite homogeneous. The majority of people are of Azerbaijani nationality and profess Shiite Islam. The population of Azerbaijan differs from other countries in the region, primarily in its positive demographic dynamics. It increases every year, and this country certainly cannot be said to be “aging.” How does the demographic situation manifest itself here? What can be said about the population of Azerbaijan in general?

Dynamics of population growth in Azerbaijan

The population of Azerbaijan is increasing over the years. For 2016, the increase will be 1.39 percent, which is a very high figure. Neighboring countries, on the contrary, have difficulty reaching zero in terms of percentage of population by year. Most often, the number of citizens living in a state decreases every day. Speaking of numbers, today the number of residents of Azerbaijan has exceeded 10 million. If we take into account the fact that last year alone it increased by 140 thousand, throughout 2017 we can only expect an acceleration in growth dynamics.

According to data received on December 31, 2016, over the entire year, 208 thousand babies were born in Azerbaijan, and approximately 70 thousand people died. The country also suffered some losses in demographic indicators due to emigration - about 3 thousand people moved from the country. The reasons for this may be different, and this indicator is not so high as to pay much attention to it. The population of Azerbaijan is almost equally divided between both sexes: 5 million women and 4.9 million men.

Indicators for 2017

It is interesting to note the dynamics of population growth in the new year, 2017. Despite the fact that the year has just begun, the data obtained for January allows us to predict the situation for the entire next year for the country of Azerbaijan. The population promises to grow the same as last year, by 140 thousand, and by December 2017 it will be only 10,100 thousand people. Sociologists also estimate the number of emigrants and immigrants in favor of those who moved out of the country and are guided by the figure of 3,400.

Population density

The population density of Azerbaijan is also important for studying problems related to population size. Since the country's area is relatively small, while the population is quite large for a small country, residential density may explain, for example, the reason for the high emigration rate. We will take the data from the UN Department of Statistics, a body recognized as the official arbiter in matters of accurate measurement of territories. So, according to these data, 86,600 sq. km constitute today the territory (total area, together with the shelf areas of the Caspian Sea) of the state of Azerbaijan. The population, in turn, has almost reached 10 million. The density indicator as the ratio of the number of people per square kilometer is not at all difficult to derive, and today it is equal to 115.

Age composition

When taking into account demographic parameters, the age composition of the population always plays a major role. Thus, the more elderly people live on the territory of the state, the worse the dynamics of population growth will develop. The fall in the birth rate, together with an increase in average age and life expectancy, is called the “aging” of the state. How are things going with a country like Azerbaijan? The composition of the population relative to age groups currently shows one of the lowest rates of aging in the territory of the former Soviet Union. Thus, only 6.4 percent of people are over 65 years old, about 23 percent are young people under 15 years of age. The main part is able-bodied people from 15 to 65 years old, in total they make up 70 percent of the total number of residents. Average life expectancy is 63 years for men and 72 for women. According to research by statisticians and sociologists, we should not expect an increase in any of the indicators in the near future. Basically, it will remain at the same levels, and the ratio, despite the increase in population, will remain the same.

Population structure of Azerbaijan - rejuvenating pyramid

If we talk about the ratio of age and sex indicators in a country like Azerbaijan, then its characteristics generally correspond to the model of the rejuvenating pyramid. What is the essence of this term?

Among the first indicator (up to 15 years), boys predominate; on average, there are 150 thousand more of them than girls. At the same time, the number of women is increasing in other positions: there are 100 thousand more women in the category from 15 to 65 years old, and 200 thousand more in the third category. Such indicators, together with the age classification, correspond to the anti-aging pyramid. The number of births begins to decrease compared to earlier periods, but the mortality rate is not high. As a result, we have relatively high fertility rates, although today it is developing more due to inertia than due to government policy or economic prosperity.

Demographic load

The consideration of the demographic burden in the Republic of Azerbaijan deserves special attention. The country's population, which can be involved in the economic sphere, correlates with the number of disabled citizens (under 15 years of age, after 65 and all categories of the population that are somehow related to this - disabled people, etc.). This coefficient makes it possible to determine exactly what social security costs are incurred in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The country's population is forced to pay higher tax rates if the demographic burden is higher, since it is from this fund that pensions and social assistance for orphans and disabled people are provided.

Taking into account the age stratification that we have already described above, it becomes clear that Azerbaijan does not face a large demographic burden. Thus, the working population at the present stage is almost twice as large as pensioners and children. Taking these indicators into account, statistics determine the coefficient to be 42 percent, a fairly low result for the entire region. It means that Azerbaijanis can easily provide their own budget funds to pay pensions, support healthcare and develop the social sphere in the country.

Do the autochthons have allies in the Land of Fire?

Any struggle in the modern world (and in general as such) is impossible without allies. This also applies to the struggle of the indigenous peoples of the Republic of Azerbaijan to restore their violated rights. Therefore, many of us are interested in the question: do we have any allies in this state?

I don’t think it’s worth proving to anyone that the AR government is determined to completely destroy the indigenous peoples of Eastern Transcaucasia and replace them with new generations of “Azerbaijanis.” In a normal state, one would expect that the opposition forces would take advantage of this mistake in government policy and, taking the side of the indigenous peoples, would act together with them (who represent an impressive force) against the Aliyev regime. However, in reality the opposite happens. The opposition not only does not fight the regime, but also, together with it, seeks to drown out the voice of the indigenous population of the region. In another part of the world, one would expect that representatives of the creative intelligentsia who do not participate in political life would come to the defense of the autochthonous population. But where are they, such figures? Will akrams-aylisli appear in the AR who will tell the truth about the “Azerbaijanis”, about the violated rights of indigenous peoples, and will call on the country’s authorities to repent for all the persecution and prohibitions that our fathers and grandfathers witnessed, and which we witness today?

Moreover, not so long ago in one of my articles I naively wrote that “soon they will start talking about the fact that we are renaming their “Southern Region” to “Talysh”!” We are almost closer to this date. Not long ago, news appeared on the Internet from the Baku channel about the opening of the Voice of Talyshistan radio station. A man behind the scenes reports, that “as a result of the Baku channel’s investigation, it became clear that Azerbaijani songs are translated into the Talysh language and voiced on the Talysh radio.” I won’t ask what kind of songs these are – “Azerbaijani” - because... everyone knows that they were collected from songs of the Talysh, Lezgins, Parsis (Tats), Avars, Kurds, etc., translated into Turkic, and subsequently presented to the world as “Turkic”. Of course, the Turkoman tribes that now inhabit the ancestral lands of the above-mentioned indigenous peoples also have a number of their own songs, but they are in the minority. For some reason, historical monuments belonging to our peoples are called “Azerbaijani”. Our heroes become “Azerbaijani”. Our children, just like ourselves, are called “Azerbaijanis”. And when we say “no!” this policy of assimilation, we are simply called criminals.

There is such a concept in psychology - “covering memory”. It is “a memory that aims to hide other memories and the affects and drives associated with them. The covering memory is often a rigidly fixed, seemingly harmless reproduction of affectively charged traumatic experiences of early childhood. It represents a compromise between denial and memory - a painful experience is covered up by harmless memories of less significant events (“Psychoanalytic terms and concepts”). Sometimes a covering memory is created artificially by the intellect to replace some real memory. What is happening now with the Turkic population of the Azerbaijan Republic is exactly what can be conditionally called the syndrome of covering memories.

During the entire period of the twenty-year history of independence, a false history and a false culture are being created in the country, which are pieced together from the stolen histories and cultures of indigenous peoples. The name “Azerbaijani” or the more pompous “ancient Azerbaijani” is quickly attached to them, and without any remorse it is demanded that everyone perceive this history and culture as such. The real roots of history and culture are forgotten, replaced by a newly-minted “covering memory.” The opposition to this schizophrenia is perceived by representatives of the so-called “titular ethnic group” with manifestations of some kind of psychosis. For example, the famous website azerbaijans.com provides information about the “small peoples of the AR”. There the following is written about the Talysh: “The people living in the southeast of Azerbaijan, in the territory of Lankaran, Astara, Masally and Lerik regions of the Azerbaijan Republic, as well as in the north of Iran. They speak Talysh, which is part of the Iranian family of languages. Scientists of the former union considered the Talysh to be aborigines. They considered the Talysh to be the descendants of the Kadus, one of the most ancient tribes of the aborigines of Azerbaijan. But Western scientists (?) doubt the correctness of this statement. In their opinion, the arrival of the Talysh on the territory of Azerbaijan is associated with the name of the commander Genghis Khan Talysh (XIII century). The material and spiritual culture of the Talysh is not very different from that of Azerbaijan.”

Such information is intended for a fool, nothing more. For example, for such Talysh as someone named Hamidov, who makes the following absurd statements on social networks: “The first obvious conclusion from the history and characteristics of the Talysh people is that they are a non-state people, not seeking participation in government, not wanting conditions to limit government power, which, in a word, does not have any political element in itself, therefore, does not contain even the grain of revolution or a constitutional structure, he writes [...]. Having separated the state government from themselves, the Talysh people retained their social life and instructed the state to give them (the people) the opportunity to live this social life. Not wanting to rule, our people want to live, of course, not only in the animal sense, but in the human sense. Not looking for political freedom, he is looking for moral freedom, freedom of spirit, freedom of social - people's life within himself.

Well, what Mongols, my God?! What kind of “Western scientists” wrote something like this? At least one name of a real scientist would be mentioned. Instead of writing about the Mongol trace within the Turkic ethnic group of the Republic of Azerbaijan, they attribute Mongolism to the Talysh. It seems that their Turkoman and Mongol past is such a big psychological trauma for them that they are trying to attribute it to us, the Talysh. The phrase that “the material and spiritual culture of the Talysh is not very different from the Azerbaijani” is close to the truth, since the so-called “Azerbaijani material and spiritual culture” in reality is nothing more than the material and spiritual culture of the indigenous peoples of this land, to the godless manner and shamelessly presented in Baku as “Azerbaijani”, or more precisely, as “Turkic”.

Another issue that needs to be touched upon is the issue of the territory of Talyshistan. In the AR, throughout the years of independence, there has been a deliberate process to reduce this territory. Not so long ago, even pro-government organizations included the districts of Ostora, Lika, Lancona, Masalona, ​​Vargadiza (Turkic Yardimli district), Hamosharu (Turkic Jalilabad district), and Bilasyvo. Now not only Khamosharu and Bilasyvo, but also Vargadiz are excluded from it. Pan-Turkists constantly exaggerate the phantasmogoria that “Masalon (Turk. Masally) is not only Talysh.” What will happen next? The word “only” will drop out of this phrase, and it will take on the following form: “Masalon is not Talysh.” Then it will be the turn of Lancona, Lik and Ostora, and the Talysh will actually appear as a simple diaspora of foreigners. The same policy of removal from historical lands is carried out in relation to Lezgins, Avars and other indigenous peoples!

Of course, it’s time to say no to this! The territory of Talyshistan cannot be reduced and represents (according to the current administrative division) the territory of the districts of Ostora, Lika, Vargadiza, Lankona, Masalon, Hamosharu, Bilasyvo, Natachola (Turk. Neftchala), Salyon, Sabirabad, Saatly, the southern part of the Imishli district, and also part of the Khadzhikabul region up to the village of Talysh. These are lands that historically belonged to the Talysh, and we do not intend to move one iota away from them. I will also note - this is not known to many - that in 1993, Salyonians, Natacholins, Saatlinians and others expressed their desire to send their representatives to the Mejlis of the Talysh-Mugan Republic, but wartime conditions did not allow this to happen. Therefore, one should not assume that the territory of Talyshistan is exclusively the territory of the TMR of the 1993 model. The territory of Talyshistan reaches (according to the old administrative division - Alibayramli) the left bank of the Kura.

Which historical lands of the Lezgins, Avars and other indigenous peoples, of course, these peoples themselves know better than others.

By the way, once again about the “Voice of Talyshistan”. The radio continues to gain support from various Talysh groups. In this regard, it is interesting to quote a note by one of the authors of the sensational “indignant” appeal to President M. Ahmadinejad, Rafig Jalilov, which he left on his page on the social network Facebook: “So we are talking about radio in the Talysh language [allegedly broadcasting a 15-minute program in the AR – approx. R.I.] turned out to be a dummy. This was another misconception: supposedly there is an international radio in the Talysh language, which was supposed to be broadcast on Thursday at 10:15. It may have been broadcast, but there were no people who could listen to it. If there is a Talysh radio, but no one can listen to it, then who needs this radio? If Iran provides an hour of radio airtime in the Talysh language every day, if Shusha provides an hour of radio airtime in the Talysh language 5 times a day, then why does Baku broadcast radio in the Talysh language on an international wave?”

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani authorities are trying to find some ideological trick to scare the Talysh away from the Voice of Talyshistan. Mainly, they continue to develop the thesis about the Iranian-Armenian enemy project. Baku “political scientist” Mubariz Ahmedoglu in his recent interview with “newsazerbaijan.ru”, apparently resembling a parrot that cannot learn more than a few program expressions, said: “Several times more Talysh live in Iran than in Azerbaijan, but the official Tehran does not recognize any national rights of the Talysh ethnic group. In Iran, the Talysh do not have their own cultural center, school, or print media. The leader of the Iranian Talysh lives in poverty.”

As a native of the Talysh region (from the village of Alaru, Hamosharu district), in theory, he should have declared a violation of the “national rights of the Talysh ethnic group” in the Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, and not in Iran, where, apparently, he had never been. Unlike the Azerbaijan Republic, in Iran both in Rasht and Tehran there are Talysh cultural centers and printed publications in the Talysh language, numerous books are published in the Talysh language and about the Talysh. It is unclear who he means by “leader of the Iranian Talysh.” Isn't it Ali Abdoli? Not the same Ali Abdoli, whom the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan calls almost the most important “Iranian spy” (“who collaborated in his vile affairs with Novruzali and Gilal Mamedov”)? Gentlemen, finally decide: is this person in confrontation with the authorities or at one with them?
Gilal Mamedov

Mubariz Ahmedoglu repeated another propaganda trick of the Baku authorities, launched two weeks ago: “Armenians living in Russia are building a secondary military school named after. Suvorov and Madatov. There are agreements on the use of the school for training CSTO personnel. It is envisaged that this school will educate representatives of ethnic minorities living in Azerbaijan. They, in all likelihood, can be used against Azerbaijan.”

I, of course, understand that, being in a completely hopeless situation (Talysh people are increasingly asking “why is radio in the Talysh language broadcast from Armenia, and not from Lancon?” It is possible that after the opening of radio in the Lezgin and Avar languages, these will become do representatives of these peoples), the authorities are trying to find some kind of trump card in the information war, but why is it so primitive? Honestly, I would not be surprised if tomorrow one of the representatives of Azerbaijan’s political establishment says that the Martian lobby is preparing a conspiracy against the state and inciting “small peoples” to act against Azerbaijan. The truth scares them so much that they don't know what steps to take. But the truth lies on the surface: the policy of ethnocide of indigenous peoples has finally reached a dead end; unless radical steps are taken to radically change the structure of the state and the vertical of power, this state entity itself is doomed to destruction.

Instead of trying to start a constructive dialogue with indigenous peoples, they continue their amateurish attacks on the leaders of indigenous movements. A striking example is the semi-anonymous one, signed by a certain “R.Sh.” (clear handwriting of the Ministry of National Security of the Republic of Azerbaijan), which we stumbled upon purely by chance while searching for the material we needed.

To be honest, we have long been accustomed to such “masterpieces” of analytical thought by “conventional” Baku authors, under stilted and baseless statements, devoid of any logic, in which their intellectual abilities are clearly visible, or rather, the absence of any intelligence (and This is not an offensive attack, it is an unfortunate fact). The author, within the framework of the article, proves nothing more than his complete illiteracy and inability to understand the essence of more or less complex issues of the socio-political life of society. In the said article, the author is indignant about one of Fakhraddin Aboszoda’s articles, which is called “The Kremlin demands 20 billion dollars from Ilham Aliyev?” and was published on the website of one of the leading Russian news agencies. Without understanding what was actually being said there, the author, having read the name of the author of this article, immediately attacked the leader of the Movement for the Revival of Talysh, literally like a bull on a red canvas, with a whole bunch of accusations, the main one among which is that allegedly F Aboszoda writes “at the request” of some foreign enemies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, primarily, of course, the Republic of Armenia. Without going into details of all his offensive statements, inspired by the above-mentioned syndrome of covering memories (which is just one phrase in this article - “Azerbaijan is the bright Sun of the Caucasus”), I will say only one thing: if this person (or group of people) has a bit of even the slightest intelligence, then he (they) from the first time reading the article of the Talysh figure should have understood that everything that was discussed in it was published in the Baku newspaper “Yeni Musavat”. Here is a quote from an article by F. Aboszoda: “In the issue dated March 15, the same newspaper went even further and came out with sensational material under the intriguing headline “Moscow demands $20 billion and the Caspian from the authorities (AR).”

Despite the fact that the source of information from the Yeni Musavat newspaper is confidential, this is quite serious information, and it is not surprising that the political scientist focused his attention on it. Of course, for the reader and specialists, the main thing in this case is how reliable this information is. How can you verify the accuracy of this information? It’s very simple: according to unspoken rules, the official authorities of the AR, in accordance with their own habits, had to immediately respond to the appearance of this information, confirming it or denying it. There was no such reaction from the AR authorities, and remains absent to this day. What does this mean? As centuries-old folk wisdom says, if the authorities are silent, it means that they indirectly confirm the reliability of this information!

Moreover, in any country in the world, especially before the presidential elections, the opposition would successfully take advantage of the appearance of similar information to accuse the government of betraying national interests and the president personally of violating the Constitution! Alas, this did not happen either. To the surprise of many, both in Baku itself and beyond, not a single opposition media began to disseminate this information, and opposition leaders, even independent politicians of the country, as if they had taken too much water into their mouths, pretended that they had not noticed this information at all. What does it mean? This suggests that the opposition in the country, as it was, and continues to remain “pocket”, and serves the interests of the ruling Aliyev clan. Such silence in the opposition camp regarding the appearance of this information once again confirms the correctness of our statements, which have been voiced more than once in our materials, that this opposition is essentially anti-people and, for the sake of its short-term selfish interests, is ready at any moment to support all the whims President I. Aliyev!

After F. Aboszoda was convinced that there would most likely not be a reaction from Baku, he apparently decided to clarify the reliability of this information in Moscow. And, despite the fact that exactly a month has passed since the publication of the article, the Kremlin also still does not want to express its attitude to this issue. What does this in turn mean? The fact that by its silence the Kremlin also, albeit indirectly, still confirms the accuracy of the information voiced in the article. That's the whole point of the question!

Thus, there was no need for the Talysh leader to “suck out of thin air”, as the above-mentioned conditional author writes about it, the indicated information, and there was no need to accuse him of allegedly “adding grist to the mill of those who want to compromise the Russian-Azerbaijani relationship". The gentlemen sitting in Baku, licking Ilham Aliyev day and night, must understand that “compromising Russian-Azerbaijani relations” is a task that is not within the competence of F. Aboszoda. As an analyst, he prepares exclusively his vision of geopolitical processes, which undoubtedly indicate that the upcoming reformatting of the geopolitical field in the South Caucasus region, or more precisely, on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, is only a matter of time! Whether someone in Baku likes it or not is no longer our concern!

In this part of the article, I am interested in one more question: why under the article are only the initials of its author, why did he not indicate his first and last name? Maybe he's afraid of us? Maybe! But it seems to me that it’s not even about us. Apparently, the author is afraid that smart people in Baku, after reading his libel, will simply spit in his face and say: “You’re so stupid, you’re just an idiot!” I even understood what F. Aboszod’s article was about!”

Another example. Many in Baku have recently been outraged by the activation of the FLNKA and personally its president A.P. Kerimova. With one voice, all both pro-government and opposition media are raising a real wolf barking around the FLNKA. They are most interested in the following question: who gave the right to A.P. Kerimov to speak on behalf of the Lezgin people?

One is amazed at the “naivety” of these Baku pseudo-analysts and thieving deputies! As if someone (in their understanding, apparently, this is Ilham Aliyev!) should come to him and “give him such a right! They don’t even want to understand, or don’t understand at all, that rights are not given by anyone! What can I say if A.P. Kerimov, as an advanced and conscientious representative of the intelligentsia of the Lezgin people, understands his mission more and better and leads the struggle of his compatriots for the salvation of their people? The whole point is that these unfortunate Baku scribblers, without special permission and instructions from above, cannot do or write anything on their own. Therefore, it doesn’t even occur to them that the same A.P. Kerimov can just like that, without anyone’s permission, take into his own hands the initiative to liberate his people!

So, no matter how many people like a certain R.Sh. and similar brainless puppies, who do not even have a name, did not bark at F. Aboszoda and the leaders of other indigenous peoples, the caravan of our peoples is solemnly moving towards its cherished dream! With their barking and the creation of ever new covering memories (roughly speaking, lies and insinuations), they will achieve only one thing - an even greater strengthening of the antagonism between the indigenous peoples of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the “titular ethnic group”, which does not bode well for this pseudo state entity called the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Finally, returning to the question we put in the title of the article, I want to answer it, no matter how strange it may sound, positively: the indigenous peoples have allies in the Republic of Azerbaijan - these are the indigenous peoples of this land themselves and their closest neighbors - just as indigenous residents of the Caucasus. This means that the Talysh, Lezgins, Avars, Parsis and others must finally unite their efforts in the fight against the violation of their rights and for the restoration of their statehood! As for the attacks on the leaders of the indigenous peoples of our land by the Baku sycophants, then let them live their dog’s lives. If only readers knew how many of these ownerless yard dogs, barking at respectable people, roam the streets of Baku today.

Rustam Iskandari

Population of Azerbaijan in the mid-twentieth century it entered a stage of rapid growth, ensured mainly by the high natural increase in villagers of Azerbaijani nationality. As a result, the population of the republic has grown 4 times over the century, and the share of Azerbaijanis in the entire population has increased from 58% to more than 90%. At the beginning of the 20th century, Azerbaijan continues to remain one of the leaders in population growth in the Northern Hemisphere: excluding African countries, in 2010 only Mexico and India were ahead of it. However, the ongoing demographic explosion threatens the country with overpopulation, although its threat is mitigated by the traditionally stable outflow of the surplus young population, predominantly male, abroad. One of the demographic problems of the republic remains selective abortion, which further intensifies existing gender imbalances. In terms of urbanization, the dominant role in the republic is played by the Baku agglomeration, which is many times larger in size than all other urban settlements.

Encyclopedic YouTube

Population

The urban population as of July 1, 2013 was 53.1% of the population, and the rural population was 46.9%. Men made up 49.7% of the total population, women - 50.3%, that is, for every 1000 men there are 1013 women.

The life expectancy of newborns is 72.6 years, including 69.9 years for men and 75.4 years for women. (data for 2008).

As of January 1, 2014, the population of Azerbaijan was 9 million 477 thousand people.

In 2010, 165.6 thousand children were born in Azerbaijan, the birth rate is 18.5 per 1000 people. On average, every woman has two children born throughout her life.

In 2010, 53.6 thousand people died. The mortality rate is, according to 2010 data, 6.0 deaths per 1000 people.

Population density

The population density of Azerbaijan also increased from 89.2 people/km² in 1995 to 97.4 people/km² in 2006. The republic is experiencing a growing disproportion in population density: the Absheron Peninsula shows signs of overpopulation, while a process of population outflow is observed from the mountainous regions.

Demographic situation

At the beginning of the 21st century, there was no such significant outflow or inflow of population as in the 1990s. Thus, in 2004, 2.8 thousand people left Azerbaijan, but at the same time 2.4 thousand people moved to the country for permanent residence, thereby the population did not change significantly.

Ethnic composition of the population of Azerbaijan

Story

Azerbaijanis

Azerbaijanis are the main population of the country, belonging to the Turkic-speaking peoples. In cities and rural areas, Azerbaijanis made up 90.6% of the population according to the 1999 census.

In the early 1990s, the share of the Azerbaijani population increased both due to the resettlement of Azerbaijanis from Armenia and the outflow of the Armenian population (it currently remains only in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh), and also because a significant part of the representatives of non-indigenous nationalities in Transcaucasia left Azerbaijan . In Azerbaijan itself, Azerbaijanis who came from Armenia are known under the general term “erazy” (i.e. Yerevan Azerbaijanis).

Russians

Russians began to move to the territory of modern Azerbaijan from the first half of the 19th century.

There were 510 thousand Russians in Azerbaijan (mainly in Baku) in the 1970s. From 1989 to 1989, the Russian population of Azerbaijan decreased both in relative and absolute terms. If according to the census there were more than 475 thousand Russians, then according to the census their number decreased to 392 thousand. The main reasons for this phenomenon were the low level of natural growth in the number of Russians, as well as high rates of migration outside the country. While according to the adviser to the president of the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress, Eldar Kuliyev, about 200 thousand Russians lived in Azerbaijan in 2004, some representatives of the Russian community believe that there are currently 75 thousand Russians living in Azerbaijan.

Armenians

According to the prevailing point of view in world science, in the era of Antiquity, the Kura River was the extreme eastern border of the Armenian kingdom. The Kura-Araks lowland, Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan, being part of Ancient Armenia, were densely populated by Armenians.

According to the tsarist census of the Russian Empire in 1897, only 1,757,317 people lived on the territory of the Baku and Elizavetpol provinces (without Zangezur) and the Nakhichevan district of the Erivan province, on the territory of which the Republic of Azerbaijan is located today, of which 1,062,738 were Azerbaijanis (60%) and 342,890 Armenians ( 20 %). Moreover, Armenians lived mainly in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, where they made up a solid mass of 95% of the population, and in Nakhichevan, where they made up up to 40% of the population. Already according to the All-Union Population Census of 1979, 6,026,515 people lived in the Azerbaijan SSR, of which 4,708,832 Azerbaijanis (78%) and 475,486 Armenians (8%). According to the All-Union Census of 1989, in the Azerbaijan SSR the number of Armenians decreased by 85,000 people, relative to the previous census and amounted to 390,505 people. Armenians made up the main population of the NKAO, and also lived compactly in the northern regions immediately adjacent to the NKAO and in the capital of the republic, Baku. .

Georgian Ingiloi

Germans

Ukrainians

Jews

Jews occupy a prominent place in the ethnic mosaic of Azerbaijan. This group is differentiated into Mountain Jews (since they speak the Tat language, they are sometimes called Tatami Jews), who have lived in the country since time immemorial, and European Jews (Ashkenazim), whose appearance is associated with the beginning of the colonization of the Caucasus by Russia.

As throughout the post-Soviet space, in Azerbaijan over the past few decades there has been a tendency towards a reduction in the number of Jews due to their large migration outflow to Israel and Western countries.

The number of Jews in Azerbaijan decreased from a maximum of 41.2 thousand in 1939 to 30.8 thousand in 1989. Their share in the country's population decreased accordingly from 1.3 to 0.4 percent. According to preliminary data from the 1999 census, the number of Jews has more than halved. Although a comparison of census data from 1979 and 1989 unexpectedly shows a more than twofold increase in the number of Mountain Jews (from 2.1 thousand to 6.1 thousand), in reality these are just paradoxes of imperfect statistics, since previously Mountain Jews living in cities , were often counted as simply Jews.

The proportion of mixed marriages among Jewish men in the period from 1936 to 1939 decreased from 39% to 32%, and among women, on the contrary, increased from 26% to 28%. In 1939, the proportion of married Jewish women aged 20-49 was 74%. In 1989, among Mountain Jews the proportion living in homogeneous families was 82%, among Ashkenazi Jews - 52%

Greeks

The first Greek settlers of Azerbaijan appeared in Karabakh in the village of Mehmana, after the Russian-Turkish wars. According to the 1897 census, 278 Greeks lived in the Baku province, and 658 Greeks lived in Elizavetpol province. In 1923, according to statistics, 1,168 Greeks lived among the urban population in Azerbaijan, and 58 in the village of Mekhmana. After Azerbaijan gained independence, the Greek Embassy was opened in Baku and the Cultural Center of the Greeks of Azerbaijan was opened with it. According to incomplete community statistics, there are 535 Greeks in Azerbaijan (176 families), mostly living in Baku, there are also families in Sumgait, Khachmas, Quba, Kakh, Ganja.

Dagestan-speaking peoples

In the north of Azerbaijan live a large group of autochthonous peoples belonging to the Nakh-Dagestan language family: Lezgins, Avars, Akhvakhs, Tsakhurs, Udins, as well as Khinalugs, Budukhs and Krys. Many of them settled in Baku, Sumgait and other cities of the country. Representatives of these peoples (except for the Udins - Christians) belong to the Sunni branch of Islam.

Lezgins

Lezgins are the largest of the Dagestan-speaking indigenous ethnic groups living in Azerbaijan. Although, according to Soviet-era census data, the proportion of Lezgins in the population of Azerbaijan was constantly reduced from 3.5 percent (111 thousand) in 1939 to 2.4 percent in 1989 (171 thousand), while at the same time there was an increase in their number in in absolute terms. According to preliminary data from the 1999 census, the number of Lezgins was about 180 thousand. Although the proportion of Lezgins was reduced to 2.2 percent, nevertheless, as a result of the reduction in the proportion of the Armenian and Russian population, the Lezgins have now become the second largest ethnic group, after the Azerbaijanis in the country. In addition to the Qusar region, where Lezgins make up about 90 percent of the population, they are also settled in the Khachmas, Guba, Gabala, Ismayilli, Oguz, Kakh, Sheki and other regions of Azerbaijan, including in the capital of the country - Baku.

According to the encyclopedic reference book Ethnologist, the number of speakers of the Lezgin language in Azerbaijan was 364 thousand in 2007.

Udini

Avars

Iranian-speaking peoples

Among the minorities of Azerbaijan, a large group consists of Iranian-speaking ethnic groups - Talysh, tats And Kurds. They have inhabited the territory they occupy since time immemorial and have always actively participated in ongoing historical processes, in the economic and cultural life of the country.

Talysh

Talysh (self-name “tolysh”, plural “tolyshon”) are a people who are descendants of the ancient indigenous population of the Caucasus, of Iranian origin. They live on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea. They belong to the Caspian anthropological type of southern Caucasians. The territory of residence of the Talysh - Talysh (Tolysh, Talesh) - is divided into two parts by the border strip between Azerbaijan and Iran. On the territory of Azerbaijan, the Talysh live in four southern regions of the Republic - Lankaran, Astara, Lerik and Masalli - as well as in such large cities as Baku and Sumgait. Geographically, the Talysh live on the territory of the Lenkoran Lowland and the Talysh Mountains. The northern border of Talysh is considered to be the Vilyash River, the southern border is the Sefidrud River, and the western border is the Talysh Range. According to the 1999 census, the number of Talysh was 80 thousand, or about 1 percent of the total population of the country.

Kurds

In the far west of Azerbaijan, in the border Lachin and Kelbajar regions, as well as in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Kurds live. In 1989, the number of Kurds was just over 12 thousand. After the start of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, many thousands of Muslim Kurds fled to the territory of Azerbaijan from Armenia along with 200 thousand Azerbaijanis. As a result of the occupation of seven more regions of Azerbaijan by the Armenian armed forces, almost all local Kurds found themselves in the position of refugees or internally displaced persons.

Tats

In the north-eastern zone of Azerbaijan, in the territory of the Absheron, Khizy, Divichi, Guba regions, groups of small people live - the Tats. They are direct descendants of the Iranian-speaking population, resettled back in the 6th century by the Sassanids to the Caspian regions of Azerbaijan. Certain groups of Tats in Azerbaijan even today prefer to call themselves Daglins, Parsis, Lahijs, etc. According to the 1989 census, there were a little more than 10 thousand Tats. Under this ethnonym, the Soviet-era census recorded mainly Muslim Tats.

Gypsies

According to Patkanov, 518 Karachis lived in Nakhichevan, 1750 in Geokchay district, and 131 people in the village of Karachi in Kuba district. In total, by that time there were 2,399 people. Local Azerbaijanis called them “Karachi”, but they called themselves “home” (variant “rum”). Before the Karabakh War, Roma communities existed in Shusha and Jebrail. In the Khachmas region of Azerbaijan, the village of Karachi has been preserved. In Yevlakh, as in some Absheron villages, there is a whole quarter, which is popularly called “garachilar mekhellesi”. As for the city of Khudat, Khachmaz region, the local gypsies come from Iran

Notes

1. http://www.lhrc.lv/biblioteka/book2016_glava1.pdf
2. “Demographic indicators of Azerbaijan Statistical publication/2012
3. The population of Azerbaijan exceeded 9.477 million people
4. State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan. according to the population of the country.
5. Interim report no. 2 OSCE/ODIHR regarding the presidential elections in Azerbaijan on October 9, 2013. Page 4, note 13:

   According to the SSC estimations the non-voting population includes more than 1 million Azerbaijani citizens living in the Russian Federation, Turkey, Ukraine and other countries; 120,000 living in occupied territories and some 240,000 foreign citizens that have residence in Azerbaijan.

6. The population of Azerbaijan exceeded 9.4 million people (Russian). “Echo of the Caucasus” (July 15, 2013). Retrieved July 15, 2013. Archived July 15, 2013.
7. http://www.azstat.org/MESearch/details Azstat.org - The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan
8. Group of authors. Edited by Irina Popova. Cooperation to solve the waste problem.  Abstracts of reports of the 5th international conference. - 2008. - P. 32. - ISBN 9668337107, 9789668337109.
9. Eurasian panorama
10. Estimates of poverty statistics in Azerbaijan (undefined) . Report of the State Statistics Committee of the Azerbaijan Republic (2005). Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
11. All-Union Population Census of 1939.  National composition of the population by republics of the USSR (undefined) . "Demoscope".
12. All-Union Population Census of 1979.  National composition of the population by republics of the USSR (undefined) . "Demoscope". Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
13. (undefined) (unavailable link). "EurasiaNet". July 16, 2007.
14. Ethnic composition of Azerbaijan (according to the 1999 census) (undefined) . "Demoscope" (03/12/2001). Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
15. All-Union Population Census of 1989.  National composition of the population by republics of the USSR (undefined) . "Demoscope". Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
16. Footnote error: Invalid tag ; no text specified for footnotes EtAzRn1999
17. Ed 2002 43rd, Taylor & Francis Group. Azerbaijan // The Europa World Year Book 2003. - Taylor & Francis, 2003, 2002. - P. 621. -

As of April 13, 2009, the population of Azerbaijan was 8,922,000 people. This is 969 thousand more than on January 1, 1999, reports the country's State Statistics Committee.

More than half (54%) of the country's population lives in cities, 46% - in rural areas. Men make up 49% of the population, women - 51%.
The number of residents of the Azerbaijani capital, including internally displaced persons and temporary residents, is 2,246,000.
Baku is followed in terms of population by Ganja (formerly Kirovabad), where 313 thousand people live, Sumgait (310 thousand) and Mingachevir (in the previous Russian transcription Mingachevir, 96 thousand).

In the first half of 2006, 74.2 thousand children were born in Azerbaijan, the birth rate is 18 per 1000 people. On average, every woman has two children born throughout her life.

The mortality rate is, according to 2008 data, 8.32 deaths per 1000 people. The population density of Azerbaijan also increased from 89.2 people/km² in 1995 to 97.4 people/km² in 2006.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Republic did not experience such a strong outflow and inflow of population. Thus, in 2004, 2.8 thousand people left Azerbaijan, but at the same time 2.4 thousand people moved to the country for permanent residence, thereby the population did not change significantly.

National composition of Azerbaijan: Azerbaijanis - 90%, Dagestan peoples (Lezgins, Avars, Tsakhurs, Khinalugs, Budukhi) - 3.2%, Russians - 2.5%, others (Kurds, Ukrainians, Tatars, Tats, Talysh, etc.) - 2, 3% (1998 estimate).

The ethnic history of Azerbaijan knows several periods:

Ancient(XII - I centuries BC) - when Azerbaijan was inhabited by Scythian (see Ishkuza, Maskut) tribes north of the Araks River, and Mannaean tribes, later Medes south of the Araks River.

Around the same time, the ancestors of the Albanian tribes settled on the territory of Azerbaijan north of the Araks River.

Ancient(I - VIII centuries AD) Migration and settlement in Azerbaijan of the early Turkic tribes of the Huns, Savirs, in the VI century. - Khazar. Relocation to the lands north of the Araks River of the Persians (ancestors of the modern Tats of Azerbaijan) under Khosrow Anushirvan, penetration and settlement under the Caliphate, Arabs and Kurds (7th century)
New (IX-XI centuries) Penetration and settlement of Oghuz Turks in Azerbaijan under the Seljuks, which marked the beginning of the final Turkicization of the country.

Azerbaijanis- the main population of the country belongs to the Turkic-speaking peoples. In cities and rural areas, Azerbaijanis made up 96-99% of the population according to the 1999 census.

In the early 1990s, the share of the Azerbaijani population increased due to refugees from areas located in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and Armenia. In Azerbaijan itself, Azerbaijanis who came from Armenia are known under the general term Erazy (i.e. Yerevan Azerbaijanis). Since Soviet times, they and people from Nakhchivan have concentrated all power in the republic.

Russians began to move to the territory of modern Azerbaijan in the first half of the 19th century.

From 1979 to 1989, the Russian population of Azerbaijan decreased in both relative and absolute terms. If according to the 1979 census there were more than 475 thousand Russians, then according to the 1989 census their number decreased to 392 thousand. The main reasons for this phenomenon were the low level of natural growth in the number of Russians, as well as high rates of migration outside the country. According to the adviser to the president of the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress, Eldar Kuliyev, about 200 thousand Russians currently live in Azerbaijan (2004).

A large group has long lived in the northeast of Azerbaijan Dagestani-speaking ethnic groups: Lezgins, Avars, Tsakhurs, as well as Khinalugs, Budukhs and Kryzys. Many of them settled in Baku and other cities of the country. Lezgins, Avars and Tsakhurs belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, as do the Azerbaijanis living next to them in the north of the country. The commonality of faith, closeness of culture and way of life created the prerequisites for a high degree of integration of these ethnic groups into the Azerbaijani environment.

Lezgins in Azerbaijan

The largest of the Dagestan-speaking ethnic groups living in Azerbaijan are the Lezgins. According to Soviet-era census data, the proportion of Lezgins in the population of Azerbaijan constantly decreased from 3.5 percent (111 thousand) in 1939 to 2.4 percent in 1989 (171 thousand). As we can see, while the proportion of Lezgins was falling, there was simultaneously an increase in their numbers in absolute terms. According to preliminary data from the 1999 census, the number of Lezgins was about 180 thousand. Despite the fact that the proportion of Lezgins decreased to 2.2 percent, as a result of the reduction in the proportion of the Armenian and Russian population, they have now become the second largest, after the Azerbaijanis, ethnicity in the country. In addition to the Qusar region, where Lezgins make up more than 80 percent of the population, they are also settled in the Khachmas, Guba, Gabala and other regions of Azerbaijan.

Udi in Azerbaijan

The Udins are one of the most unique peoples of Azerbaijan. According to the 1989 census, there are 6.1 thousand representatives of this small people in Azerbaijan, most of which are concentrated in the village of Nij in the Gabala region. The rest inhabit the regional center of Oguz. The Udins speak the Udi language. Udi language - belongs to the Lezgin subgroup of the Nakh-Dagestan group of languages ​​(East Caucasian) family of languages, is divided into two dialects - Nij and Oguz (Vartashen). The origin of the Udins (self-name - Udi, Uti) goes back to the ancient Albanian tribe of Uti, which indicates their autochthony. They profess Orthodox and Gregorian Christianity.

Among the minorities of Azerbaijan, a large group consists of Iranian-speaking ethnic groups - Talysh, Tats and Kurds. They have inhabited the territory they occupy since time immemorial and have always actively participated in ongoing historical processes, in the economic and cultural life of the country.

Talysh - people in Azerbaijan

The Talysh are settled in the southeast of Azerbaijan, that is, mainly in the Lenkoran, Astara and, partly, in the Masalli and Lerik regions. Many of them now live in Baku and Sumgait. According to the 1999 census, the number of Talysh was 80 thousand, or about 1 percent of the total population of the country.

Kurds in Azerbaijan

In the far west of Azerbaijan, in the border Lachin and Kelbajar regions, as well as in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Kurds live. In 1989, the number of Kurds was just over 12 thousand. After the start of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, many thousands of Muslim Kurds fled to the territory of Azerbaijan from Armenia along with 200 thousand Azerbaijanis. As a result of the occupation of six more regions of Azerbaijan by the Armenian armed forces, almost all local Kurds found themselves in the position of refugees or internally displaced persons.

Tats

In the north-eastern zone of Azerbaijan, in the territory of the Absheron, Khizy, Divichi, Guba regions, groups of a small people live - the Tats. They are direct descendants of the Iranian-speaking population, resettled back in the 6th century by the Sassanids to the Caspian regions of Azerbaijan. Certain groups of Tats in Azerbaijan even today prefer to call themselves Daglins, Parsis, Lahijs, etc. According to the 1989 census, there were a little more than 10 thousand Tats. Under this ethnonym, the Soviet-era census recorded mainly Muslim Tats.

Jews in Azerbaijan

Jews occupy a prominent place in the ethnic mosaic of Azerbaijan. This group is differentiated into Mountain Jews (since they speak the Tat language, they are sometimes called Tatami Jews), living in the country since time immemorial, and European Jews, Ashkenazis, whose appearance is associated with the beginning of the colonization of the Caucasus by Russia.

As throughout the post-Soviet space, in Azerbaijan over the past few decades there has been a tendency towards a reduction in the number of Jews due to their large migration outflow to Israel and Western countries.

The number of Jews in Azerbaijan decreased from a maximum of 41.2 thousand in 1939 to 30.8 thousand in 1989. Their share in the country's population decreased accordingly from 1.3 to 0.4 percent. According to preliminary data from the 1999 census, the number of Jews has more than halved. Although a comparison of census data from 1979 and 1989 unexpectedly shows a more than twofold increase in the number of Mountain Jews (from 2.1 thousand to 6.1 thousand), in reality these are just paradoxes of imperfect statistics, since previously Mountain Jews living in cities , were often counted as simply Jews.

The proportion of mixed marriages among Jewish men in the period from 1936 to 1939 decreased from 39% to 32%, and among women, on the contrary, increased from 26% to 28%. In 1939, the proportion of married Jewish women aged 20-49 was 74%. In 1989, among Mountain Jews the proportion living in homogeneous families was 82%, among Ashkenazi Jews - 52%.