Azerbaijan Population 2023 (Live)

According to current projections, Azerbaijan’s population is expected to grow slowly over the next 25 or so years before reaching its peak population of 11.1 million people. Following this, the population will slowly decline down to 9.24 million people by the end of the century.

Azerbaijan’s current growth rate is 0.91%, adding over 91,000 people from 2019 to 2020. The population growth rate has decreased every year since 2015, and the trend is expected to continue until the population plateaus around 2045. The fertility rate in Azerbaijan is 2.08 births per woman, just below the population replacement level of 2.1.

As the fertility rate decreases, Azerbaijan will have an increasingly aging population. This will negatively impact the country’s economic productivity, as there will be fewer working-age people in the population.

Azerbaijan Population Growth

Azerbaijan, like many countries in similar circumstances, experienced a swell of growth after its independence. When Azerbaijan became a free republic from the Soviet Union in 1936, there was significant increase immigration, but that has since slowed significantly, and the annual growth rate has sat slightly above 1% since the early 2000s, creating a steady and sustainable amount of growth for the country.

Azerbaijan Population Projections

Although the growth in Azerbaijan has been relatively steady for the past few decades, it is expected to slow down, and even stop in the years to come. in the year 2020, it is predicted that the annual growth rate will be 0.98%, which will supposedly decrease an entire percentage point to -0.02@ by 2050, at which the population number will be virtually stagnant. After 2050, the population is supposed to decrease. The current projections believe that the population of Azerbaijan will be 10,099,743 in 2020, 10,680,202 in 2030, 10,988,920 in 2040, and 11,039,198 in 2050.

Azerbaijan Area and Population Density

Azerbaijan sits on the Caspian Sea in the south Caucasus region of Europe and covers 33,436 square miles (86,600 square kilometers) of surface area. Azerbaijan shares borders with Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Iran and is a mostly mountainous country apart from the area of flatlands at the country's center. Using the 2017 population of 9.86 million, the population density of Azerbaijan is 294.9 people per square mile (113.9 people per square kilometer), which ranks 71st in the world.

Largest Cities in Azerbaijan

Slightly over half of the people of Azerbaijan live in urban areas, and the country has 77 cities. The largest city and capital is Baku with a population of 2.15 million and a metro population of 4 million. Baku is densely populated with 996 people per square kilometer (2,580/square mile). The next-largest city is Sumqayit at 325,000, followed by Ganja at 323,000. The remaining 45% of the population lives in a rural area.

Azerbaijan is a transcontinental country located between Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Azerbaijan is bordered by Russia, Georgia, Iran, Armenia and the Caspian Sea.

Azerbaijan Demographics

At the 2009 census, the ethnic composition of Azerbaijan was more than 91% Azerbaijanis, 2% Lezgians, 1.3% Armenians (with nearly all living in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh), 1.3% Russian, 1.2% Talysh, 0.5% Avars, 0.4% Turks, 0.3% Tatars, 0.3% Tats and 0.25% Ukrainians.

Azerbaijan Religion, Economy and Politics

About 95% of the population is Muslim. 85% of Muslims in Azerbaijan are Shia Muslims while 15% are Sunni Muslims. Azerbaijan has the second highest Shia population percentage behind Iran. Azerbaijan is a secular state that provides religious freedom. A Gallup poll conducted seven years ago found that just 21% of Azerbaijanis consider religion an important aspect of their lives, which makes it one of the least religious countries on earth.

Azerbaijan has been undergoing significant restructuring of their government since the 2018 election of President Ilham Aliyev for a fourth term amidst rumors of electoral fraud. A new prime minister has been nominated and several key political figures have been replaced with the hopes of education, tax, and economic reform. The oil industry dominates the economy and has been expanding since these changes have been implemented, but this is likely to be temporary. Other major sectors of Azerbaijan's economy include agriculture, manufacturing and financial, business, telecommunications, and tourism services.

Azerbaijan Population History

Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, before the dissolution of the USSR. A huge oil boom in the country led to international investment, and by the start of the 20th century, the country was supplying half of the world's oil. During the collapse of the Soviet Union, the large Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh attempted to secede from Azerbaijan, leading to war and the Armenians taking control of the region. A ceasefire was signed in 1994, with nearly 1/7 of the country's territory still occupied and 800,000 refugees scattered. During the 1990s, many Armenians and Russians left the region. In 1970, there were about 484,000 Armenians and 510,000 Russians in Azerbaijan.