Azerbaijani people Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Azerbaijanis
*Azərbaycanlılar, Azərbaycan türkləri*
آذربایجانی ها ، ترک های آذربایجانی
Total population

approx. 25–35 million
Regions with significant populations
Iran	15 to 30 million
Azerbaijan	8,172,800
Russia	621,800 to 1,500,000
Turkey	530,000 to 2,500,000
Georgia	284,761 to 500,000
Kazakhstan	78,295
Ukraine	45,176
Uzbekistan	44,400
Turkmenistan	33,365
Netherlands	18,000
Kyrgyzstan	17,823
Germany	15,219
United Kingdom	15,000
Belarus	6,362
United States	5,553
Canada	3,465
Latvia	1,697
Austria	1,000
Estonia	880
Lithuania	788
Languages
Azerbaijani
Religion
Predominantly Shia Islam; minorities practice Sunni Islam, Christianity, Bahá'í Faith, and Zoroastrianism
Related ethnic groups
Other Turkic peoples, Iranian peoples, peoples of the Caucasus

The Azerbaijanis or Azeris are Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They also live in Georgia, Russia (Dagestan), Turkey and formerly Armenia. The Azerbaijanis are mostly Shi'a Muslim.

After the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) and Russo-Persian War (1826–1828), the land of the Iranian Qajar dynasty in the Caucasus were given to the Russian Empire which makes up the present territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Lands which Iran kept are now known as Iranian Azerbaijan. Even though they live on two sides of an international border, the Azerbaijanis are a single ethnic group. However, northerners and southerners differ due to nearly two centuries of separate social evolution of Iranian Azerbaijanis and Russian/Soviet-influenced Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani language unifies Azerbaijanis, and is mutually intelligible with Turkmen, Qashqai, Gagauz, Turkish, and the dialects spoken by the Iraqi Turkmen, all of which belong to the Oghuz, or Western, group of Turkic languages.

Images for kids

Painting of Atropates, meeting with Alexander the Great. Iran's historic Azerbaijan region (also known as Iranian Azerbaijan) is believed to be named after him.
Shirvan Tatar (i.e. Azerbaijani). Engraving from book of Jean Baptiste Benoît Eyriès. Voyage pittoresque en Asie et en Afrique: résumé général des voyages anciens et modernes... T. I, 1839
Map of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic presented by the Azerbaijani delegation Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
Soldiers and officers of the army of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918
Sattar Khan (1868–1914) was a major revolutionary figure in the late Qajar period in Iran.
Azerbaijani girl from Shusha in silk national garments.
Russian Empire postcard depicting Tatars (i.e. Azerbaijanis) from Alexandropol (Gyumri)
Ashiks performance in Tabriz
Iran's highest-ranking official, the supreme leader Ali Khamenei is Iranian Azeri on his father's side.
Azeri woman from Baku (1900 postcard)
Portrait of Muhammad Fuzûlî by Azim Azimzade (1914). Fuzûlî is considered one of the greatest Azerbaijani poets.
Mugham triads
Chess player Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Two-time Paralympic judo champion (2004, 2008) Ilham Zakiyev