Demographics
According to the 2009 census, ethnic minorities in Azerbaijan represent 8.9% of the population, including Lezgins (the largest minority group, making up 2.0% of the population), Russians (1.3%) and others, such as Talysh, Tats (Muslims and Judeo-Tats), Avars, Georgians, and Ashkenazi Jews, which comprise the remaining 3.9%.
While Azerbaijanis formed a consistent majority, it is worth noting that there was a shift in the demographic trends in modern Azerbaijan even before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Nagorno-Karabakh War, that lead to an exodus of some ethnic minorities, notably the Armenians and Russians, and conversely a large influx of Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia and Azerbaijani internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories, thus giving Azerbaijan a more homogeneous character.
| Ethnic group |
Census 19261 | Census 19392 | Census 19593 | Census 19704 | Census 19795 | Census 19896 | Census 19996 | Census 2009 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Azerbaijanis | 1,437,977 | 62.1 | 1,870,471 | 58.4 | 2,494,381 | 67.5 | 3,776,778 | 73.8 | 4,708,832 | 78.1 | 5,804,980 | 82.7 | 7,205,464 | 90.6 | 8,172,800 | 91.6 |
| Lezgins | 37,263 | 1.6 | 111,666 | 3.5 | 98,211 | 2.7 | 137,250 | 2.7 | 158,057 | 2.6 | 171,395 | 2.4 | 178,021 | 2.2 | 180,300 | 2.02 |
| Armenians | 282,004 | 12.2 | 388,025 | 12.1 | 442,089 | 12.0 | 483,520 | 9.4 | 475,486 | 7.9 | 390,505 | 5.6 | 120,7458 | 1.5 | 120,3008 | 1.35 |
| Russians | 220,545 | 9.5 | 528,318 | 16.5 | 501,282 | 13.6 | 510,059 | 10.0 | 475,255 | 7.9 | 392,304 | 5.6 | 141,687 | 1.8 | 119,300 | 1.35 |
| Talysh | 77,323 | 3.3 | 87,510 | 2.7 | 85 | 0.0 | 21,169 | 0.3 | 76,841 | 1.0 | 112,000 | 1.26 | ||||
| Avars | 19,104 | 0.8 | 15,740 | 0.5 | 17,254 | 0.5 | 30,735 | 0.6 | 35,991 | 0.6 | 44,072 | 0.6 | 50,871 | 0.6 | 49,800 | 0.56 |
| Turks | 95 | 0.0 | 600 | 0.0 | 202 | 0.0 | 8,491 | 0.2 | 7,926 | 0.1 | 17,705 | 0.3 | 43,454 | 0.5 | 38,000 | 0,43 |
| Tatars | 9,948 | 0.4 | 27,591 | 0.9 | 29,370 | 0.8 | 31,353 | 0.6 | 31,204 | 0.5 | 28,019 | 0.4 | 30,011 | 0.4 | 25,900 | 0,29 |
| Tat | 28,443 | 1.2 | 2,289 | 0.1 | 5,887 | 0.2 | 7,769 | 0.2 | 8,848 | 0.1 | 10,239 | 0.1 | 10,922 | 0.1 | 25,200 | 0.28 |
| Ukrainians | 18,241 | 0.8 | 23,643 | 0.7 | 25,778 | 0.7 | 29,160 | 0.6 | 26,402 | 0.4 | 32,345 | 0.5 | 28,984 | 0.4 | 21,500 | 0,24 |
| Tsakhurs | 15,552 | 0.7 | 6,464 | 0.2 | 2,876 | 0.1 | 6,208 | 0.1 | 8,546 | 0.1 | 13,318 | 0.2 | 15,877 | 0.2 | 12,300 | 0.14 |
| Udins | 2,445 | 0.1 | 3,202 | 0.1 | 5,492 | 0.1 | 5,841 | 0.1 | 6,125 | 0.1 | 4,152 | 0.1 | 3,800 | 0.04 | ||
| Georgians | 9,500 | 0.4 | 10,196 | 0.3 | 9,526 | 0.3 | 13,595 | 0.3 | 11,412 | 0.2 | 14,197 | 0.2 | 14,877 | 0.2 | 9,900 | 0.11 |
| Jews | 20,578 | 0.9 | 41,245 | 1.3 | 40,198 | 1.1 | 48,652 | 1.0 | 35,487 | 0.6 | 30,792 | 0.4 | 8,916 | 0.1 | 9,100 | 0.1 |
| Kurds | 41,1937 | 1.8 | 6,005 | 0.2 | 1,487 | 0.0 | 5,488 | 0.1 | 5,676 | 0.1 | 12,226 | 0.2 | 13,075 | 0.2 | 6,100 | 0.07 |
| Others | 94,360 | 4.1 | 85,387 | 2.7 | 25,889 | 0.7 | 22,531 | 0.4 | 31,552 | 0.5 | 31,787 | 0.5 | 9,541 | 0.1 | 9,500 | 0.11 |
| Total | 2,314,571 | 3,205,150 | 3,697,717 | 5,117,081 | 6,026,515 | 7,021,178 | 7,953,438 | 8,922,400 | ||||||||
Read more about this topic: Ethnic Minorities In Azerbaijan