The Economic regions of Azerbaijan are 14 regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan characterized by a certain economic and geographical position, territorial and economic unity, the diversity of natural and economic conditions and industrial specialization.
The territory of Azerbaijan was divided into 10 economic districts prior to 2021. [1] On July 7, 2021, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed Decree "On the new division of economic regions in the Republic of Azerbaijan", which abolished some of the former regions and created new ones. There are currently 14 economic districts of Azerbaijan. [2]
| Economic region [3] | Total area (thousand km2) [4] | Population (2021) in thousands of people. [4] | Population density (2021, per 1 km2, person) | Brief information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baku | 2,140 | 2300,5 | 1075 | Includes Baku itself. It is the main economic centre of Azerbaijan. Main industries: international trade, oil refining, chemical, machine-building, food, textile industry. [5] The military industry, high-tech industries, and information technologies are being developed. [6] |
| Absheron-Khizi | 3,730 | 578,8 | 155 | Includes the Absheron and Khizi administrative districts and the city of Sumgait. The main industries are petrochemical, chemical, heavy industry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, energy, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, light and food industry, construction industry, transport infrastructure. |
| Ganja-Dashkasan | 5,270 | 611,3 | 116 | Includes Dashkasan, Goranboy, Goygol, Samukh administrative districts and the cities of Ganja, Naftalan. |
| Shaki-Zagatala | 8,840 | 630,4 | 71 | Includes Balakan, Qakh, Qabala, Oghuz, Zagatala, Shaki administrative districts. Main industries: light, tourism and food industry. [7] |
| Lankaran-Astara | 6,070 | 953,6 | 157 | Includes Astara, Jalilabad, Lerik, Yardimli, Lankaran, Masally administrative districts. Main industry: food and tourism industry. |
| Guba-Khachmaz | 6,960 | 558,7 | 80 | Includes Shabran, Khachmaz, Guba, Qusar, Siyazan administrative districts. Main industries: agriculture, light, tourism and food industry. [8] |
| Central Aran | 6,690 | 740,0 | 111 | Includes Aghdash, Goychay, Kurdamir, Ujar, Yevlakh, Zardab administrative districts, and the city of Mingachevir. [9] |
| Karabakh | 8,990 | 904,5 | 101 | Includes Agjabadi, Aghdam, Barda, Fuzuli, Khojaly, Khojavend, Shusha, Tartar administrative regions and the city of Khankendi (Stepanakert). |
| East Zangezur | 7,470 | 343,5 | 46 | Includes Jabrayil, Kalbajar, Qubadli, Lachin, Zangilan administrative districts. |
| Mountainous Shirvan | 6,130 | 324,8 | 53 | Includes Agsu, Ismayilli, Gobustan, Shamakhi administrative districts. Main industries: light and food industries. |
| Nakhchivan | 5,500 | 461,5 | 84 | Includes the whole territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Main industries: light, auto and food industries. |
| Gazakh-Tovuz | 7,030 | 687,6 | 98 | Includes Aghstafa, Gadabay, Gazakh, Shamkir, Tovuz administrative districts. |
| Mil-Mughan | 5,670 | 522,6 | 92 | Includes Beylagan, Imishli, Saatly, Sabirabad administrative districts. |
| Shirvan-Salyan | 6,080 | 501,3 | 82 | Includes Bilasuvar, Hajigabul, Neftchala, Salyan administrative districts and the city of Shirvan. |
| In total | 86,570 | 9593,00 |
Russia is divided into several types and levels of subdivisions.
Azerbaijan is administratively divided into 67 districts and 11 cities that are subordinate to the Republic. Out of these districts and cities, 7 districts and 1 city are located within the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The districts are further divided into municipalities.
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French rayon, and is commonly translated as 'district' in English.
Aghdam District is one of the 66 administrative divisions of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojaly, Kalbajar, Tartar, Khojavend, Aghjabadi, and Barda. Its capital is de jure Aghdam, though the current de facto capital is Quzanlı. As of 2020, the district had a nominal population of 204,000.
Bilasuvar District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the south-east of the country, in the Shirvan-Salyan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Imishli, Saatly, Sabirabad, Salyan, Neftchala, Jalilabad, and Ardabil Province of Iran. Its capital and largest city is Bilasuvar. As of 2020, the district had a population of 105,100.
Jalilabad District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the southeast of the country and belongs to the Lankaran-Astara Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Masally, Yardimli, Bilasuvar, and Neftchala. Its capital and largest city is Jalilabad. As of 2020, the district had a population of 225,300.
Hajigabul District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the east of the country, in the Shirvan-Salyan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Kurdamir, Agsu, Shamakhi, Gobustan, Absheron, Baku, Salyan, Sabirabad and the city of Shirvan. Its capital and largest city is Hajigabul. As of 2020, the district had a population of 76,600.
Samukh District is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north-west of the country and belongs to the Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Goranboy, Goygol, Shamkir, Tovuz, Qakh, Yevlakh, city of Ganja and the Kakheti region of Georgia. Its capital and largest city is Samukh. As of 2020, the district had a population of 58,800.
Babek District is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The district borders the districts of Julfa, Shahbuz, Kangarli, Nakhchivan city, as well as the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia and the East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan provinces of Iran. Its capital and largest city is Babek. As of 2020, the district had a population of 76,200.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The Nagorno-Karabakh region was entirely claimed by and partially controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, but was recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gradually re-established control over Nagorno-Karabakh region and the seven surrounding districts.
Çullu is a village situated on Goyan steppe, 27 km west of the city of Jabrayil, within the Dagh Tumas administrative-territorial unit of Jabrayil District, Azerbaijan.
Sofulu is a village located within the Dagh Tumas administrative-territorial unit of Jabrayil district of Azerbaijan, on the slopes of the Karabakh ridge, 18 km west of the city of Jabrayil.
The Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh were areas of Azerbaijan, situated around the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), which were occupied by the ethnic Armenian military forces of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh with military support from Armenia, from the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994) to 2020, when the territories were returned to Azerbaijani control by military force or handed over in accordance to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement. The surrounding regions were seized by Armenians under the justification of a "security belt" which was to be traded for recognition of autonomous status from Azerbaijan.
Yuxarı Məzrə is a former village in the current Khojavend District of Azerbaijan. Before its abolition, the village was part of the Sarijali Rural administrative division of the Jabrayil District. By the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated December 5, 2023, Yukhary Mazra was abolished, and its territory transferred to Khojavend District.
Guba-Khachmaz Economic Region is one of the 14 economic regions of Azerbaijan. It borders Russia to the north, as well as the economic regions of Shaki-Zagatala, Mountainous Shirvan, and Absheron-Khizi. It has an area of 6,960 square kilometres (2,690 sq mi). Its population was estimated to be at 558.7 thousand people in January 2021. The entire territory of the region falls into the geographically European part of Azerbaijan.
The Ganja-Gazakh Economic Region was one of the 10 economic regions of Azerbaijan. It consisted of Aghstafa, Dashkasan, Gadabay, Goranboy, Goygol, Gazakh, Samukh, Shamkir, Tovuz administrative districts, as well as the cities of Ganja and Naftalan. The most developed and important city of Ganja-Gazakh economic region was Ganja city. The total population was 1,265,200 as of January 1, 2017, representing about 13.6% of the country's population. In the economic region, 47 percent of the population lived in urban areas, and 53 percent lived in rural areas. Population density 103 people per km2 of land area.
The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement was an armistice agreement that ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. It was signed on 9 November by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and ended all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region from 00:00, on 10 November 2020 Moscow time. The president of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, also agreed to an end of hostilities.
Karabakh Economic Region is one of the 14 economic regions of Azerbaijan. It borders Iran to the south, as well as the economic regions of East Zangezur, Ganja-Dashkasan, Central Aran, and Mil-Mughan. The region consists of the districts of Aghjabadi, Aghdam, Barda, Fuzuli, Khojaly, Khojavend, Shusha, and Tartar, as well as the city of Khankendi. It has an area of 8,990 square kilometres (3,470 sq mi). Its population was estimated to be at 904.5 thousand people in January 2021.
East Zangezur Economic Region is one of the 14 economic regions of Azerbaijan. It borders Iran to the south and Armenia to the west, as well as the economic regions of Karabakh, and Ganja-Dashkasan. The region consists of the districts of Kalbajar, Lachin, Qubadli, Zangilan, and Jabrayil. It has an area of 7,448 square kilometres (2,876 sq mi). Its population was estimated to be at 343.5 thousand people in January 2021.
