APeopleIndependent states
Azerbaijani Turks
A Turkic people of the Oghuz branch. Their historical homeland is the Republic of Azerbaijan and South Azerbaijan in north-western Iran, centred on Tabriz.
Azerbaijani Turks are a Turkic people of the Oghuz branch. Their lands are divided by the Aras River: the Republic of Azerbaijan in the north and South Azerbaijan, part of Iran, in the south. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, founded in 1918, was the first democratic republic of the Muslim East; modern Azerbaijan restored its independence in 1991.
Iran holds no ethnic census, so the figure for South Azerbaijan comes from unofficial estimates. Azerbaijani Turks also live in the Borchali region of Georgia, in Dagestan (Derbent) and in Türkiye.
Updated: September 28, 2026