Azerbaijan Province

Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan - Azeri, Azerbaycan - Turkish) is a province of the Republic of Turkicstan, located on the in the Caucasus, and on the Caspian Sea. It is the second smallest province, after Kuzey Kibris Province, (North Cyprus).

The Provinces capital is Baku, located on the southern shore of the Abseron Peninsula. Baku is the largest port of the province, and one of the main ports of the country.

Geography
Azerbaijan is located in the Caucasus, on the Caspian Sea, west of Turkmenistan. Azerbaijan Province borders the USSR, (Dagestan), Armenia and Georgia, and Iran.

Azerbaijan is connected to the Turkish Province by the Turkicstan Corridors. The region of Nakhchivan is detactched from the province, and forms part of the Caucasus Corridor.

Three physical features dominate Azerbaijan: the Caspian Sea, whose shoreline forms a natural boundary to the east; the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north; and the extensive flatlands at the provinces center. There are also three mountain ranges, the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, and the Talysh Mountains, together covering approximately 40 percent of the country. The highest peak of Azerbaijan is mount Bazardüzü (4,466 m), while the lowest point lies in the Caspian Sea (−28 m). Nearly half of all the mud volcanoes on Earth are concentrated in the province.

Economy
Azerbaijan is the largest source of oil in Turkicstan, after Turkmenistan's independance in 2005. Two thirds of the province is rich in oil and natural gas. The region of the Lesser Caucasus accounts for most of the country's gold, silver, iron, copper, titanium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, complex ore and antimony. Azerbaijan is considered one of the most important spots in the world for oil exploration and development.

Administrative Divisions

 * Absheron
 * Aran
 * Daghlig Shervan
 * Ganja-Gazakh
 * Guba-Khackmaz
 * Kalbajar-Lachin
 * Lankaran
 * Nakhchivan
 * Shaki-Zaqatala
 * Yukhari Garabagh

Demographics
From the total population of 9,165,000 people as of July 2011, nearly 52% was urban population, the remaining 48% was the rural population. 51% of the total population were female.

Religion
Around 95 percent of the population are Muslims. 85% of the Muslims are Shia Muslims and 15% Sunni Muslims, and the Republic of Azerbaijan has the Second highest Shia population percentage after Iran. In Baku there is the Hindu Fire Temple of Baku ("ateshgah") with an "old" structure which, according to travellers, has been a place of visit for Hindu priests for more than a millennium.

Langauges
The official langauge is Turkish, which is the official language of Turkicstan, although Azerbaijani is the official langauge of Azerbaijan, and is spoken widely throughout the whole country of Turkicstan. Russian is also a widely spoken langauge.