Azerbaijanis in Georgia

Azerbaijanis in Georgia
Azerbaijani women of Tiflis, 1910
Total population
233,024[1] (2014, census)
Regions with significant populations
Kvemo Kartli · Kakheti · Shida Kartli · Mtskheta-Mtianeti
Languages
Azerbaijani · Georgian
Religion
Islam (majority Shia)
Related ethnic groups
Meskhetian Turks

Azerbaijanis in Georgia or Georgian Azerbaijanis (Azerbaijani: Gürcüstan azərbaycanlıları, Georgian: ქართველი აზერბაიჯანელები) are Georgian citizens of an ethnic Azerbaijani background. According to the 2014 census, there are 233,024 ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Georgia.[1]

Azerbaijanis comprise 6.5% of Georgia's population and are the country's largest ethnic minority, inhabiting mostly rural areas like Kvemo Kartli, Kakheti, Shida Kartli and Mtskheta-Mtianeti. There is also a historical Azerbaijani community in the capital city of Tbilisi (previously known as Tiflis), and smaller communities in other regions.[2] There were some tensions in the late 1980s in the Azerbaijani-populated regions of Georgia; however, they never escalated to armed clashes.[3]

  1. ^ a b Ethnic Composition of Georgia: 2014 Census.
  2. ^ "Ethnic Groups by Major Administrative-territorial Units" (PDF). National Statistics Office of Georgia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  3. ^ Cornell, Svante E., Autonomy and Conflict: Ethnoterritoriality and Separatism in the South Caucasus – Case in Georgia Archived 2007-06-30 at the Wayback Machine. Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Report No. 61. p. 160. University of Uppsala, ISBN 91-506-1600-5.