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Azerbaijan (Listeni/??z?rba??d???n/ az-?r-by-jahn; Azerbaijani: Az?rbaycan), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Az?rbaycan Respublikas?) is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe,[5] it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.

Azerbaijan has an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The country was among the birthplaces of mankind and is located at the heart of ancient civilizations.[6] Furthermore the country is known to be among the most progressive and secular Islamic societies. Aside from having been the first Muslim country to have operas, theater plays, and a democratic republic, Azerbaijan today is among the Muslim countries where support for secularism and tolerance is the highest.[7] The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world,[8][9][10] was established in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920.[11][12] Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, neighboring Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, its surrounding territories and the enclaves of Karki, Yukhary Askipara, Barkhudarly and Sofulu. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which emerged in Nagorno-Karabakh, continues to be not diplomatically recognized by any nation and the region is still considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, despite being de facto independent since the end of the war.[13][14][15][16]

Azerbaijan is a secular and a unitary republic. It is one of the six independent Turkic states as well as an active member of the Turkic Council and the T?RKSOY community. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations.[17] It is one of the founding members of GUAM and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).[18] On May 9, 2006 Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly established Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly (the term of office began on June 19, 2006).[19] A Special Envoy of the European Commission is present in the country, which is also a member of the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. Azerbaijan is a correspondent at the International Telecommunication Union and member of the Non-Aligned Movement and holds observer status in World Trade Organization.[17][20]aol

The Constitution of Azerbaijan does not declare an official religion but the majority of people adhere to the Shia branch of Islam, although Muslim identity tends to be based more on culture and ethnicity rather than religion and Azerbaijan remains as one of the most liberal majority-Muslim nations.[21][22] After gaining its independence, Azerbaijan has reached a high level of human development, economic development, standard of living, and literacy as well as a low rate of unemployment and intentional homicide compared to other Eastern European and CIS countries.[23][24][25][26][27][28] On 1 January 2012, the country started a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.[29]