Editing Azerbaijan (section)

== Demographics ==
{{main|Demographics of Azerbaijan|List of cities in Azerbaijan}}
[[File:Azerbaijan single age population pyramid 2020.png|thumb|Population pyramid]]
As of March 2022, 52.9% of the population of 10,164,464 is urban, with the remaining 47.1% being rural.<ref name="reportpop">{{cite web |url=https://report.az/en/sosial-security/population-of-azerbaijan-revealed/ |website=Report |title=Population of Azerbaijan revealed |date=15 April 2022 |access-date=3 May 2022 |archive-date=22 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122134049/https://report.az/en/sosial-security/population-of-azerbaijan-revealed/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2019, the 50.1% of the total population was female. The [[Human sex ratio|sex ratio]] in the same year was 0.99 males per female.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.az/news/index.php?id=4131|title=Azərbaycanda demoqrafik vəziyyət|website=State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan|language=az|access-date=2019-02-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219130340/https://www.stat.gov.az/news/index.php?id=4131|archive-date=19 February 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 2011 population growth-rate was 0.85%, compared to 1.09% worldwide.<ref name="cia" /> A significant factor restricting population growth is a high level of migration. In 2011 Azerbaijan saw a migration of −1.14/1,000 people.<ref name="cia" />

The [[Azerbaijani diaspora]] is found in 42 countries<ref>{{cite web| title = Xaricdəki təşkilatlar| publisher = State Committee on Work with Diaspora| url = http://www.diaspora.gov.az/index.php?options=content&id=87| access-date = 25 May 2007| language = Az| archive-date = 5 August 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130805110100/http://diaspora.gov.az/index.php?options=content&id=87| url-status = live}}</ref> and in turn there are many centers for ethnic minorities inside Azerbaijan, including the [[Germans in Azerbaijan|German]] cultural society "Karelhaus", [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] cultural center, Azerbaijani-Israeli community, [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] cultural center, International [[Talysh people|Talysh]] Association, [[Lezgins|Lezgin]] national center "Samur", Azerbaijani-[[Tatarstan|Tatar]] community, [[Crimean Tatars]] society, etc.<ref name="MIN">{{cite web|title=Ethnic minorities |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs |url=http://www.mfa.gov.az/eng/foreign_policy/inter_affairs/human/ethnic.shtml |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070417093650/http://www.mfa.gov.az/eng/foreign_policy/inter_affairs/human/ethnic.shtml |archive-date=17 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In total, Azerbaijan has 78 cities, 63 city districts, and one special legal status city. 261 urban-type settlements and 4248 villages follow these.<ref name="stat.gov.az">[http://www.stat.gov.az/source/demoqraphy/ap/ Azərbaycanın əhalisi | Azərbaycan Respublikasının Dövlət Statistika Komitəsi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911081528/https://www.stat.gov.az/source/demoqraphy/ap/ |date=11 September 2022 }}. Stat.gov.az. Retrieved 1 July 2017.</ref>

{{Largest cities of Azerbaijan|class=info}}

===Ethnicity===
{{main|Azerbaijanis|Ethnic minorities in Azerbaijan}}
{{Pie chart|color1=green|value13=0.11|label10=[[Ukrainians]]|value10=0.24|color11=seagreen|label11=[[Tsakhurs]]|value11=0.14|label12=[[Udis]]|value12=0.04|color12=purple|radius=100|label13=[[Georgians]]|label9=[[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tats]]|color13=blue|label14=Jews|color14=dodgerblue|value14=0.1|value15=0.07|color15=honeydew|label15=[[Kurds]]|color16=black|label16=Others|value16=0.16|color10=aqua|value9=0.28|label1=[[Azerbaijanis]]|color5=gold|value1=91.6|value2=2.02|label2=[[Lezgins]]|color2=brown|color3=lime|label3=[[Russians]]|value3=1.35|value4=1.35|label4=[[Armenians]]|color4=red|value5=1.26|color9=orange|label5=[[Talyshs]]|color6=violet|label6=[[Avars (Caucasus)|Avars]]|value6=0.56|label7=[[Turkish people|Turks]]|value7=0.43|color7=crimson|color8=beige|value8=0.29|label8=[[Tatars]]|caption=Demographics of Azerbaijan}}
The ethnic composition of the population according to the 2009 population census: 91.6% [[Azerbaijani people|Azerbaijanis]], 2.0% [[Lezgians|Lezgins]], 1.4% [[Armenians]] (almost all Armenians live in the break-away region of [[Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh]]), 1.3% [[Russians]], 1.3% [[Talysh people|Talysh]], 0.6% [[Caucasian Avars|Avars]], 0.4% [[Turkish people]], 0.3% [[Tatars]], 0.3% [[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tats]], 0.2% [[Ukrainians]], 0.1% [[Tsakhur people|Tsakhurs]], 0.1% [[Georgians]], 0.1% Jews, 0.1% [[Kurdish people|Kurds]], other 0.2%.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |date=2013-11-10 |title=The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan |url=http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/az/AP_/AZ_1.shtml |access-date=2025-03-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110034957/http://www.azstat.org/statinfo/demoqraphic/az/AP_/AZ_1.shtml |archive-date=10 November 2013 }}</ref>

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of Azerbaijan}}
The official language is [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], a [[Turkic languages|Turkic language]]. Approximately 92% of the national population speak it as their [[mother tongue]].<ref name=UNLANGDATA>[http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a27%3bcountryCode%3a31%3brefYear%3a1999%2c2009%3bareaCode%3a0%3bsexCode%3a0&c=2,3,10,15,16&s=_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc,areaCode:asc&v=1 Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123020533/http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode:27%3BcountryCode:31%3BrefYear:1999,2009%3BareaCode:0%3BsexCode:0&c=2,3,10,15,16&s=_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc,areaCode:asc&v=1 |date=23 January 2023 }}, UN Data. Retrieved 27 August 2016.</ref> Russian and [[Armenian language|Armenian]] (only in Nagorno-Karabakh) are still spoken in Azerbaijan. Each is the mother tongue of around 1.5% of the national population.<ref name="UNLANGDATA" /> In 1989, Armenian was the majority language in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, spoken by about 76% of the regional population.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Donald E. |author-link=Donald E. Miller |first2= Lorna Touryan |last2=Miller |date=2003 |title=Armenia: Portraits of Survival and Hope |location=[[Berkeley, California]] |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |page=7 |isbn=978-0-520-23492-5}}</ref> After the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, native speakers of Armenian composed around 95% of the regional population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/overview.shtml |title=Nagorno Karabakh Republic – Country Overview |publisher=Nkrusa.org |access-date=6 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419102410/http://www.nkrusa.org/country_profile/overview.shtml |archive-date=19 April 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

A dozen other minority languages are spoken natively,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=AZ |title=Ethnologue report for Azerbaijan |publisher=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |access-date=3 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218031424/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=AZ |archive-date=18 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> including [[Avar language|Avar]], [[Budukh language|Budukh]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages">{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/chris.html|title=Endangered languages in Europe and North Asia|access-date=4 July 2015|archive-date=24 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124100509/http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/chris.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Georgian language|Georgian]], [[Juhuri language|Juhuri]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages" /> [[Khinalug language|Khinalug]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages" /> [[Kryts language|Kryts]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages" /> [[Lezgian language|Lezgin]], [[Rutul language|Rutul]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages" /> [[Talysh language|Talysh]], [[Tat language (Caucasus)|Tat]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages" /> [[Tsakhur language|Tsakhur]],<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages" /> and [[Udi language|Udi]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages" /> All these are spoken only by small minority populations, some of which are tiny and decreasing.<ref>Clifton, John M., editor. 2002 (vol. 1), 2003 (vol. 2). ''Studies in languages of Azerbaijan''. Baku, Azerbaijan and Saint Petersburg, Russia: Institute of International Relations, Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and North Eurasian Group, SIL International.</ref>

===Religion===

{{Main|Religion in Azerbaijan|Irreligion in Azerbaijan}}
[[File:Bibi Heybat Mosque Baku 1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Bibi-Heybat Mosque]] in Baku. The mosque is built over the tomb of a descendant of [[Muhammad]]<ref name="Bibi">{{cite web|last=Sharifov|first=Azad|title=Legend of the Bibi-Heybat Mosque|url=http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/63_folder/63_articles/63_bibiheybat.html|publisher=Azerbaijan International|access-date=11 July 2010|archive-date=25 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025174650/http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/63_folder/63_articles/63_bibiheybat.html|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Azerbaijan is considered the most secular Muslim-majority country.<ref>{{cite news|title= Islam and Secularism: the Azerbaijani experience and its reflection in France |publisher= PR Web|url= http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/6/prweb10839650.htm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150214125246/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/6/prweb10839650.htm|url-status= dead|archive-date= 2015-02-14|access-date=2013-08-16|date=2013-06-17}}</ref> Around 97% of the population are Muslims.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf |title=Mapping The Global Muslim Population |access-date=22 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519092435/http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf |archive-date=19 May 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Around 55–65% of Muslims are estimated to be [[Shia Islam|Shia]], while 35–45% of Muslims are [[Sunni Muslim|Sunnis]].<ref name="Pres">{{Cite web |url=https://files.preslib.az/projects/remz/pdf_en/atr_din.pdf |title=Religion |publisher=Administrative Department of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan – Presidential Library |accessdate=2023-05-12 |archive-date=23 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123084541/https://files.preslib.az/projects/remz/pdf_en/atr_din.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Sources:
* {{Cite web |date=2 June 2022 |title=2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Azerbaijan |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/azerbaijan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604000708/https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/azerbaijan/ |archive-date=4 June 2022 |website=U.S Department of State|quote=According to 2011 SCWRA data (the most recent available), 96 percent of the population is Muslim, of which approximately 65 percent is Shia and 35 percent Sunni.}}
* {{Cite web |last=Greenger |first=Nurit |date=8 May 2017 |title=Azerbaijan a Destination Worthwhile. My week travel log in Azerbaijan – Day two |url=https://m.jpost.com/blogs/think-with-me/azerbaijan-a-destination-worthwhile-my-week-travel-log-in-azerbaijan-489899/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119062158/https://www.jpost.com/blogs/think-with-me/azerbaijan-a-destination-worthwhile-my-week-travel-log-in-azerbaijan-489899 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |website=The Jerusalem Post}}
* {{Cite web |last=Balci |first=Bayram |date=18 March 2013 |title=The Syrian Crisis: A View from Azerbaijan |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2013/03/the-syrian-crisis-a-view-from-azerbaijan?lang=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118105418/https://carnegieendowment.org/2013/03/18/syrian-crisis-view-from-azerbaijan-pub-52295 |archive-date=18 January 2022 |url-status=live |website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace}}
* {{Cite book |last1=S. Nielsem |first1=Jorgen |title=Yearbook of Muslims in Europe: Volume 5 |last2=Balciz Goyushov |first2=Bayram, Altay |publisher=Brill |year=2013 |isbn=978-90-04-25456-5 |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |pages=65 |chapter=Azerbaijan|quote=quote:"While traditionally approximately 65% of local Muslims are considered Shi'i and 35% Sunnis, due to a great success of international Sunni missionary organisations after the collapse of the Soviet Union, currently the estimated number of practicising Sunni and Shi'i Muslims in the big urban areas are almost equal"}}
* {{Cite web |last=Mammadli |first=Nijat |date=7 June 2018 |title=Islam and Youth in Azerbaijan |url=https://bakuresearchinstitute.org/en/islam-and-youth-in-azerbaijan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420120859/https://bakuresearchinstitute.org/en/islam-and-youth-in-azerbaijan/ |archive-date=20 April 2023 |website=Baku Research Institute|quote=quote:"Also, according to rough estimates, Shiites constitute 60–65% of the Muslim population, and Sunnis – 35–40%."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ismayilov |first=Murad |title=The Dialectics of Post-Soviet Modernity and the Changing Contours of Islamic Discourse in Azerbaijan |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2018 |isbn=9781498568364 |location=London|pages=2 |chapter=1: Hybrid Intentionality and Exogenus Sources of Elite's Manifold Attitudes to Islam in Azerbaijan|quote=The country's population historically divided between the Shia (currently some 50-65 percent of the population) and the Sunni (about 35–50 percent).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YoIbBQAAQBAJ&dq=Azerbaijan+Sunni+35&pg=PT201 |title=Whitaker's Shorts 2015: International |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2014 |isbn=9781472914842}}</ref> Other faiths are practised by the country's various ethnic groups. Under article 48 of its constitution, Azerbaijan is a [[secular state]] and ensures religious freedom. In a 2006–2008 [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] poll, only 21% of respondents from Azerbaijan stated that religion is an important part of their daily lives.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What Alabamians and Iranians Have in Common|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/114211/Alabamians-Iranians-Common.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170723150253/http://www.gallup.com/poll/114211/Alabamians-Iranians-Common.aspx|archive-date=2017-07-23|date=2009-02-09|accessdate=2014-08-19}}</ref>

Of the nation's religious minorities, the estimated 280,000 Christians (3.1%)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://features.pewforum.org/global-christianity/map.php#/Azerbaijan,ALL|title=Global Christianity|date=1 December 2014|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=4 July 2015|archive-date=19 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719204928/http://features.pewforum.org/global-christianity/map.php#/Azerbaijan,ALL|url-status=dead}}</ref> are mostly [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian]] and [[Georgian Orthodox Church|Georgian]] [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] and [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Apostolic]] (almost all Armenians live in the break-away region of Nagorno-Karabakh).<ref name="cia"/> In 2003, there were 250 [[Roman Catholics]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Catholic Church in Azerbaijan |publisher=Catholic-Hierarchy |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/az.html |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429114809/http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/az.html |archive-date=29 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other Christian denominations as of 2002 include [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]], [[Baptists]] and [[Molokan]]s.<ref name="AZR">{{cite web | last = Corley | first = Felix | title = Azerbaijan: 125 religious groups re-registered | publisher = Keston News Service | date = 9 March 2002 | url = http://www.keston.org.uk/kns/2002/020409AZ.htm | access-date = 9 April 2002 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724052726/http://www.keston.org.uk/kns/2002/020409AZ.htm | archive-date = 24 July 2011 | url-status=dead}}</ref> There is also a small [[Protestant]] community.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.day.az/society/85160.html|title=5,000 Azerbaijanis adopted Christianity|publisher=Day.az|date=7 July 2007|language=ru|access-date=30 January 2012|archive-date=12 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112173129/https://news.day.az/society/85160.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://azeri.irib.ir/tehliller/item/148029-xristian-missioner-t%C9%99riq%C9%99tl%C9%99r-ar-da-aktivl%C9%99sir?tmpl=component&print=1|title=Christian Missionaries Becoming Active in Azerbaijan|publisher=Tehran Radio|date=19 June 2011|language=az|access-date=12 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219223500/http://azeri.irib.ir/tehliller/item/148029-xristian-missioner-t%C9%99riq%C9%99tl%C9%99r-ar-da-aktivl%C9%99sir?tmpl=component&print=1|archive-date=19 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Azerbaijan also has an ancient Jewish population with a [[Mountain Jews|2,000-year history]]; Jewish organizations{{Who|date=June 2022}} estimate that 12,000 Jews remain in Azerbaijan, which is home to the [[Qırmızı Qəsəbə|only Jewish-majority town]] outside of Israel and the United States.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rothholz|first1=Peter|title=Jewish Life in Azerbaijan Embodies Muslim-Majority Nation's Culture of Tolerance|url=https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/54248/jewish-life-azerbaijan-embodies-muslim-majority-nations-culture-tolerance-jewish-world/|agency=[[Jewish News Syndicate]]|publisher=BreakingIsraelNews|date=20 November 2015|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121165438/https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/54248/jewish-life-azerbaijan-embodies-muslim-majority-nations-culture-tolerance-jewish-world/|archive-date=21 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Baku gives land for Jewish cultural center, kosher restaurant|url=http://www.jta.org/2013/12/11/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/jews-in-azerbaijani-capital-to-get-first-kosher-restaurant|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=11 December 2013|access-date=8 April 2016|archive-date=13 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213073912/http://www.jta.org/2013/12/11/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/jews-in-azerbaijani-capital-to-get-first-kosher-restaurant|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Allen-Ebrahimian|first1=Bethany|title=How I Accidentally Became a Lobbyist for Azerbaijan|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/01/how-i-accidentally-became-a-lobbyist-for-azerbaijan-human-rights-religion-israel/|magazine=Foreign Policy|access-date=2017-03-05|archive-date=2016-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402043227/https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/01/how-i-accidentally-became-a-lobbyist-for-azerbaijan-human-rights-religion-israel/|url-status=live|date=2016-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Sloame|first1=Joanna|title=Azerbaijan|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Azerbaijan.html|website=Jewish Virtual Library|publisher=American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise|access-date=18 April 2016|archive-date=14 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714014134/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Azerbaijan.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Azerbaijan also is home to members of the [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]], [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|Hare Krishna]] and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] communities, as well as adherents of the other religious communities.<ref name="AZR"/> Some religious communities have been [[Freedom of religion in Azerbaijan#Restrictions on religious freedom|unofficially restricted from religious freedom]]. A [[U.S. State Department]] report on the matter mentions detention of members of certain Muslim and Christian groups, and many groups have difficulty registering with the agency who regulates religion, [[State Committee on Affairs with Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan|The State Committee on Religious Associations of the Republic of Azerbaijan]].<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/192997.pdf Azerbaijan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122022839/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/192997.pdf |date=22 January 2017 }}. state.gov</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in Azerbaijan}}
[[File:Dunya1.jpg|thumb|right|Classroom in [[Khazar University|Dunya School]]]]
A relatively high percentage of Azerbaijanis have obtained some form of higher education, most notably in scientific and technical subjects.<ref name="AZ study">{{cite web| title = Azerbaijan: A Country Study, Education, Health, and Welfare| publisher = Country Studies| url = http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/23.htm| access-date = 21 May 2011| archive-date = 23 June 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110623142034/http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/23.htm| url-status = live}}</ref> In the Soviet era, literacy and average education levels rose dramatically from their very low starting point, despite two changes in the standard alphabet, from [[Perso-Arabic script]] to [[Latin script|Latin]] in the 1920s and from Roman to [[Cyrillic]] in the 1930s. According to Soviet data, 100 percent of males and females (ages nine to forty-nine) were literate in 1970.<ref name="AZ study"/> According to the [[United Nations Development Program]] Report 2009, the literacy rate is 99.5 percent.<ref>{{cite web| title = Human Development Report 2009| date = January 2009| publisher = United Nations Development Program 2009| url = http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf| access-date = 22 May 2011| archive-date = 25 December 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201225104254/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf| url-status = live}}</ref>

Since independence, one of the first laws that Parliament passed to disassociate itself from the Soviet Union was to adopt a [[Azerbaijani alphabet|modified-Latin alphabet]] to replace Cyrillic.<ref>{{cite web |title= Education in Azerbaijan, The Challenges of Transition |publisher= Azerbaijan International |url= http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/44_folder/44_articles/44_education.html |access-date= 12 March 2016 |archive-date= 24 December 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181224184423/http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/44_folder/44_articles/44_education.html |url-status= live }}</ref> Other than that the Azerbaijani system has undergone little structural change. Initial alterations have included the reestablishment of religious education (banned during the Soviet period) and curriculum changes that have reemphasized the use of the Azerbaijani language and have eliminated ideological content. In addition to elementary schools, the education institutions include thousands of preschools, general secondary schools, and [[vocational schools]], including specialized secondary schools and technical schools. Education through the ninth grade is compulsory.<ref name=":02">{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{Cite book|last=Curtis|first=Glenn E.|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/94045459/|title=Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia : country studies|date=1995|publisher=[[Federal Research Division]]|isbn=978-0-8444-0848-4|edition=1st|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=111–113|oclc=31709972|access-date=23 November 2020|archive-date=5 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905200803/https://www.loc.gov/item/94045459/|url-status=live}} }}</ref>