evidence: Azerbaijan, officially Republic of Azerbaijan, Country, Transcaucasia, western Asia. Area: 33,166 sq mi (85,900 sq km). Population: (2024 est.) 10,210,000. Capital: Baku. Most residents are of Turkic origin, dating from the 11th century. Later migrations during the Seljūq period brought further groups, including some speaking Persian; Russians are a decreasing minority. Languages: Azerbaijanian (official), Russian. Religion: Islam (mostly Shīʿite). Currency: manat. Azerbaijan is characterized by a variety of landscapes. More than two-fifths of its territory is lowlands, while areas above 5,000 ft (1,500 m) occupy some one-tenth of the total area. The central part of the country is a plain through which flows the Kura River and its tributaries, including the Aras, whose upper course forms part of the boundary with Iran. The Caspian Sea serves Baku as a trade outlet. Agriculture, petroleum refining, and light manufacturing are economically important. Azerbaijan is a unitary multiparty republic with one legislative body; its head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. Azerbaijan adjoins the Iranian region of the same name, and the origin of their respective inhabitants is the same.