Azerbaijan is a unitary semi-presidential republic.^[6] It is one of six independent Turkic states and an active member of the Organization of Turkic States and the TÜRKSOY community. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 182 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations,^[23] including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement, the OSCE, and the NATO PfP program. It is one of the founding members of GUAM, the CIS,^[24] and the OPCW. Azerbaijan is also an observer state of the WTO.

The vast majority of the country's population (97%) is nominally^[25] Muslim,^[26] but the constitution does not declare an official religion and all major political forces in the country are secularist. Azerbaijan is a developing country and ranks 91st on the Human Development Index. It has a high rate of economic development,^[27] literacy,^[28] and a low rate of unemployment.^[29] However, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, in power since 1993, has been accused of authoritarian leadership under the leadership of both Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham Aliyev, and deteriorating the country's human rights record, including increasing restrictions on civil liberties, particularly on press freedom and political repression.^[30]