The country has an area of and a population of 9.8 million (2017). There were no reliable statistics on membership in specific religious groups; however, according to official figures approximately 96% of the population is Muslim. The remainder of the population consists mostly of Russian Orthodox,
Armenian Apostolic (Almost all of which live in the break-away region of
Nagorno-Karabakh), Jews, and nonbelievers. Among the Muslim majority, religious observance is relatively low, and Muslim identity tends to be based more on culture and ethnicity than religion. According to the
State Committee on Work with Religious Associations (SCWRA), the Muslim population is approximately 65 percent
Shia and 35 percent
Sunni; traditionally, differences are not defined sharply. In a 2016 report, the
United States Department of State puts the number as 65 percent Shia and 35 percent Sunni for the year 2011. Other sources estimate Sunnis to be between 40-50% of the total population, while Shias are estimated to be around 50-60% of the total populace. In 2020, research showed that 96.15% of citizens are Muslim, 2.43% are Christian, 1.24% are agnostic and 0.09% are Jewish. According to
CIA World Factbook's 2023 estimate, Muslims constitute around 97.3% of Azerbaijani population. The vast majority of
Christians are
Russian Orthodox. According to the U.S. Department of State, their "identity, like that of Muslims, tends to be based as much on culture and ethnicity as religion". Christians were concentrated in the urban areas of
Baku, which is the nation's capital, and
Sumgayit, its third-largest city. Of a total
Jewish population of approximately 15,000, the vast majority live in Baku. Much smaller communities exist in
Guba in village and municipality named Red Town and elsewhere. There are five to six rabbis and six synagogues in the country. Shi'a, Sunni, Russian Orthodox, and Jews are considered to be the country's "traditional" religious groups. Small congregations of
Lutherans,
Roman Catholics,
Baptists,
Molokans (
Old Believers),
Seventh-day Adventists, and followers of the
Baháʼí Faith have been present for over 100 years. In the last decade, a number of religious groups considered foreign or "nontraditional" by the Azeri regime have established a presence, including "
Wahhabi" and
Salafist Muslims,
Pentecostal and
evangelical Christians,
Jehovah's Witnesses, Hare Krishnas and Iran-backed
Khomeinist groups. == Restrictions on religion ==