Azerbaijan

Language and Literacy

Azerbaijani is the official language of the Republic of Azerbaijan. According to the Education Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan approved in 2009, Azerbaijani is the language of instruction.¹ At the request of citizens or administrations of educational institutions, the instruction can be delivered in other languages under the condition that the Azerbaijani language, literature, history, and geography also are instructed.² At present, instruction at general education institutions is provided in Azerbaijani, Russian, Georgian, and English. In primary school, children from some minority groups can learn their language of heritage—Talish, Avarian, Lezgian, Tat, Hebrew, Sakhur, or Udin—as a separate subject along with the Azerbaijani language. The literacy rate in Azerbaijan is 99.8 percent, which means that almost all of the population is able to read and write.³