# Azerbaijan and Iran compared

Azerbaijan and Iran side by side: 43 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 4 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/aze-vs-irn
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Azerbaijan: 28 May 1918 — The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic is proclaimed
- Iran: 550 BCE — Cyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire

## Economy

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $74 B | 2024 | $475 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $7,284 | 2024 | $5,190 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 4.1% | 2024 | 3.7% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 2.2% | 2024 | 32.5% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 82.7% | 2024 | 52.1% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 10 m | 2024 | 92 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 74.6 yrs | 2024 | 77.9 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 58.6% | 2024 | 77.0% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 1.7 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 30.5 | 2024 | 29.7 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 63.5 | 2024 | 38.9 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 54.6 | 2024 | 37.6 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 57.0 | 2024 | 31.0 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 48.6 | 2024 | 35.7 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 32.2 | 2024 | 24.6 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 4.3% | 2023 | 6.0% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 3.19 | 2022 | 1.81 | 2023 |
| Under-5 mortality | 17.9 | 2024 | 11.3 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 71.0% | 2024 | 99.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 57.8% | 2024 | 94.4% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 99.8% | 2023 | 88.9% | 2023 |
| Education spending | 3.7% | 2023 | 2.8% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 105.6% | 2024 | 102.0% | 2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 91.1% | 2024 | 85.1% | 2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 41.3% | 2024 | 58.7% | 2022 |

## Technology

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.2% | 2024 | 0.7% | 2021 |
| Researchers (per million) | 1,663 | 2024 | 2,240 | 2021 |
| Internet users | 90.8% | 2025 | 85.3% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 110 | 2024 | 174 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 2.9% | 2024 | 0.8% | 2022 |

## Geography

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 82,650 km² | 2023 | 1,622,500 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 14.1% | 2023 | 6.6% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 57.8% | 2023 | 29.0% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 3.8 | 2024 | 9.1 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 1.3% | 2021 | 0.9% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 29.9% | 2021 | 30.4% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 21.0% | 2021 | 18.3% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 3.4% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Iron ore | — | — | 93 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Azerbaijan | Observed | Iran | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 5.0% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $3.8 B | 2024 | $7.9 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 82,000 | 2020 | 650,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/AZE.md and https://terralore.co/country/IRN.md.

## Entangled histories (4 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- c. 1st century BCE: **The kingdom of Caucasian Albania** — The Caucasian Albanians established a kingdom in the eastern Caucasus, much of which overlaps present-day Azerbaijan, before falling under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Persian Empire. (from the Azerbaijan chronicle; sources: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Country Studies (ed. Glenn E. Curtis); Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower)
- 1501: **Ismail I and the Safavid empire** — Crowned shah at Tabriz with his base in Azerbaijan, Ismail I founded the Safavid dynasty and made Twelver Shia Islam the state religion, binding the land to Persia. (from the Azerbaijan chronicle; sources: Safavid dynasty; Ismāʿīl I, shah of Iran)
- 1813: **Treaty of Gulistan** — Ending the Russo-Persian war of 1804–13, Persia ceded to Russia the eastern Caucasus khanates from Lankaran to Derbent, including Baku, Shirvan, Ganja and Karabakh. (from the Azerbaijan chronicle; sources: Treaty of Golestān (Gulistan), 1813; Azerbaijan: Russian suzerainty and the road to independence)
- 1828: **Treaty of Turkmenchay** — The second Russo-Persian war ended with Turkmenchay, confirming Russian rule and adding Nakhichevan and Yerevan, fixing the Aras-river border that still divides the two Azerbaijans. (from the Azerbaijan chronicle; sources: Treaty of Turkmenchay, 1828; Azerbaijan: Russian suzerainty and the road to independence)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/AZE/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/IRN/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Azerbaijan and Iran compared", terralore.co/compare/aze-vs-irn, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.