Azerbaijan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a country in the Caucasus region. Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the East, Russia to the North, Georgia to the North-West, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the South. The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (an exclave of Azerbaijan) borders Armenia to the North and East, Iran to the South and West, and Turkey to the North-West. The Nagorno-Karabakh region in the country's South-West declared itself independent from Azerbaijan in 1991, but it is not recognized by any nation. The Azerbaijani people are adherents of Shi'a Islam. The country is formally an emerging democracy, however with strong authoritarian rule. Capital - Baku. Population - 8,411,000.