• The Azerbaijani people have a rich and vast history dating back thousands of years! The Gobustan State Reserve park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006 for its outstanding quality and density of thousands of rock carvings, dating as far as 40,000 years ago. In modern times, Azerbaijani culture is renowned for its poetry, arts, elaborately woven carpets, and impressive architecture. Poets, authors, and screenwriters are held in high esteem across the country.

• Azerbaijan was an independent country in name for two years before being incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. Since declaring its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan has succeeded in reducing the poverty rate, increasing literacy, and developing infrastructure, and now ranks in the high human development category in the UN’s Human Development Report.

• Baku, the capital, is the center of the Central Asian financial world, and a cosmopolitan city not unlike New York City or Miami. Most of our Azerbaijani students come to JMU from Baku.

• Azerbaijan has a Shia Muslim majority (about 97%) and while the official language is Azerbaijani, Russian is also widely spoken. Service-centered and basic English are widely spoken in Azerbaijan.

• Azerbaijan is a regional leader in the latest Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) report published in June 2020, scoring higher than Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.

• Azerbaijan is an up-and-coming participant on the global stage; one of the reasons for this is their commitment to higher education partnerships in the U.S. and worldwide. For example, George Washington University and Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University recently launched a dual-degree program that will allow students to earn a M.S. in Computer Science and Data Analytics from both universities.

• In the last five years, the number of Azerbaijani students studying at U.S. universities has increased by 16 percent! Regarding enrollment, JMU is one of the leading higher education institutions welcoming Azerbaijani students to the USA.

• As of Fall 2020, Azerbaijani students are the third largest international student population at JMU, behind China and Vietnam. Learn more about our international Duke demographics here!

Compulsory education in Azerbaijan begins at age 6 and ends at age 15. After finishing their secondary education at age 15, an Azerbaijani student will choose to complete their secondary education (the equivalent of U.S. high school) from ages 15 – 17 or enroll in vocational education and training from ages 15 – 18.

All Azerbaijani students take a centralized exam upon graduating from secondary school. This exam compares the scores of all graduates on the national level, and these scores determine university eligibility and admissions for students.

In many state high schools, Azerbaijani students may be more likely to avoid speaking up in class and will work individually, but in international schools where other pedagogies are practiced, students are more collaborative and outspoken. A similar difference is seen in public and private universities: students at private universities in Azerbaijan may be more likely to work in groups and engage in critical thinking assignments than their peers in state universities.

The most preferred fields of study for Azerbaijani students in higher education are: Engineering (Oil and Gas), Computer Science, Business Administration, International Relations, Public Administration, and Education.

Azerbaijani universities offer Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees, but no equivalent to the U.S. American Associates degree.

Hofstede Cultural Dimensions most unlike U.S.

• Power Distance – Azerbaijan scores 85 (U.S. scores 40)

• Individualism – Azerbaijan scores 22 (U.S. scores 91)

• Indulgence – Azerbaijan scores 22 (U.S. scores 68)

• Read more from Hofstede Insights

Implications for the Classroom

• Azerbaijani students may be more comfortable with a strict hierarchical order in the classroom and other University spaces than their U.S. American peers. Similarly, Azerbaijani students may put more weight into status symbols and displays of power and authority.

• Azerbaijani students may be firmly committed to their “in-group” of peers and friends due to community-oriented roots. Azerbaijani students may have strong, loyal relationships and protect others within the “in-group”. Similarly, students may act in ways that avoid shame and prevent loss of “face” within their social circles.

• Azerbaijani students may feel threatened and anxious about uncertain situations or ambiguity and might seek out plans and mechanisms to avoid uncertainty. Similarly, Azerbaijani students may have trouble accepting change and new procedures. Azerbaijani students in your classroom might benefit from having and understanding concrete rules and policies.

• Azerbaijani students might be more economically savvy than their peers, due to Azerbaijan’s strategic location and importance in the world energy sector.

• Strategic thinking is an important part of the academic approach in Azerbaijan. For example, historically Azerbaijani students have been taught chess at a young age and taught to look at the bigger picture in their endeavors. While students may be more reluctant to participate in class discussions, you might find that they nonetheless have a very comprehensive grasp of the material presented when evaluated. The Azerbaijani are a deeply intellectual, discreet, and considerate people.

Central Intelligence Agency. (2020, June 16). Azerbaijan. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aj.html. 

EducationUSA Azerbaijan. 

Garcia-Moreno, V., & Patrinos, H. A. (2020, February 13). What are the returns to education in Azerbaijan? [web log]. https://blogs.worldbank.org/europeandcentralasia/what-are-returns-education-azerbaijan. 

Hofstede Insights. Country Comparison: Azerbaijan, United States. Hofstede Insights. https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/azerbaijan,the-usa/. 

Mehdiyev, M. (2020, July 1). Azerbaijan Emerges as Regional Leader in SDG Global Ranking. Caspian News. https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/azerbaijan-emerges-as-regional-leader-in-sdg-global-ranking-2020-7-1-1/. 

Ozisik, S. (2015, April 4). Education in Azerbaijan. Borgen Magazine. https://www.borgenmagazine.com/education-azerbaijan/. 

Sustainable Development Report. (2020, June). Azerbaijan. Sustainable Development Report 2020. https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/profiles/aze. 

U.S. Embassy Baku. (2020, February 4). George Washington University-Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University dual-degree program. U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan. https://az.usembassy.gov/george-washington-university-azerbaijan-state-pedagogical-university-dual-degree-program/. 

United Nations Development Programme. (2019). Human development report 2019: Inequalities in human development in the 21st century. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/AZE.pdf