There are three communities of Jews in Azerbaijan: Mountain Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, and Georgian Jews. Nearly 16 000 Jews reside in the country. Of the 11000 people are mountain Jews, including 6000 people living in Baku and 4000 in Guba while a thousand people live in other cities. Ashkenazi Jews are 4.3 thousand in number. Most of them live in Baku and Sumgayit. There are 700 Georgian Jews in the country. Mountain Jews currently dominate the whole Jews Diaspora of the country. 

Some synagogues of Mountain Jews exist in Baku, Oghuz, and Guba. ‘Girmizi Gasaba’ of Guba is the only place of compact residing of mountain Jews in the whole post-Soviet area. There is a ‘mikveh’ for the three synagogues and rituals in the town.

After Azerbaijan had gained independence, the country’s Jewish community intensified its activity. In this regard, it strengthened relations with international Jewish organizations, created their religious schools (yeshivas), cultural centers (as the cultural center of the Jewish community), societies (as the women’s society Eva, Hesed-Hershon charitable society), clubs (as Alef, Kilel youth clubs, Mishpaha video clubs), and newspapers (as Az-Iz, Bashnya, Amishav). The Jewish agency Soxnut, Jewish committees Joint and Vaad-I-Hetzola operated to preserve Jewish traditions among the Jewish Diaspora, assist synagogues, and conduct various cultural arrangements.

A new Jewish synagogue, which became the biggest synagogue in Europe, was opened in Baku on March 9, 2003. The first Jewish school has been operating in Azerbaijan since September of 2003.

Currently, the Jewish communities in our country are surrounded with attention and care by the Azerbaijani state. A new synagogue for the Mountain Jews religious community was built in Baku in 2011.

At the same time, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the ‘Ohr-Avner’ international Foundation have built the ‘Khabad Ohr Avner’ Education Center for Jewish children living in Baku.