آمارهای رسمی این کشور در مورد اقلیت‌های قومی مورد چالش پژوهشگران قرار گرفته‌است و در محافل خصوصی نیز خود آذربایجانی‌ها قبول دارند که تعداد لزگی‌ها، تالش‌ها و کردها بسیار بیشتر است.Cornell, Svante E. Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus. Richmond, Surrey, GBR: Curzon Press Limited, 2000. p 262. Where as officially the number of Lezgins registered as such in Azerbaijan is around ۱۸۰٬۰۰۰ the Lezgins claim that the number of Lezgins registerd in Azerbaijan is much higher than this figure, some accounts showing over ۷۰۰٬۰۰۰ Lezgins in Azerbaijan. These figures are denied by the Azerbaijani government, but in private many Azeris acknowledge the fact that the Lezgins – for that matter the Talysh or the Kurdish-population of Azerbaijan is far higher than the official figures... For the Lezgins in Azerbaijan, the existence of ethnic kin in Dagestan is of high importance. Nariman Ramazanov, one of the Lezgin political leaders, has argued that whereas the Talysh, Tats, and Kurds of Azerbaijan lost much of their language and ethnic identity, the Lezgins have been able to preserve theirs by their contacts with Dagestan, where there was naturally no policy of Azeri assimilation. …. The Lezgin problem remains one of the most acute and unpredictable of the contemporary Caucasus. This said, the conditions for a peaceful resolution of the conflict are present. No past conflict nor heavy mutual prejudices make management of the conflict impossible; nor has ethnic mobilization taken place to a significant extent. Hence there are no actual obstacles to a de-escalation of the conflict at the popular level. At the political level, however, the militancy of Sadval and the strict position of the Azeri government give cause for worry, and may prevent the settlement of the conflict through a compromise such as a freetrading zone. The Lezgin problem needs to be monitored and followed in closer detail, and its continued volatility is proven by the tension surrounding a recent Lezgin congress in Dagestan. هم‌اکنون دولت جمهوری آذربایجان سیاست سخت آسیمیله کردن اقلیتهای قومی را پیگیری می‌کندChristina Bratt (EDT) Paulston, Donald Peckham (eds.), Linguistic Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe, Multilingual Matters publisher, 1998, , p. 106 1993 there was an attempt officially to restore the Latin script; very few people advocated the Arabic script. Kryzi and Khinalug speakers, as well as most Tsakhurs, are bilingual and tend to assimilate with the Azeris. The same is true of the Tat speakers, and slightly less about the Talysh. At least there is no official recognition, teaching or publishing in these languages in any form. Lezghins in Azerbaijan are struggling very determinedly for their linguistic revival, but with little success. Generally there is a prevailing policy of forceful assimilation of all minorities, including the Talysh, Tat, Kurds and Lezgins. There is little or no resistance to assimilation from the Kryzi, Khinalug, Tsakhurs or Tat, and not much resistance from the Talysh. There are some desperate efforts of resistance from the Udin, stubborn resistance from the Kurds, and an extremely active struggle from the Lezgins, who want to separate Lezgin populated districts both from Dagestan and Azerbaijan in order to create an autonomous republic with Lezgin as the state language. و باعث گردیده‌است که بسیاری از لزگی‌ها، تالش‌ها و کردها در این صدسال اخیر در قوم آذربایجانی ادغام شوند.Cornell, Svante E. Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus. Richmond, Surrey, GBR: Curzon Press Limited, 2000. p 49. Further, Many Kurds, Lezgins, Talysh in Azerbaijan were assimilated into the Azerbaijani identity این در حالیست که بر اساس قانون اساسی جمهوری آذربایجان تمام اقوام ساکن این کشور از حق آموزش به زبان مادری و حفظ فرهنگ بومی برخوردارند. اما این اصل قانون اساسی کشور به درستی توسط دولت به اجرا در نیامده و شورای اروپا نیز در گزارش سال ۲۰۰۹ خود تلاش دولت این کشور را برای حفظ تنوع فرهنگی و فرهنگ‌های قومی کم دانسته‌است.http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/progress2009/sec09_512_en.pdf The legislative and institutional framework for the protection of national minorities remains insufficient. Issues of concern include the lack of comprehensive anti-discriminatory legislation and limited possibilities for national minorities to effectively channel their views and concerns to the authorities, as well as reported cases of intolerance faced by persons or organisations advocating minority rights. Some national minorities continue to face discrimination. Like last year, there was no progress towards ratification of the Protocol n° ۱۲ of the ECHR on the general prohibition of discrimination or of the European Charter on Minority Languages.