Ismayilli () is a city and the capital of the
Ismayilli District
Ismayilli District () is one of the 66 Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan, districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country, in the Mountainous Shirvan Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qabala District, ...
of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
. It has a population of 28,776 in 2021
History
The territory of the district was part of the Albania state, which was formed in the late 4th century and early 3rd century BC, long before it was erected. Historical facts prove that Mehranis, who belonged to Javanshir, had created Girdiman's prince in Ismayilli territory. Javanshir was of this generation. There is a fortress called Javanshir on the coast of Akchay, 4 km north of the village of Talantan. Ismayilli district, located in the northeastern part of Azerbaijan, was founded in 1931. At first, the administrative centre of the district was in the Basgal village and was soon transferred to Ismayilli village. Until the district was organized, a large part of its territory was part of the Goychay district, part of the Shamakhi district, and a small part of Sheki's district. Ismayilli was the village until 1959, until 1967, it was a city-type settlement, and then it was renamed the city. Ismayilli region was established on November 24, 1931. From 1939 to 1977 the executive committee of the Soviet Union of deputies of the Ismayilli district, acting as the Executive Committee of the Council of People's Deputies of Ismayilli region from October 7, 1977, till October 17, 1991. In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated October 18, 1991, the Soviet of People's Deputies of Ismayilli was abolished, and the Ismayilli Executive Authority was established and functioned since November 1991.
Politics and economy

The political and economic life of Ismayilli is dominated by local representatives and clients of the Azerbaijani strongman
Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005.
The son and second child of former Aze ...
such as the local governor of Ismayilli District Nizami Alakbarov. In January 2013 rioting broke out after a client of the ruling party from Baku became involved in a fight with a local taxi driver after a traffic accident. The businessman from Baku owned a hotel rumoured to contain a brothel controlled by Governor Nizami Alakbarov. A mob of several thousand local citizens defended the driver, rioted, burned the hotel and attacked the residences of the governor and his son. Police fought back with water cannons and scores were arrested.
Enterprises
There are enterprises such as
light
Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...
and
food industries, asphalt plant in Ismayilli. There has been found and obtained granite in the mountains near Ismayilli. The district has strong agriculture. A ''kolkhoz'' named after Kalinin and located in Ivanovka village is famous for its achievements and has broad fame beyond the borders of Azerbaijan.
The first locally produced bicycles, ISMA Bikes, were presented in Baku. The Ismayilli-based bicycle plant offers a fairly wide range of products.
“Azerbaijan Coca-Cola Bottlers” LLC's new production facility opened in Ismayilli. 26 May 2025.
* A poultry factory was constructed in 1978. Its territory is 9.7 ha. In 1986, its activity was stopped. Since 2004, it is functioning as a private-sector enterprise that produces hen sausage. At present, there are 60 thousand birds. Working personnel consists of 75 people. It is planned to expand the total number of birds up to 150-200 thousand and the working personnel up to 150 people.
* Brake factory “Ragub FK” was constructed in 1989. Its territory is 2 ha. In 1993, the factory's activity was stopped, but since 2004 the factory is functioning as a private enterprise. The productive power of the factory is equal to 6 million units of the product per year. Working personnel consists of 90 employees.
* Production enterprise of
Lahij
Lahij or Lahej (), formerly called Al-Hawtah, is a city and an area located between Ta'izz and Aden in Yemen. From the 18th to the 20th century, its rulers were of the Abdali branch of the Al-Sallami tribe who trace their lineage to one of the 1 ...
is a state enterprise being at “Azerkhalcha” productive union's disposal. It is functioning since 1966. Its territory is 3300 km
2 and 103 employees work there. The enterprise produces 450–500 km
2 of carpet per year.
* Lahij enterprise which produces carpets is a state enterprise being at “Azerkhalcha” productive union's disposal. It began its activity in 1984. In 2001, the enterprise's activity was stopped, but in 2004 its activity was re-established. 72 employees work at the enterprise, which produces 300–350 thousand km² of carpet per annum. Its territory is 1 ha.
* “Sharab No. 1” was built in 1930. Till 1966 it functioned as a wine factory using 10 thousand tonnes of grapes per annum. Since 2003, the factory is functioning as a private enterprise and produces wine and cognac.
Besides that, there is a workshop producing
kelaghayi (national headscarf) in Basgal, pharmaceutical LLC “Shafa-T”, four milk enterprises, a workshop producing table water, some private carpet weaving workshops and also some little and middle enterprises in Ismayilli.
Twin towns
Ismayilli is
twinned with:
*
Itō, Japan
*
Kiryat Bialik
Kiryat Bialik (, also Qiryat Bialik) is a city in the Haifa District in Israel. The city was established on July 18, 1934, during the Fifth Aliyah. It is one of the five Krayot suburbs to the north of Haifa. In it had a population of .
The city ...
, Israel
*
Nyasvizh
Nyasvizh or Nesvizh is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Nyasvizh District. Nyasvizh is the site of Nesvizh Castle, a World Heritage Site. In 2009, its population was 14,300. As of 2025, it has a populati ...
, Belarus
References
External links
Link to Executive Power of Ismayilli
*
World Gazetteer: Azerbaijan– World-Gazetteer.com
Ivanovka.net (ru)
{{Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan
Populated places in Ismayilli District