Kazakhs
The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: sg. қазақ, qazaq, [qɑˈzɑq] ⓘ, pl. қазақтар, qazaqtar, [qɑzɑqˈtɑr] ⓘ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe, mainly Kazakhstan, but also parts of northern Uzbekistan and the border regions of Russia, as well as northwestern China (specifically Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture) and western Mongolia (Bayan-Ölgii Province). The Kazakhs arose from the merging of the medieval tribes of Turkic and Mongolic origin in the 15th century.
қазақтар qazaqtar | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| c. 17 million[a] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Kazakhstan | 13,965,956 (2023) |
| China | 1,562,518 |
| Uzbekistan | 803,400 |
| Russia | 591,970 |
| Mongolia | 101,526 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 36,854 |
| United States | 24,636 |
| Turkey | 10,000 |
| Canada | 9,600 |
| Iran | 3,000–15,000 |
| Czech Republic | 5,639 |
| Ukraine | 5,526 |
| United Kingdom | 5,432 |
| United Arab Emirates | 5,000 |
| Italy | 1,924 |
| Australia | 2,310 |
| Austria | 1,685 |
| Belarus | 1,355 |
| Germany | 1,000 |
| Portugal | 633 |
| Afghanistan | 200 |
| Philippines | 178–215 |
| Languages | |
| Kazakh, Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Karakalpak, Nogai | |
Kazakh identity is of medieval origin and was strongly shaped by the foundation of the Kazakh Khanate between 1456 and 1465, when following disintegration of the Golden Horde, several tribes under the rule of the sultans Janibek and Kerei departed from the Khanate of Abu'l-Khayr Khan in hopes of forming a powerful khanate of their own.
The term Kazakh is used to refer to ethnic Kazakhs, while the term Kazakhstani refers to all citizens of Kazakhstan, regardless of ethnicity.