Kyrgyz people
The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz; /ˈkɪərɡɪz/ KEER-giz or /ˈkɜːrɡɪz/ KUR-giz) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. They are primarily found in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A Kyrgyz diaspora is also found in Russia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. They speak the Kyrgyz language, which is the official language of Kyrgyzstan.
кыргыздар qyrğyzdar قىرغىزدار | |
|---|---|
Kyrgyz falconer in the Barskoon valley | |
| Total population | |
| c. 5–6 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Kyrgyzstan | 4.9 million[a] |
| Uzbekistan | 450,000 |
| China | 202,500 |
| Russia | 137,780 |
| Tajikistan | 62,000 |
| Kazakhstan | 23,274 |
| Pakistan | 2,000 |
| Turkey | 1,600 |
| Afghanistan | 1,130 |
| Ukraine | 1,128 |
| Canada | 1,055 |
| United States | 6,607 |
| Languages | |
| Kyrgyz, Oirat (Sart Kalmyk) | |
| Religion | |
Predominantly Islam
| |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Teleuts, Telengits, Altai-Kizhi, Tom Tatars, Baraba Tatars, Sart Kalmyks | |
^a At the 2009 census, ethnic Kyrgyz constituted roughly 71% of population of Kyrgyzstan (5.36 million). | |
The earliest people known as "Kyrgyz" were the descendants of several Central Asian tribes, first emerging in western Mongolia around 201 BC. Modern Kyrgyz people are descended in part from the Yenisei Kyrgyz that lived in the Yenisey river valley in Siberia. The Kyrgyz people were constituents of the Tiele people, the Göktürks, and the Uyghur Khaganate before establishing the Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate in the 9th century, and later a Kyrgyz khanate in the 15th century.