Kyrgyz people

Kyrgyz people
кыргыздар
qyrğyzdar
قىرغىزدار
Kyrgyz falconer in the Barskoon valley
Total population
c. 5.7 million[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
 Kyrgyzstan4.9 million[a][3][4]
 Uzbekistan450,000[5]
 China202,500[6]
 Russia137,780[7]
 Tajikistan65,000[8]
 Kazakhstan38,606[9]
 Turkey4,000[10]
 Afghanistan1,130[11]
 Ukraine1,128[12]
 Canada1,055[13]
 United States6,607[14]
Languages
Kyrgyz
Religion
Predominantly Islam[15][16]
Tengrist-Islamic syncretism[20]
Related ethnic groups
Teleuts, Telengits, Altai-Kizhi, Kazakh, and other Turkic peoples
^a At the 2009 census, ethnic Kyrgyz constituted roughly 71% of population of Kyrgyzstan (5.36 million).

The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz, Kirgiz, and Kirghiz; /ˈkɪərɡɪz/ KEER-giz or /ˈkɜːrɡɪz/ KUR-giz)[21][22] are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia. They primarily reside in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China.[a] A Kyrgyz diaspora is also found in Russia, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. They speak the Kyrgyz language, which is the official language of Kyrgyzstan.[23]

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.[24][25][26]

  1. ^ "Atlas of Humanity".
  2. ^ "Kyrgyz: Our Languages: About: Central Eurasian Studies: Indiana University Bloomington".
  3. ^ "2009 Census preliminary results". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  4. ^ "Ethnic composition of the population in Kyrgyzstan 1999–2014" (PDF) (in Russian). National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  5. ^ 5.01.00.03 Национальный состав населения. [5.01.00.03 Total population by nationality] (XLS). Bureau of Statistics of Kyrgyzstan (in Russian, Kyrgyz, and English). 2019.
  6. ^ 新疆维吾尔自治区统计局 (in Simplified Chinese). Xinjiang Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Национальный состав населения". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  8. ^ https://eurasianet.org/tajikistan-helpless-kyrgyz-communities-isolated-and-stranded-by-border-tension
  9. ^ Kazakhstan population by ethnic groups
  10. ^ https://novastan.org/en/kyrgyzstan/from-the-high-pamirs-to-the-shores-of-lake-van-the-tale-of-turkeys-kyrgyz-community/
  11. ^ "Wak.p65" (PDF). Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  12. ^ Ukrainian population census 2001 [dead link‍]: Distribution of population by nationality. Retrieved on 23 April 2009
  13. ^ "Ethnic Origin (279), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age (12) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census - 25% Sample Data". 25 October 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2022.[dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Kyrgyzstan - International emigrant stock 2019". countryeconomy.com.
  15. ^ West 2009, p. 440.
  16. ^ Mitchell 2012, pp. 23–24.
  17. ^ West 2009, p. 441.
  18. ^ Mitchell 2012, p. 25.
  19. ^ Mitchell 2012, p. 24.
  20. ^ Ashakeeva, Gulaiym; Najibullah, Farangis (February 2012). "Kyrgyz Religious Hatred Trial Throws Spotlight On Ancient Creed". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Kyrgyz". Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Kyrgyz". OED. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Report: Mapping of Kyrgyz Diaspora Compatriots and Migrants Abroad 2021 | United Nations in Kyrgyz Republic". kyrgyzstan.un.org. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  24. ^ Fahlbusch, Erwin; Lochman, Jan Milíč; Mbiti, John; Pelikan, Jaroslav; Vischer, Lukas; Bromiley, Geoffrey W.; Barrett, David B. (2003). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Eerdmans and Brill. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-8028-2415-8. "Various Kyrgyz tribes began creating an independent khanate during the 15th century with a distinctive Kyrgyz language."
  25. ^ Everett-Heath, Tom (8 December 2003). Central Asia: Aspects of Transition. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-135-79823-9. "Chingis Khan and his Mongol descendants held sway over the area from the thirteenth century until the fifteenth century, when an autonomous Kyrgyz khanate was established."
  26. ^ Williams, Victoria R. (24 February 2020). Indigenous Peoples: An Encyclopedia of Culture, History, and Threats to Survival [4 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 608. ISBN 978-1-4408-6118-5. "In 1510, the Kyrgyz threw off Oirat rule and established a Kyrgyz khanate in 1514."


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