Kyrgyzstani Surgeons on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Demographics of Kyrgyzstan is about the demographics, demographic features of the population of Kyrgyzstan, including population growth, population density, Ethnic group, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, Religion in Kyrgyzstan, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The name Kyrgyz people, Kyrgyz, both for the people and the country, means List of country name etymologies, "forty tribes", a reference to the epic hero Epic of Manas, Manas who unified forty tribes against the Oirats, as symbolized by the 40-ray sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan is one of the few post-Soviet countries in which the rural population's share of 58.29% exceeds the urban population's share of 41.71% as of 2024.
Official estimates set the population at 6,389,500 in 2019. Of those, 34.4% are under the age of 15 and 6.2% are over the age of 65. The country is rural: only about one-third of Kyrgyzstan's population live in urban areas. The average population density is . The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz people, Kyrgyz, a Turkic peoples, Turkic people, which comprise 73.2% of the population (2018 census). Other ethnic groups include Russians (5.8%) concentrated in the north and Uzbeks (14.5%) living in the south. Small but noticeable minorities include Dungans (1.1%), Uyghur people, Uyghurs (1.1%), Tājik people, Tajiks (0.9%), Kazakhs (0.7%) and Ukrainians (0.5%), and other smaller ethnic minorities (1.7%). Of the formerly sizable Volga German community, exiled here by Joseph Stalin from their earlier homes in the Volga German Republic, most have returned to Germany, and only a few small groups remain. A small percentage of the population are also Koryo-saram, Koreans, who are the descendants of the Koreans Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union, deported in 1937 from the Russian Far East, Soviet Far East to Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan has undergone a pronounced change in its ethnic composition since independence. The percentage of ethnic Kyrgyz increased from around 50% in 1979 to nearly 73% in 2018, while the percentage of Slavic ethnic groups (Russians, Ukrainians) dropped from 35% to about 6%. The Kyrgyz have historically been semi-nomadic herders, living in round tents called yurts and tending sheep, horses and yaks. This nomadic tradition continues to function seasonally (see transhumance) as herding families return to the high mountain pasture (or ''jailoo'') in the summer. The retention of this nomadic heritage and the freedoms that it implies continue to affect the political atmosphere in the country.
File:Процент киргизов в Киргизии.png, Percentage of Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan by region
File:Процент русских в Киргизии.png, Percentage of Russians in Kyrgyzstan by region
File:Процент узбеков в Киргизии.png, Percentage of Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan by region
The emigration of non-Turkic people to Russia, Ukraine, and Germany is now negligible, in part because most of them left prior to 1999. For example, the number of Germans has fallen by over 90% between the 1989 and 2009 censuses.
The table shows the ethnic composition of Kyrgyzstan's population according to all population censuses between 1926 and 2022. Due to emigration (and low fertility rates), there has been a sharp decline in the European ethnic groups (Russians, Ukrainians, Germans) and also Tatars since independence (as captured in the 1989, 1999, 2009 and 2022 censuses).
Overview
Kyrgyzstan's population increased from 2.1 million to 4.8 million between the censuses of 1959 and 1999.Population census for Kyrgyzstan, 1999Official estimates set the population at 6,389,500 in 2019. Of those, 34.4% are under the age of 15 and 6.2% are over the age of 65. The country is rural: only about one-third of Kyrgyzstan's population live in urban areas. The average population density is . The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz people, Kyrgyz, a Turkic peoples, Turkic people, which comprise 73.2% of the population (2018 census). Other ethnic groups include Russians (5.8%) concentrated in the north and Uzbeks (14.5%) living in the south. Small but noticeable minorities include Dungans (1.1%), Uyghur people, Uyghurs (1.1%), Tājik people, Tajiks (0.9%), Kazakhs (0.7%) and Ukrainians (0.5%), and other smaller ethnic minorities (1.7%). Of the formerly sizable Volga German community, exiled here by Joseph Stalin from their earlier homes in the Volga German Republic, most have returned to Germany, and only a few small groups remain. A small percentage of the population are also Koryo-saram, Koreans, who are the descendants of the Koreans Deportation of Koreans in the Soviet Union, deported in 1937 from the Russian Far East, Soviet Far East to Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan has undergone a pronounced change in its ethnic composition since independence. The percentage of ethnic Kyrgyz increased from around 50% in 1979 to nearly 73% in 2018, while the percentage of Slavic ethnic groups (Russians, Ukrainians) dropped from 35% to about 6%. The Kyrgyz have historically been semi-nomadic herders, living in round tents called yurts and tending sheep, horses and yaks. This nomadic tradition continues to function seasonally (see transhumance) as herding families return to the high mountain pasture (or ''jailoo'') in the summer. The retention of this nomadic heritage and the freedoms that it implies continue to affect the political atmosphere in the country.
Population size and structure
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Data refer to annual average population.):Vital statistics
Registered births and deaths
Statistics are taken from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook, the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Demographic Annual of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Demoskop Weekly.Current vital statistics
Total fertility rate
During the Soviet era, fertility in Kyrgyzstan was high (TFR 4 or higher). After independence there was a rapid decrease to 2.4 at the beginning of the 21st century, but the TFR had increased to 3 or higher as of 2010. Since 2020, there is a decrease to 2.8 in 2022. The differences between nationalities in the number of children are significant: Uzbek people, Uzbeks (3.0 children), Tajik people, Tajiks (3.0 children), Turks in Kyrgyzstan, Turks (2.9), Kyrgyz people, Kyrgyz (2.9), Dungans (2.8) Russians (1.7), Koreans (1.7), Germans (1.8), Ukrainians (2.1), Tatars (2.1), Kazakhs (2.3) and Uyghur people, Uyghurs (2.5). The TFR for Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Koreans in Kyrgyzstan are considerably higher than in their home countries.Life expectancy
Ethnic groups
According to the 2022 census, the ethnic composition of the population was as follows: Kyrgyz people, Kyrgyz 77.6%, Uzbeks 14.2%, Russians 4.1%, Dungan people, Dungans 1.0%, Uyghur people, Uyghurs 0.5%, other 2.7%, including Tajiks 0.9%, Kazakhs 0.4% and Turks in Kyrgyzstan, Turks 0.3%. Most Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans, and Koreans lived in northeast, especially around the city of Karakol. Most of the Dungan people, Dungans and Uyghur people, Uyghurs are found along the Chinese border. Most of the Tājik people, Tajiks and Uzbeks live in and around Fergana valley.Languages
Languages spoken at home in Kygyzstan according to World Values Survey in 2020: *Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz 70.9% *Russian language, Russian 16.3% *Uzbek language, Uzbek 10.7% *Languages of Kyrgyzstan, others 2.1% (2020) In the capital city Bishkek; 55.6% of the population speaks Russian language, Russian at home, whereas Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz is the second with 43.6% according to the same survey.Religion
Sunni Islam is the predominant religious denomination in Kyrgyzstan. The country has a significant Christians, Christian minority which Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox is the main denomination. *Islam in Kyrgyzstan, Islam 90% *Russian Orthodox, Christianity 7% *Religion in Kyrgyzstan, others 3% (2021)See also
*Demography of Central AsiaReferences
{{Asia topic, Ethnic groups in Demographics of Kyrgyzstan,