People of Kirguyzystan

The Kyrgyz, formerly a transhumant (nomadic) people, were settled into collectivized agriculture by the Soviet regime. Besides Kyrgyz, the country’s population includes minorities of Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, and Germans (exiled to the region from European parts of the Soviet Union in 1941), as well as Tatars, Kazakhs, Dungans (Hui; Chinese Muslims), Uighurs, and Tajiks. Since independence in 1991, many Russians and Germans have emigrated. Nearly three-fourths of the population is Kyrgyz, while about one-seventh is Uzbek. The other ethnic groups make up the remaining one-eighth of the population.

Languages

Most Kyrgyz speak a language belonging to the northwestern group of the Turkic languages, especially Kyrgyz. A sizeable minority speak Uzbek, a Turkic language of the southeastern branch. Russian is also spoken, and official language status has been accorded to both Kyrgyz and Russian.

Settlement patterns

Between 1926 and 1989 the urban portion of the Kyrgyz population grew from almost nothing to more than one-fifth, though the Kyrgyz remained a minority in most cities and towns. During this period fewer than one-fourth of the inhabitants of the capital, Frunze (now Bishkek), were Kyrgyz; Slavs made up more than half of the city’s population. Southern Kyrgyzstan tends to be rural and Islamic, but the more-urbanized Western-oriented north has traditionally dominated the country. Only about one-third of the total population is urban, however, while nearly two-thirds is rural.

Demographic trends

The population of Kyrgyzstan is young. Over half the population is under age 30, while nearly one-third is under age 15. The death rate is slightly lower than the global average, and the birth rate is slightly above average. Life expectancy is about 75 years for women and 67 years for men.