The population of Kyrgyzstan and its ethnic composition

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

Kyrgyzstan is a small Central Asian state about which we know very little. What is the population of Kyrgyzstan today? What ethnic groups live on its territory? These questions are revealed in our article.

The population of Kyrgyzstan and its growth dynamics

The Kyrgyz Republic (or Kyrgyzstan) is a small state in the heart of Asia, sandwiched between China and Kazakhstan. Demographically, culturally and ethnically, this country is unusual and interesting.

How many people live in Kyrgyzstan today? And what is its ethnic structure? Let's try to answer these questions.

How many people live in Kyrgyzstan? The population counter of this country as of the beginning of 2015 reached the mark of 5.9 million people. An amazing feature of Kyrgyzstan is that here the majority of the population still lives in rural areas (more than 60%). Thus, the urbanization processes that dominate the entire modern world cannot in any way crush the small Central Asian country.

There are only 51 cities in Kyrgyzstan. But none of them iscity of a million people. The largest of them are Bishkek (the capital of the state), Osh, Jalal-Abad, Karakol and Tokmok.

It is worth noting that, according to demographers, half of the entire urban population of Kyrgyzstan lives in the capital of the country, Bishkek. According to various estimates, from 600 to 900 thousand people live in this city. Such a run-up in numbers is due to incorrect accounting of citizens, which is typical for the modern Kyrgyz Republic.

The population of Kyrgyzstan has more than doubled over the past half century and continues to grow. Over the past year, the total increase in the population of the country amounted to about 250 thousand people. The main reason for this was the high birth rate.

The most populated in Kyrgyzstan are Osh and Jalal-Abad regions.

Ethnic composition of the population of the republic

The population of Kyrgyzstan has a rather complex ethnic structure. It should be noted that until 1985, the Kyrgyz were not the dominant ethnic group in this republic. The thing is that during the times of the USSR, territories where other peoples historically lived (primarily Uzbeks and Russians) were included in its borders. By the middle of the twentieth century, the Kyrgyz made up only 40% of the total population of the republic.

However, over time, the number of Kyrgyz began to increase rapidly. During the period from 1959 to 2009, their total number in the country increased by 2.5 times.

Today, the top ten peoples of Kyrgyzstan (by number)looks like this:

1. Kyrgyz, 71%.
2. Uzbeks, 14%.
3. Russians, 7, 8%.
4. Dungan, 1, 1%.
5. Uighurs, 0.9%.
6. Tajiks, 0.8%.
7. Turks, 0.7%.
8. Kazakhs, 0.6%.
9. Tatars, 0.6%.
10. Ukrainians, 0.4%.

It is worth noting that the Kyrgyz in the ethnic structure prevail in all areas, as well as in the capital of the state, where their share is about 70 percent. Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan live quite compactly, concentrating in two cities - Osh and Uzgen.

Interethnic conflicts

Interethnic relations within the republic can be described as tense and unstable. They are distinguished by a rather large conflict potential, which from time to time manifests itself in street riots and clashes between different ethnic groups.

Thus, the largest ethnic conflicts arose in the country in 1990 (the so-called Osh massacre) and in 2010.

Interethnic conflicts in Kyrgyzstan, as a rule, are caused by several factors. Among them:

• lack of land resources (thus, it was land that became the root cause of the 1990 Osh conflict, which claimed at least 1200 lives);
• deep economic crisis and massive unemployment;
• insufficient presence of national minorities in the state administration of the country.

Migration processes in Kyrgyzstan

The population of Kyrgyzstan is actively migrating from villages to cities, where there are at least somechances of finding a job. Most often these are young people who have not been able to get enough education. But getting settled in a big city is often very difficult for them. As a result, unemployment and crime are on the rise. Active migration of Kyrgyz from rural areas to cities (mainly to Bishkek) began in the early 1990s and continues to this day.

Besides this, many residents of Kyrgyzstan travel abroad. The main goal of emigrants in this case is Moscow, as well as other large Russian cities.

It is worth mentioning one more consequence of the collapse of the USSR for this state. In the early 90s, non-indigenous citizens, in particular Russians and Ukrainians, began to leave Kyrgyzstan en masse.

Russian Diaspora in Kyrgyzstan

The Kyrgyz Republic has a rather powerful Russian diaspora. Even despite the fact that compared to 1989, the number of Russians in this country has decreased three times.

The Russian population in Kyrgyzstan is concentrated mainly in the Chui and Issyk-Kul regions, as well as in Bishkek. But in the Osh region, dominated by Uzbeks, Russians have not taken root at all.

One way or another, there is no discrimination against Russians in Kyrgyzstan. The Russian language is freely used in schools and universities in Kyrgyzstan, and there is even a Russian Drama Theater in Bishkek.

In closing

The Kyrgyz Republic is a small state in Central Asia with 5.9 million people. The population of Kyrgyzstan is characterizedrather complex ethnic structure. This, in turn, manifests itself in acute inter-ethnic conflicts that periodically flare up in this country.