Demographics of Central Asia


is a diverse land with many ethnic groups, languages, religions and tribes. The nations which make up Central Asia are five of the former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, which have a total population of about million. Afghanistan is not always considered part of the region, but when it is, Central Asia has a total population of about 122 million. Most central Asians belong to religions which were introduced to the area within the last 1,500 years, such as Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Ismaili Islam, Tengriism, and Syriac Christianity. Buddhism, however, was introduced to Central Asia over 2,200 years ago, and Zoroastrianism, over 2,500 years ago.

Ethnic groups

The below are demographic data on the ethnic groups in Central Asia
Ethnic GroupCenter of population in Central AsiaTotal roughly estimated population in Central Asia
UzbekUzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan29,000,000
TajikTajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. It includes the Pamiri people, who are officially categorized as Tajiks in Tajikistan.25,000,000
KazakhKazakhstan, Uzbekistan16,500,000
KyrgyzKyrgyzstan4,100,000
RussiansKazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan4,000,000
KoreansKazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan500,000
UkrainianNorthern Kazakhstan250,000
TurkmenTurkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran6,500,000
Volga GermanKazakhstan200,000
UyghurNorthwest China, Eastern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan13,000,000
Dungan or HuiNorthwest China, Kyrgyzstan10,500,000
Bukharian JewUzbekistan1,000
TatarUzbekistan700,000
KarakalpaksNorth western Uzbekistan500,000
BashkirsKazakhstan30,000
Meskhetian TurksKazakhstan200,000
ArmeniansTurkmenistan, Uzbekistan100,000
AltaiNorthern Kazakhstan10,000
PashtunAfghanistan, Northwest Pakistan and Razavi Khorasan in Iran12,500,000
HazaraCentral Afghanistan3,500,000
AimakCentral and Northwest Afghanistan1,500,000
NuristaniFar eastern and northern Afghanistan200,000+
BelarusiansNorthern Kazakhstan100,000-200,000
RomaniansKazakhstan20,000
GreeksKazakhstan30,000
MordvinsKazakhstan20,000
MoldovansKazakhstan25,000
ChechensKazakhstan40,000
PolesNorthern Kazakhstan50,000-100,000
AzeriKazakhstan and Turkmenistan100,000
ChuvashNorthern Kazakhstan35,000

Genetic history

The ancestry of modern Central Asian populations is significantly derived from the Indo-Iranian and Turkic expansions. Most modern populations can be aligned with either Indo-Iranian or Turkic descent, with
ancestry corresponding well with ethnic boundaries.
Mongoloid admixture was found to correlate inversely with Alu deletion at the CD4 locus.
Archaeogenetic studies on the remains from Iron Age Pazyryk culture burials suggest
that after the end of the Indo-Iranian expansion, beginning in c. the 7th century BC,
there was a gradual east-to-west influx of East Eurasian admixture to the Western steppes.
Populations of farmers and nomadic pastoralists coexisted in Central Asia since the Chalcolithic.
The two groups differ markedly in descent structure, as pastoralists are organized in exogamous patrilineal clan structures, while farmers are organized in extended families practicing endogamy.
As a consequence, pastoralists have a significantly reduced diversity in patrilineal descent compared to farmers.

Religion

ReligionApproximate populationCenter of population
Sunni Islam103,000,000South and East of region: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Eastern Xinjiang and Southern Kazakhstan.
Buddhism9,084,000500,000 in Russia, 8.44 million in Xinjiang, 140,000 people in Kazakhstan and Afghanistan;
Shia Islam4,000,000Hazaras, Central Afghanistan
Eastern Christianity4,000,000Northern Kazakhstan
Atheism and Irreligion2,500,000+Throughout the region
Western Christianity510,000Kazakhstan
Judaism27,500Uzbekistan
Zoroastrianism10,000Historically Afghanistan