Back Курдхэр ADY Koerde Afrikaans Kurdos AN كرد Arabic ܥܡܐ ܩܪܕܘܝܐ ARC اكراد ARZ Pueblu curdu AST Kürdlər Azerbaijani کوردلر AZB Курдтар Bashkir
کورد | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Total population | |
| 30–35 million[1] (Washington Kurdish Institute, 2024 estimate) 30–40 million[2] (The World Factbook, 2015 estimate) 36.4–45.6 million[3] (Kurdish Institute of Paris, 2017 estimate) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Turkey | est. 14.3–20 million[2][3] |
| Iran | est. 8.2–12 million[2][3] |
| Iraq | est. 5.6–8.5 million[2][3] |
| Syria | est. 1.5–3.6 million[2][3][4] |
| Germany | 1.2–1.5 million[5][6] |
| Azerbaijan | 150,000–180,000[7][8] |
| France | 150,000[9] |
| Sweden | 100,000+[10][11][12][13] |
| Netherlands | 100,000[14] |
| Russia | 63,818[15] |
| Belgium | 50,000[16] |
| United Kingdom | 49,841[17][18][19] |
| Kazakhstan | 47,938[20] |
| Armenia | 37,470[21] |
| Switzerland | 35,000[22] |
| Denmark | 30,000[23] |
| Jordan | 30,000[24] |
| Austria | 23,000[25] |
| Greece | 22,000[26] |
| United States | 20,591–40,000[27] |
| Canada | 16,315[28] |
| Finland | 15,850[29] |
| Georgia (country) | 13,861[30] |
| Kyrgyzstan | 13,200[31] |
| Australia | 10,171[32] |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Iranic peoples | |
| Part of a series on |
| Kurdish history and Kurdish culture |
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Kurds (Kurdish: کورد), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranic ethnic group[38] from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria.[39] Consisting of 30–45 million people,[1][3][40][41] the global Kurdish population is largely concentrated in Kurdistan, but significant communities of the Kurdish diaspora exist in parts of West Asia beyond Kurdistan and in parts of Europe, most notably including: Turkey's Central Anatolian Kurds, as well as Istanbul Kurds; Iran's Khorasani Kurds; the Caucasian Kurds, primarily in Azerbaijan and Armenia; and the Kurdish populations in various European countries, namely Germany, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
The Kurdish languages and the Zaza–Gorani languages, both of which belong to the Western Iranic branch of the Iranic language family,[42][43] are the native languages of the Kurdish people. Other widely spoken languages among the community are those of their host countries or neighbouring regions, such as Turkish, Persian, or Arabic. The most prevalent religion among Kurds is Sunni Islam, with Shia Islam and Alevism being significant Islamic minorities. Yazidism, which is the ethnic religion of the Kurdish-speaking Yazidi people, is the largest non-Islamic minority religion among the broader Kurdish community, followed by Yarsanism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity.
Although they exercise autonomy in Iraq and in Syria, the Kurds are a stateless nation.[44] The prospect of Kurdish independence, which is rooted in early Kurdish nationalism, has been the source of much ethnic and political tension in West Asia since the 19th century. In the aftermath of World War I and the partition of the Ottoman Empire, the victorious Western Allies made territorial provisions for the establishment of a Kurdish state, as outlined in the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres, but it was never ratified after being signed. Three years later, when the Treaty of Lausanne set the boundaries of the Turkish state, the Western Allies ceased their push for Kurdish statehood in the face of certain agreements and guarantees—chiefly Turkey's relinquishing of territorial claims over formerly Ottoman-ruled Arab lands in exchange for the Allies' recognition of Turkish sovereignty over all of Anatolia.[45] As such, since the 20th century, the history of the Kurds has largely been marked by struggles for independence, predominantly in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict and the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, and to a lesser extent in the Iranian–Kurdish conflict and the comparatively recent Syrian–Kurdish conflict.
- ^ a b "Kurdish Population". Washington Kurdish Institute. Archived from the original on 9 January 2025. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
There are an estimated 30-35 million Kurds, and about half of them live in Turkey.
- ^ a b c d e The World Factbook (Online ed.). Langley, Virginia: US Central Intelligence Agency. 2015. ISSN 1553-8133. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2015. A rough estimate in this edition gives populations of 14.3 million in Turkey, 8.2 million in Iran, about 5.6 to 7.4 million in Iraq, and less than 2 million in Syria, which adds up to approximately 28–30 million Kurds in Kurdistan or in adjacent regions. The CIA estimates are as of August 2015[update] – Turkey: Kurdish 18%, of 81.6 million; Iran: Kurd 10%, of 81.82 million; Iraq: Kurdish 15–20%, of 37.01 million, Syria: Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%, of 17.01 million.
- ^ a b c d e f The Kurdish Population by the Kurdish Institute of Paris, 2017 estimate. The Kurdish population is estimated at 15–20 million in Turkey, 10–12 million in Iran, 8–8.5 million in Iraq, 3–3.6 million in Syria, 1.2–1.5 million in the European diaspora, and 400k–500k in the former USSR—for a total of 36.4 million to 45.6 million globally.
- ^ "Demographics of Syria". Heritage for Peace. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
Around 1.5 million Kurds form Syria's largest ethnic minority. About a third of them live in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains north of Aleppo, and an equal number along the Turkish border in the Jazirah. A further 10 per cent can be found in the vicinity of Jarabulus northeast of Aleppo, and from 10-15 per cent in the Hayy al-Akrad (Quarter of the Kurds) on the outskirts of Damascus.
- ^ ""Wir Kurden ärgern uns über die Bundesregierung" – Politik". Süddeutsche.de. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ "Geschenk an Erdogan? Kurdisches Kulturfestival verboten". heise.de. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ The cultural situation of the Kurds, A report by Lord Russell-Johnston, Council of Europe, July 2006.
- ^ Ismet Chériff Vanly, "The Kurds in the Soviet Union", in: Philip G. Kreyenbroek & S. Sperl (eds.), The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview (London: Routledge, 1992). pg 164: Table based on 1990 estimates: Azerbaijan (180,000), Armenia (50,000), Georgia (40,000), Kazakhstan (30,000), Kyrghizistan (20,000), Uzbekistan (10,000), Tajikistan (3,000), Turkmenistan (50,000), Siberia (35,000), Krasnodar (20,000), Other (12,000), Total 450,000
- ^ "3 Kurdish women political activists shot dead in Paris". CNN. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ^ "NATO Membership for Sweden: Between Turkey and the Kurds". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Will exiled Kurds pay price of Sweden's NATO entry?". The Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "NATO bid reignites Sweden's dispute with Turkey over Kurds". POLITICO. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ TT (23 September 2017). "Svenskkurder: Självständighet kan inte vänta". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Diaspora Kurde". Institutkurde.org (in French). Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 г. Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации". Demoscope.ru. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
- ^ "The Kurdish Diaspora". Institut Kurde de Paris. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
- ^ "QS211EW – Ethnic group (detailed)". nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ^ "Ethnic Group – Full Detail_QS201NI" (PDF). Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "Scotland's Census 2011 – National Records of Scotland – Ethnic group (detailed)" (PDF). Scotland Census. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
- ^ "Ethnic composition of Kazakhstan 2021". Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ^ "Information from the 2011 Armenian National Census" (PDF). Statistics of Armenia (in Armenian). Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ "Switzerland". Ethnologue. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ^ "Fakta: Kurdere i Danmark". Jyllandsposten (in Danish). 8 May 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ Al-Khatib, Mahmoud A.; Al-Ali, Mohammed N. "Language and Cultural Shift Among the Kurds of Jordan" (PDF). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
- ^ "Austria". Ethnologue. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ^ "Greece". Ethnologue. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ^ "2011–2015 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables". Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- ^ "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 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
- ^ "Language according to age and sex by region 1990 – 2021". Statistics Finland. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Population/Census" (PDF). geostat.ge.
- ^ "Number of resident population by selected nationality" (PDF). United Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ "Australia – Ancestry". 2022. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Atlas of the Languages of Iran A working classification". Languages of Iran. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- ^ Michiel Leezenberg (1993). "Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish: Substratum or Prestige Borrowing?" (PDF). ILLC – Department of Philosophy, University of Amsterdam: 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ "Kurds in Turkey". Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Learn About Kurdish Religion".
- ^ "Kurds of Iran: The missing piece in the Middle East Puzzle".
- ^ *Bois, Th.; Minorsky, V.; MacKenzie, D.N. (24 April 2012). "Kurds, Kurdistān". Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition. Vol. 5. Brill Online. p. 439.
The Kurds, an Iranian people of the Near East, live at the junction of (...)
- Shoup, John A. (2011). Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598843637.
- Nezan, Kendal. A Brief Survey of the History of the Kurds. Kurdish Institute of Paris.
- ^ Bengio, Ofra (2014). Kurdish Awakening: Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-75813-1.
- ^ "Kurdish People Fast Facts". CNN. 2025. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
Population: approximately 25–30 million
- ^ Based on arithmetic from World Factbook and other sources cited herein: A Near Eastern population of 28–30 million, plus approximately a 2 million diaspora gives 30–32 million. If the highest (25%) estimate for the Kurdish population of Turkey, in Mackey (2002), proves correct, this would raise the total to around 37 million.
- ^ "Kurds". The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). Encyclopedia.com. 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ Windfuhr (2013). Iranian Languages. Routledge. p. 587. ISBN 978-1135797041.
- ^ "Timeline: The Kurds' Quest for Independence".
- ^ Who are the Kurds? by BBC News, 31 October 2017
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