Kyrgyzstan is a small Central Asian state, of 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. In demographic, cultural and ethnic terms, 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 5.9 million people. An amazing feature of Kyrgyzstan is that here still a large part of the population lives in rural areas (more than 60%). Thus, the urbanization processes prevailing throughout the modern world cannot in any way crush the small Central Asian country.
In Kyrgyzstan, there are only 51 cities. But not one of them is a millionaire city. The largest of them are Bishkek (state capital), Osh, Jalal-Abad, Karakol and Tokmok.
It is worth noting that in the capital of Bishkek, according to demographers, half the entire urban population of Kyrgyzstan lives. According to various estimates, from 600 to 900 thousand people live in this city. Such a run in numbers is explained by the incorrect registration of citizens, which is characteristic of the modern Kyrgyz Republic.
The population of Kyrgyzstan over the past half century has more than doubled and continues to increase. Over the past year, the total population growth 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 oblasts.
The 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 in the days 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. Between 1959 and 2009, their total number in the country grew 2.5 times.
To date, the top ten peoples of Kyrgyzstan (in numbers) are as follows:
- Kyrgyzstan, 71%.
- Uzbeks, 14%.
- Russians, 7.8%.
- Dungan, 1.1%.
- Uyghurs, 0.9%.
- Tajiks, 0.8%.
- Turks, 0.7%.
- Kazakhs, 0.6%.
- Tatars, 0.6%.
- Ukrainians, 0.4%.
It is worth noting that the Kyrgyz people in the ethnic structure prevail in all areas, as well as in the capital of the state, where their share is about 70 percent. The Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan live quite compactly, concentrating in two cities - Osh and Uzgen.
Interethnic Conflicts
Interethnic relations within the republic can be characterized as tense and unstable. They differ in a rather large conflict potential, which from time to time manifests itself in street riots and skirmishes between different ethnic groups.
So, the largest ethnic conflicts arose in the country in 1990 (the so-called Osh massacre) and in 2010.
Interethnic conflicts in Kyrgyzstan are usually caused by several factors. Among them:
- shortage of land resources (for example, it was land that became the root cause of the 1990 Osh conflict, which claimed at least 1, 200 lives);
- deep economic crisis and massive unemployment;
- insufficient presence of national minorities in the state apparatus of government.
Migration processes in Kyrgyzstan
The population of Kyrgyzstan is actively migrating from villages to cities, where there is at least some chance of finding a job. Most often these are young people who could not get enough education. But getting in a big city is often very difficult for them. As a result, unemployment and crime are rising. Active migrations of Kyrgyz from rural areas to cities (mainly to Bishkek) began in the early 90s and continue to this day.
In addition, many residents of Kyrgyzstan go abroad. The main goal of emigrants in this case is Moscow, as well as other major Russian cities.
It is worth mentioning another consequence of the collapse of the USSR for this state. In the early 1990s, non-indigenous citizens, in particular Russians and Ukrainians, began to leave Kyrgyzstan en masse.
Russian diaspora in Kyrgyzstan
The Kyrgyz Republic has a fairly powerful Russian diaspora. Even despite the fact that compared with 1989, the number of Russians in this country decreased by three times.
The Russian population in Kyrgyzstan is concentrated mainly in the Chui and Issyk-Kul oblasts, as well as in Bishkek. But in the Osh region, where the Uzbeks dominate, the Russians did not take root at all.
One way or another, there is no discrimination against Russians in Kyrgyzstan. Russian is freely used in schools and universities of Kyrgyzstan, and even the Russian Drama Theater operates in Bishkek.
