Demographics of Kyrgyzstan

Demographics of Kyrgyzstan
400px Population of Kyrgyzstan (in millions) from 1950-2009
Population	5,776,500 (2014 est.)
Density	27.4/km2; 71/sq mi
Growth rate	1.32/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Birth rate	22.88 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Death rate	2.69 deaths/1,000 population (2010 est.)
Life expectancy	69.43 years
• male	65.53 years
• female	73.64 years (2009 est.)
Fertility rate	2.65 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate	31.26 deaths/1,000 live births
Age structure
0–14 years	23.6%
15–64 years	62.9%
65 and over	6.2%
Sex ratio
At birth	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years	0.96 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.64 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Kyrgyzstani
Major ethnic	Kyrgyz
Minor ethnic	Russian, Uzbek, Dungan, Uyghur
Language
Official	Kyrgyz
Spoken	Kyrgyz, Russian

A Yurt and family

The Demographics of Kyrgyzstan is about the demographic features of the population of Kyrgyzstan, including population growth, population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The name Kyrgyz, both for the people and the country, means "forty girls" or "forty tribes", a reference to the epic hero Manas who unified forty tribes against the Oirats, as symbolized by the 40-ray sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan.

Demographic trends

Musicians

Kyrgyzstan's population increased from 2.1 million to 4.8 million between the censuses of 1959 and 1999. Official estimates set the population at 5.2 million in 2007. Of those, 34.4% are under the age of 15 and 6.2% are over the age of 65. The country is rural: only about one-third of Kyrgyzstan's population live in urban areas. The average population density is 69 people per square mile (29 people per km²).

The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz, a Turkic people, which comprise 70.9% of the population (2009 census). Other ethnic groups include Russians (9.0%) concentrated in the north and Uzbeks (14.5%) living in the south. Small but noticeable minorities include Dungans (1.9%), Uyghurs (1.1%), Tajiks (1.1%), Kazakhs (0.7%) and Ukrainians (0.5%), and other smaller ethnic minorities (1.7%). Of the formerly sizable Volga German community, exiled here by Joseph Stalin from their earlier homes in the Volga German Republic, most have returned to Germany, and only a few small groups remain. A small percentage of the population are also Koreans, who are the descendants of the Koreans deported in 1937 from the Soviet Far East to Central Asia.

Kyrgyzstan has undergone a pronounced change in its ethnic composition since independence. The percentage of ethnic Kyrgyz increased from around 50% in 1979 to nearly 70% in 2007, while the percentage of European ethnic groups (Russians, Ukrainians and Germans) dropped from 35% to about 10%.

The Kyrgyz have historically been semi-nomadic herders, living in round tents called yurts and tending sheep, horses and yaks. This nomadic tradition continues to function seasonally (see transhumance) as herding families return to the high mountain pasture (or jailoo) in the summer. The retention of this nomadic heritage and the freedoms that it implies continue to have an impact on the political atmosphere in the country.

Vital statistics

Births and deaths

Statistics are taken from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook, the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Demographic Annual of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Demoskop Weekly.

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	TFR
1950	1 740	56 471	14 845	41 626	32.5	8.5	23.9
1951	1 768	58 828	13 927	44 901	33.3	7.9	25.4
1952	1 788	57 632	13 868	43 764	32.2	7.8	24.5
1953	1 818	60 755	14 288	46 467	33.4	7.9	25.6
1954	1 859	63 803	13 684	50 119	34.3	7.4	26.7
1955	1 903	63 883	14 923	48 960	33.6	7.8	25.7
1956	1 941	65 667	11 918	53 749	33.8	6.1	27.7
1957	1 978	68 644	12 275	56 369	34.7	6.2	28.5
1958	2 030	70 521	12 324	58 197	34.7	6.1	28.7
1959	2 099	70 501	12 930	57 571	33.6	6.2	27.4
1960	2 172	80 209	13 259	66 950	36.9	6.1	30.8
1961	2 256	80 671	15 175	65 496	35.8	6.7	29.1
1962	2 333	79 010	15 141	63 869	33.9	6.5	27.4
1963	2 413	80 279	14 986	65 293	33.3	6.2	27.1
1964	2 495	79 342	15 834	63 508	31.8	6.3	25.5
1965	2 573	80 812	16 693	64 119	31.4	6.5	24.9
1966	2 655	81 771	17 888	63 883	30.8	6.7	24.1
1967	2 737	83 609	19 550	64 059	30.5	7.1	23.4
1968	2 818	86 741	19 840	66 901	30.8	7.0	23.8
1969	2 896	87 210	21 683	65 527	30.1	7.5	22.6
1970	2 964	90 442	21 828	68 614	30.5	7.4	23.1
1971	3 028	95 932	21 343	74 589	31.7	7.0	24.7
1972	3 094	94 923	23 157	71 766	30.7	7.5	23.2
1973	3 160	97 421	24 181	73 240	30.8	7.7	23.1
1974	3 230	99 433	23 747	75 686	30.8	7.4	23.4
1975	3 299	101 287	26 920	74 367	30.7	8.2	22.5
1976	3 365	106 606	27 864	78 742	31.7	8.3	23.4
1977	3 430	104 971	28 510	76 461	30.6	8.3	22.3
1978	3 495	106 176	28 385	77 791	30.4	8.1	22.3
1979	3 558	107 091	29 578	77 513	30.1	8.3	21.8
1980	3 628	107 278	30 460	76 818	29.6	8.4	21.2
1981	3 699	113 434	29 591	83 843	30.7	8.0	22.7
1982	3 775	117 235	29 194	88 041	31.1	7.7	23.4
1983	3 857	120 708	30 241	90 467	31.3	7.8	23.5
1984	3 937	126 075	32 603	93 472	32.0	8.3	23.7
1985	4 014	128 460	32 332	96 128	32.0	8.1	23.9
1986	4 093	133 728	29 083	104 645	32.7	7.1	25.6
1987	4 173	136 588	30 597	105 991	32.7	7.3	25.4
1988	4 250	133 710	31 879	101 831	31.5	7.5	24.0
1989	4 327	131 508	31 156	100 352	30.4	7.2	23.2
1990	4 395	128 810	30 580	98 230	29.3	7.0	22.4
1991	4 464	129 536	30 859	98 677	29.0	6.9	22.1
1992	4 515	128 352	32 163	96 189	28.4	7.1	21.3
1993	4 515	116 795	34 513	82 282	25.9	7.6	18.2
1994	4 513	110 113	37 109	73 004	24.4	8.2	16.2
1995	4 560	117 340	36 915	80 425	25.7	8.1	17.6
1996	4 628	108 007	34 562	73 445	23.3	7.5	15.9
1997	4 696	102 050	34 540	67 510	21.7	7.4	14.4
1998	4 769	104 183	34 596	69 587	21.8	7.3	14.6
1999	4 837	104 068	32 850	71 218	21.5	6.8	14.7
2000	4 888	96 770	34 111	62 659	19.8	7.0	12.8
2001	4 927	98 138	32 677	65 461	19.9	6.6	13.3
2002	4 965	101 012	35 235	65 777	20.3	7.1	13.2
2003	5 011	105 490	35 941	69 549	21.1	7.2	13.9
2004	5 065	109 939	35 061	74 878	21.7	6.9	14.8
2005	5 116	109 839	36 992	72 847	21.5	7.2	14.2
2006	5 164	120 737	38 566	82 171	23.4	7.5	15.9
2007	5 207	123 251	38 180	85 071	23.7	7.3	16.3
2008	5 250	127 332	37 710	89 622	24.3	7.2	17.1
2009	5 383	135 494	35 898	99 596	26.4	7.0	19.4	2.876
2010	5 448	146 123	36 174	109 949	28.1	7.0	21.2	3.062
2011	5 515	149 612	35 941	113 671	28.4	6.8	21.6	3.085
2012	5 608	154 918	36 186	118 732	28.9	6.8	22.2	3.148
2013	5 720	155 520	34 880	120 640	27.2	6.1	21.1
2014	5 836	165 398	35 964	129 434	28.3	6.2	22.2

Total fertility rate

2.65 children born/woman (2009 est.)

The differences in the number of children by nationality are significant: Uzbeks (3.0 children), Tajiks (3.0 children), Turks (2.9), Kyrgyz (2.9), Dungans (2.8) Russians (1.7), Koreans (1.7), Germans (1.8), Ukrainians (2.1), Tatars (2.1), Kazakhs (2.3) and Ugyhurs (2.5). The TFR for Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Koreans in Kyrgyzstan are considerably higher than in their home countries, possibly due to the much lower cost of living.

Ethnic groups

According to the 1999 census, the ethnic composition of the population was as follows: Kyrgyz 64.9%, Uzbeks 13.8%, Russians 12.5%, Dungans 1.1%, Ukrainians 1%, Ugyhurs 1%, other 5.7%, including Koreans 0.4% and Germans 0.4% (among them Low German-speaking Mennonites). Most Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans, and Koreans lived in northeast, especially around the city of Karakol. Most of the Dungans and Ugyhurs are found along the Chinese border. Most of the Tajiks and Uzbeks live in the south. The emigration of non-Turkic people to Russia, Ukraine, and Germany is now negligible, in part because most of them left prior to 1999. For example, the number of Germans has fallen by over 90% between the 1989 and 2009 censuses.

The table shows the ethnic composition of Kyrgyzstan's population according to all population censuses between 1926 and 2009. There has been a sharp decline in the European ethnic groups (Russians, Ukrainians, Germans) and also Tatars since independence (as captured in the 1989, 1999 and 2009 censuses).

Population of Kyrgyzstan according to ethnic group 1926–2014

Ethnic group	census 19261		census 19392		census 19593		census 19704		census 19795		census 19896		census 19997		census 20098		census 20137		census 20147
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Kyrgyz	661,171	66.6	754,323	51.7	836,831	40.5	1,284,773	43.8	1,687,382	47.9	2,229,663	52.4	3,128,147	64.9	3,804,788	71.0	4,099,433	72.3	4,193,850	72.6
Uzbeks	110,463	11.1	151,551	10.4	218,640	10.6	332,638	11.3	426,194	12.1	550,096	12.9	664,950	13.8	768,405	14.3	816,219	14.4	836,065	14.4
Russians	116,436	11.7	302,916	20.8	623,562	30.2	855,935	29.2	911,703	25.9	916,558	21.5	603,201	12.5	419,583	7.8	375,438	6.6	369,939	6.4
Dungans	6,004	0.6	5,921	0.4	11,088	0.5	19,837	0.7	26,661	0.8	36,928	0.9	51,766	1.1	58,409	1.1	62,966	1.1	64,565	1.1
Uygurs	7,540	0.8	9,412	0.6	13,757	0.7	24,872	0.8	29,817	0.8	36,779	0.9	46,944	1.0	48,543	0.9	51,389	0.9	52,456	0.9
Tajiks	2,667	0.3	10,670	0.7	15,221	0.7	21,927	0.7	23,209	0.7	33,518	0.8	42,636	0.9	46,105	0.9	49,046	0.8	50,174	0.8
Turks	44	0.0	33	0.0	542	0.0	3,076	0.1	5,160	0.1	21,294	0.5	33,327	0.7	39,133	0.7	40,443	0.7	40,953	0.7
Kazakhs	1,766	0.2	23,925	1.6	20,067	1.0	21,998	0.8	27,442	0.8	37,318	0.9	42,657	0.9	33,198	0.6	33,368	0.5	33,701	0.5
Tatars	4,902	0.5	20,017	1.4	56,209	2.7	68,827	2.3	71,744	2.0	70,068	1.6	45,438	0.9	31,424	0.6	28,334	0.5	28,059	0.4
Ukrainians	64,128	6.5	137,299	9.4	137,031	6.6	120,081	4.1	109,324	3.1	108,027	2.5	50,442	1.0	21,924	0.4	15,527	0.2	14,485	0.2
Koreans	9	0.0	508	0.0	3,622	0.2	9,404	0.3	14,481	0.4	18,355	0.4	19,784	0.4	17,299	0.3	16,753	0.2	16,807	0.2
Azeris	3,631	0.4	7,724	0.5	10,428	0.5	12,536	0.4	17,207	0.5	15,775	0.4	14,014	0.3	17,267	0.3	18,516	0.3	18,946	0.3
Kurds	-		1,490	0.1	4,783	0.2	7,974	0.3	9,544	0.3	14,262	0.3	11,620	0.2	13,171	0.3	-	-	-	-
Germans	4,291	0.4	11,741	0.8	39,915	1.9	89,834	3.1	101,057	2.9	101,309	2.4	21,471	0.4	9,487	0.2	8,645	0.1	8,563	0.1
Chechens	1	0.0	7	0.0	25,208	1.2	3,391	0.1	2,654	0.1	2,873	0.1	2,612	0.1	1,875	0.0	1,737	0.0	1,719	0.0
Belarusians	333	0.0	1,520	0.1	4,613	0.2	6,868	0.2	7,676	0.2	9,187	0.2	3,208	0.1	1,394	0.0	1,070	0.0	1,029	0.0
Jews	318	0.0	1,895	0.1	8,607	0.4	7,677	0.3	6,836	0.2	6,005	0.1	1,571	0.0	604	0.0	501	0.0	491	0.0
Others	9,300	0.9	17,261	1.2	35,713	1.7	41,157	1.4	44,741	1.3	49,740	1.2	50,770	1.1	43,300	0.8	39,577	0.6	40,545	0.7
Total	993,004		1,458,213		2,065,837		2,932,805		3,522,832		4,257,755		4,822,938		5,362,793		5,663,133		5,776,570
1 Source: [1]. 2 Source: [2]. 3 Source: [3]. 4 Source: [4]. 5 Source: [5]. 6 Source: [6]. 7 Source: [7]. 8 Source: [8]

Languages

Kyrgyz - 64.7%, Uzbek - 13.6% Russian - 12.5%, Dungan 1%, other 8.2% (census 1999)

In March 1996, the Kyrgyzstani legislature amended the constitution to make Russian an official language, along with Kyrgyz, in territories and work places where Russian-speaking citizens predominate.

Religions

Main article: Religion in Kyrgyzstan

Islam are 85%, Russian Orthodox are 10%, and other are 5% of the Population (1999 census).

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Data from CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/fe

Infant mortality rate

Total 31.26 deaths/1,000 live births
Male 36.19 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 26.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.43 years
male: 65.43 years
female: 73.64 years (2009 est.)

Nationality

noun: Kyrgyzstani(s)
adjective: Kyrgyzstani

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.7%
male: 99.3%
female: 98.1% (1999 census)

See also

• Demography of Central Asia