Demographics of Kyrgyzstan


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 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.
Kyrgyzstan is one of the few post-Soviet countries in which the rural population's share of 58.29% exceeds the urban population's share of 41.71% as of 2024.

Overview

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 6,389,500 in 2019. 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.
The nation's largest ethnic group are the Kyrgyz, a Turkic people, which comprise 73.2% of the population. Other ethnic groups include Russians concentrated in the north and Uzbeks living in the south. Small but noticeable minorities include Dungans, Uyghurs, Tajiks, Kazakhs and Ukrainians, and other smaller ethnic minorities. 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 73% in 2018, while the percentage of Slavic ethnic groups dropped from 35% to about 6%.
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 as herding families return to the high mountain pasture in the summer. The retention of this nomadic heritage and the freedoms that it implies continue to affect the political atmosphere in the country.

Population size and structure

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group :
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total3 265 8703 314 2966 580 166100
0–4413 265392 172805 43712.24
5–9388 796369 309758 10511.52
10–14309 396297 034606 4309.22
15–19258 649249 178507 8277.72
20–24263 240252 719515 9597.84
25–29289 819279 117568 9368.65
30–34282 674281 432564 1068.57
35–39222 715220 855443 5706.74
40–44180 015182 328362 3435.51
45–49157 253167 537324 7904.94
50–54142 981156 499299 4804.55
55–59129 553149 093278 6464.23
60–6499 239121 193220 4323.35
65-6959 17480 206139 3802.12
70-7433 24750 39883 6451.27
75-7913 20921 95735 1660.53
80-8413 18925 64238 8310.59
85-894 82210 28015 1020.23
90-943 1315 3058 4360.13
95-991 1271 4592 5860.04
100+3765839590.01
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–141 111 4571 058 5152 169 97232.98
15–642 026 1382 059 9514 086 08962.10
65+128 275195 830324 1054.93

Vital statistics

Registered 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.

Total fertility rate

During the Soviet era, fertility in Kyrgyzstan was high. After independence there was a rapid decrease to 2.4 at the beginning of the 21st century, but the TFR had increased to 3 or higher as of 2010. Since 2020, there is a decrease to 2.8 in 2022.
The differences between nationalities in the number of children are significant: Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turks, Kyrgyz, Dungans, Russians, Koreans, Germans, Ukrainians, Tatars, Kazakhs and Uyghurs. The TFR for Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Koreans in Kyrgyzstan are considerably higher than in their home countries.

Ethnic groups

According to the 2022 census, the ethnic composition of the population was as follows: Kyrgyz 77.8%, Uzbeks 14.2%, Russians 3.8%, Dungans 1.0%, Uyghurs 0.5%, other 2.7%, including Tajiks 0.9%, Kazakhs 0.4% and Turks 0.3%. Most Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans, and Koreans lived in northeast, especially around the city of Karakol. Most of the Dungans and Uyghurs are found along the Chinese border. Most of the Tajiks and Uzbeks live in and around Fergana valley.
The table shows the ethnic composition of Kyrgyzstan's population according to all population censuses between 1926 and 2022. Due to emigration, there has been a sharp decline in the European ethnic groups and also Tatars since independence.

Languages

Languages spoken at home in Kygyzstan according to World Values Survey in 2020:
In the capital city Bishkek; 55.6% of the population speaks Russian at home, whereas Kyrgyz is the second with 43.6% according to the same survey.

Religion

Sunni Islam is the predominant religious denomination in Kyrgyzstan. The country has a significant Christian minority which Russian Orthodox is the main denomination.