Demographics of Central Asia explained

See main article: Demographics of Asia. 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 (2016); Mongolia and Xinjiang (part of China) is also sometimes considered part of Central Asia due to its Central Asian cultural ties and traditions, although geographically it is East Asian. 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 (mostly East Syriac).[1] Buddhism, however, was introduced to Central Asia over 2,200 years ago, and Zoroastrianism, over 2,500 years ago.[2]

Ethnic groups

See also: Ethnic demography of Kazakhstan, Ethnic groups in Afghanistan and List of ethnic groups in Tajikistan. The below are demographic data on the ethnic groups in Central Asia[1]

Ethnic GroupCenter of population in Central Asiadata-sort-type="number" Total roughly estimated population in Central Asia
UzbekUzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan36,000,000
TajikTajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. It includes the Pamiri people, who are officially categorized as Tajiks in Tajikistan.25,000,000[3]
KazakhKazakhstan, Uzbekistan17,500,000
UyghurNorthwest China, Eastern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan13,000,000
PashtunAfghanistan[4] 12,500,000
KyrgyzKyrgyzstan4,900,000[5]
MongoliansMongolia, Kyrgyzstan3,237,000
RussiansKazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan3,700,000 [6] [7] [8] [9]
KoreansKazakhstan, Uzbekistan500,000 [10]
UkrainianNorthern Kazakhstan250,000
TurkmenTurkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran6,500,000
Volga GermanKazakhstan200,000
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
HazaraAfghanistan6,500,000
AimakCentral and Northwest Afghanistan1,500,000
BalochSouthern Afghanistan, Turkmenistan600,000[11] [12]
NuristaniFar eastern and northern Afghanistan200,000+
BelarusiansNorthern Kazakhstan100,000-200,000
Romanians20,000
Greeks30,000
MordvinsKazakhstan20,000
Moldovans25,000
Chechens40,000
PolesNorthern Kazakhstan50,000-100,000
Azeri100,000
ChuvashNorthern Kazakhstan35,000

Genetic history

An analysis of Scytho-Siberian matrilineal DNA lineages of Iron Age human remains from the Altai region found evidence of a mixture of West Eurasian and East Asian maternal lineages.[13] Prior to the Iron Age, all ancient maternal lineages in the Altai region were of West Eurasian origin, however Iron Age specimens show that Western Eurasian lineages were reduced by 50%, and East Asian lineages increased by 50%. The authors suggested that the rise of East Asian mtDNA lineages likely happened within the Iron Age Scythian period.

The ancestry of modern Central Asian populations is significantly derived from later Indo-Iranian and Turkic populations.[14] A genetic study published in Nature in May 2018 examined the remains of four elite Türk soldiers buried between ca. 300 AD and 700 AD. 50% of the samples of Y-DNA belonged to the West Eurasian haplogroup R1, while the other 50% belonged to East Eurasian haplogroups Q and O. The extracted samples of mtDNA belonged mainly to East Eurasian haplogroups C4b1, A14 and A15c, while one specimen carried the West Eurasian haplogroup H2a. The authors suggested that central Asian nomadic populations may have been Turkicized by an East Asian minority elite, resulting in a small but detectable increase in East Asian ancestry. However, these authors also found that Türkic period individuals were extremely genetically diverse, with some individuals being of near complete West Eurasian descent. To explain this diversity of ancestry, they propose that there were also incoming West Eurasians moving eastward on the Eurasian steppe during the Türkic period, resulting in admixture.[15]

A 2020 study analyzed genetic data from 7 early medieval Türk skeletal remains from Eastern Turkic Khaganate burial sites in Mongolia.[16] The authors described the Türk samples as highly diverse, carrying on average 40% West Eurasian, and 60% East Eurasian ancestry. West Eurasian ancestry in the Türks combined Sarmatian-related and BMAC ancestry, while the East Eurasian ancestry was related to Ancient Northeast Asians. The authors also observed that the Western Steppe Herder ancestry in the Türks was largely inherited from male ancestors, which also corresponds with the marked increase of paternal haplogroups such as R and J during the Türkic period in Mongolia. Admixture between East and West Eurasian ancestors of the Türkic samples was dated to 500 CE, or roughly 8 generations prior. Three of the Türkic-affiliated males carried the paternal haplogroups J2a and J1a, two carried haplogroup C-F3830, and one carried R1a-Z93. The analyzed maternal haplogroups were identified as D4, D2, B4, C4, H1 and U7.

Mongolians and Kazakhs derive most of their ancestry from Ancient Northeast Asians (60–94%), with a variable amount of West Eurasian admixture (6–40%) from a Bronze Age Western Steppe Herder source.[17] Similarly, the Kyrgyz people derive a significant part of their ancestry from East Asian-related populations (c. 59.3–69.8%), as well as from Iranian-related sources. Modern Iranian-speaking Central Asians (Tajiks), in contrast to Turkic-speaking Central Asians, have less Northeast Asian ancestry (7.7–18.6%), but harbor another East Eurasian component (8%) associated with indigenous South Asians (represented by Andamanese peoples).[18] [19] Uzbeks can be modeled as 48.8–65.1% Iron Age Indo-Iranians, and 34.9–51.2% Eastern Steppe Xiongnu, from the Mongolian Plateau, or as 40-55% Eastern Asian and 45-60% European/West Asian.[20] [21] Ancestry related to one of the earliest inhabitants, particularly the Ancient North Eurasians, is still found in low amounts among modern-day Central Asians.[22]

A 2022 study confirmed the genetic continuity between modern Indo-Iranian-speaking Central Asians and Iron Age populations in southern Central Asia. Iron Age Central Asians were descended from historical Indo-Iranians, who settled in the region at the end of the Bronze Age. By the end of the Iron Age, East Asian ancestry was introduced via historical Turko-Mongol groups, but that type of ancestry remained low among remaining Indo-Iranian-speakers, while it makes up to 50% among modern Turkic-speaking Central Asians in northern Central Asia.[23]

Religion

See also: Buddhism in Central Asia and Islam in Central Asia.

ReligionApproximate populationCenter of population
Sunni Islam103,000,000[24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] South and East of region: Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Eastern Xinjiang and Southern Kazakhstan.(most dense in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan)
Buddhism9,084,000[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] 700,000 and 1.5 million Buddhists in Russia, 8.44 million in Xinjiang, 140,000 people in Kazakhstan and Afghanistan; (Mongols, Koreans, Daur, Mongour, Tungusic peoples, Tibetans, Tuvans, Yugur)
Shia Islam4,000,000Hazaras, Afghanistan. While a significant number of them are Sunni.
Eastern Christianity4,000,000Mainly in northern Kazakhstan, significant communities are also located in the other four Soviet republics in the region.
Atheism and Irreligion2,500,000+Throughout the region
Western Christianity510,000Kazakhstan
Judaism27,500Uzbekistan
Zoroastrianism10,000Historically Afghanistan

See also

Bibliography

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency. https://web.archive.org/web/20070601020457/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/. dead. June 1, 2007. Cia.gov. 11 January 2018.
  2. Web site: The History of Zoroastrianism . 2010-02-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090925121433/http://www.duke.edu/~jds17/zoroast.html . 2009-09-25 . dead .
  3. Book: Foltz . Richard . Richard Foltz. A History of the Tajiks: Iranians of the East . 2019 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1784539559 . 1.
  4. Web site: Ethnologue report for Southern Pashto: Iran (1993). Ethnologue

    Languages of the World

    . SIL International. 5 May 2012.
  5. Web site: Total population by nationality (assessment at the beginning of the year, people). en. Bureau of Statistics of Kyrgyzstan. 2021.
  6. Web site: Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей. 2009-01-02. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100324145212/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_79.php. 2010-03-24.
  7. Web site: Archived copy. 2012-07-22. dead. https://archive.today/20120529005802/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2005/0191/analit05.php. 2012-05-29.
  8. Web site: Archived copy. 2012-01-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090206105009/http://www.stat.kg/stat.files/din.files/census/5010003.pdf. 2009-02-06.
  9. Web site: Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей. 2013-05-02. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100316172713/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_89.php. 2010-03-16.
  10. Alekseenko, Aleksandr Nikolaevich (2000). Республика в зеркале переписей населения [Republic in the Mirror of the Population Censuses] (PDF). Population and Society: Newsletter of the Centre for Demography and Human Ecology (in Russian). Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (47): 58–62. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  11. Web site: Cultural Orientation Balochi. 2019. Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. An estimated 500,000–600,000 Baloch live in southern Afghanistan, concentrated in southern Nimroz Province, and to a lesser degree in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.. 111.
  12. http://www.central-asia.su/beludz.php KOKAISLOVÁ, Pavla, KOKAISL Petr. Ethnic Identity of The Baloch People. Central Asia and The Caucasus. Journal of Social and Political Studies. Volume 13, Issue 3, 2012, p. 45-55.
  13. González-Ruiz . Mercedes . 2012 . Tracing the Origin of the East-West Population Admixture in the Altai Region (Central Asia) . PLOS ONE . 7 . 11 . e48904 . 2012PLoSO...748904G . 10.1371/journal.pone.0048904 . 3494716 . 23152818 . free. "Studies on ancient mitochondrial DNA of this region suggest that the Altai Mountains played the role of a geographical barrier between West and East Eurasian lineages until the beginning of the Iron Age. After the 7th century BC, coinciding with Scythian expansion across the Eurasian steppes, a gradual influx of East Eurasian sequences in Western steppes is detected. However, the underlying events behind the genetic admixture in Altai during the Iron Age are still unresolved: 1) whether it was a result of migratory events (eastward firstly, westward secondly), or 2) whether it was a result of a local demographic expansion in a ‘contact zone’ between European and East Asian people. In the present work, we analyzed the mitochondrial DNA lineages in human remains from Bronze and Iron Age burials of Mongolian Altai"
  14. 10.1186/1471-2156-10-49 . Our analysis of uniparental markers highlights in Central Asia the differences between Turkic and Indo-Iranian populations in their sex-specific differentiation and shows good congruence with anthropological data.. Genetic diversity and the emergence of ethnic groups in Central Asia. 2009. Heyer. Evelyne. Balaresque. Patricia. Jobling. Mark A.. Quintana-Murci. Lluis. Chaix. Raphaelle. Segurel. Laure. Aldashev. Almaz. Hegay. Tanya. BMC Genetics. 10. 49. 19723301. 2745423 . free .
  15. Damgaard . Peter de Barros . Marchi . Nina . 137 ancient human genomes from across the Eurasian steppes . Nature . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 557 . 7705 . 2018 . 0028-0836 . 10.1038/s41586-018-0094-2 . 369–374. 29743675 . 2018Natur.557..369D . 1887/3202709 . 256769352 . free .
  16. Jeong . Choongwon . A Dynamic 6,000-Year Genetic History of Eurasia's Eastern Steppe . Cell . 12 November 2020 . 183 . 4 . 890–904.e29 . 10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.015 . 33157037 . 7664836 . en . 0092-8674. 21.11116/0000-0007-77BF-D . free .
  17. Zhao . Jing . Wurigemule . null . Sun . Jin . Xia . Ziyang . He . Guanglin . Yang . Xiaomin . Guo . Jianxin . Cheng . Hui-Zhen . Li . Yingxiang . Lin . Song . Yang . Tie-Lin . Hu . Xi . Du . Hua . Cheng . Peng . Hu . Rong . December 2020 . Genetic substructure and admixture of Mongolians and Kazakhs inferred from genome-wide array genotyping . Annals of Human Biology . 47 . 7–8 . 620–628 . 10.1080/03014460.2020.1837952 . 1464-5033 . 33059477. 222839155 . pp. 5-11: "Chinese Kazakhs shared significant more alleles with West Eurasians than any other Mongolian groups. We here confirm the genetic substructure within three Mongolian groups and Chinese Kazakhs was caused by the different amounts of West Eurasian related admixture in them." "We showed that there are genetic substructures within Mongolians corresponding to Ölöd, Chahar, and Inner Mongolian clusters, which is consistent with their tribe classifications. The substructure is shaped by the relatedness of Mongolians to West Eurasians. Mongolians and Kazakhs are on a genetic cline in terms of different proportions of West Eurasian related admixture from 6% to 40%. The genetic source for the West Eurasian ancestry was most likely Bronze Age Steppe population-related. We note that the small number of sampled individuals from different tribes is a limitation of the study. However, our findings are consistent with archaeological and ancient genomic evidence that the Bronze Age Steppe populations shaped the culture and genetic makeup of northern Eurasia through rapid expansion (Allentoft et al., 2015)."
  18. Web site: Shan-Shan Dai, Xierzhatijiang Sulaiman, Jainagul Isakova, Wei-Fang Xu, Najmudinov Tojiddin Abdulloevich, Manilova Elena Afanasevna, Khudoidodov Behruz Ibrohimovich, Xi Chen, Wei-Kang Yang, Ming-Shan Wang, Quan-Kuan Shen, Xing-Yan Yang, Yong-Gang Yao, Almaz A Aldashev, Abdusattor Saidov, Wei Chen, Lu-Feng Cheng, Min-Sheng Peng, Ya-Ping Zhang . 25 August 2022 . The Genetic Echo of the Tarim Mummies in Modern Central Asians . 2022-12-17 . academic.oup.com. "The major ancestry components in the Kyrgyz are from Baikal hunter-gatherer (i.e., Russia_Shamanka_Eneolithic; 59.3–69.8%) and Iranian farmer–related ancestries (16–23.8%). The remaining minor ancestry components are from Anatolian farmers (5.1–5.6%), Western European hunter-gatherers (5.3–6.6%) and ANE-related Tarim_EMBA1 (3.2–5.3%). The ancestry profiles of Tajik populations can be dissected into five components from related ancestries of Iranian farmer (43.8–52.8%), ANE (13.3–15.8%), Western European hunter-gatherer (9.5–11.8%), Baikal hunter-gatherer (7.7–17.1%), and Anatolian farmer (9.7–15.6%)."
  19. Guarino-Vignon . Perle . Marchi . Nina . Bendezu-Sarmiento . Julio . Heyer . Evelyne . Bon . Céline . 2022-01-14 . Genetic continuity of Indo-Iranian speakers since the Iron Age in southern Central Asia . Scientific Reports . en . 12 . 1 . 733 . 10.1038/s41598-021-04144-4 . 2045-2322 . 8760286 . 35031610. 2022NatSR..12..733G .
  20. Dai . Shan-Shan . Sulaiman . Xierzhatijiang . Isakova . Jainagul . Xu . Wei-Fang . Abdulloevich . Najmudinov Tojiddin . Afanasevna . Manilova Elena . Ibrohimovich . Khudoidodov Behruz . Chen . Xi . Yang . Wei-Kang . Wang . Ming-Shan . Shen . Quan-Kuan . Yang . Xing-Yan . Yao . Yong-Gang . Aldashev . Almaz A . Saidov . Abdusattor . 2022-08-25 . The Genetic Echo of the Tarim Mummies in Modern Central Asians . Molecular Biology and Evolution . 39 . 9 . 10.1093/molbev/msac179 . 0737-4038 . 9469894 . 36006373.
  21. Triska . Petr . Chekanov . Nikolay . Stepanov . Vadim . Khusnutdinova . Elza K. . Kumar . Ganesh Prasad Arun . Akhmetova . Vita . Babalyan . Konstantin . Boulygina . Eugenia . Kharkov . Vladimir . Gubina . Marina . Khidiyatova . Irina . Khitrinskaya . Irina . Khrameeva . Ekaterina E. . Khusainova . Rita . Konovalova . Natalia . 2017-12-28 . Between Lake Baikal and the Baltic Sea: genomic history of the gateway to Europe . BMC Genetics . 18 . 1 . 110 . 10.1186/s12863-017-0578-3 . free . 1471-2156 . 5751809 . 29297395.
  22. Web site: Shan-Shan Dai, Xierzhatijiang Sulaiman, Jainagul Isakova, Wei-Fang Xu, Najmudinov Tojiddin Abdulloevich, Manilova Elena Afanasevna, Khudoidodov Behruz Ibrohimovich, Xi Chen, Wei-Kang Yang, Ming-Shan Wang, Quan-Kuan Shen, Xing-Yan Yang, Yong-Gang Yao, Almaz A Aldashev, Abdusattor Saidov, Wei Chen, Lu-Feng Cheng, Min-Sheng Peng, Ya-Ping Zhang . 25 August 2022 . The Genetic Echo of the Tarim Mummies in Modern Central Asians . 2022-12-17 . academic.oup.com. "The major ancestry components in the Kyrgyz are from Baikal hunter-gatherer (i.e., Russia_Shamanka_Eneolithic; 59.3–69.8%) and Iranian farmer–related ancestries (16–23.8%). The remaining minor ancestry components are from Anatolian farmers (5.1–5.6%), Western European hunter-gatherers (5.3–6.6%) and ANE-related Tarim_EMBA1 (3.2–5.3%). The ancestry profiles of Tajik populations can be dissected into five components from related ancestries of Iranian farmer (43.8–52.8%), ANE (13.3–15.8%), Western European hunter-gatherer (9.5–11.8%), Baikal hunter-gatherer (7.7–17.1%), and Anatolian farmer (9.7–15.6%)."
  23. Guarino-Vignon . Peter . Marchi . Nina . Bendezu-Sarmiento . Julio . Heyer . Evelyne . 3 . 2022 . Genetic continuity of Indo-Iranian speakers since the Iron Age in southern Central Asia . Scientific Reports . 12 . 733 . Nature.
  24. Min Junqing. The Present Situation and Characteristics of Contemporary Islam in China. JISMOR, 8. 2010 Islam by province, page 29. Data from: Yang Zongde, Study on Current Muslim Population in China, Jinan Muslim, 2, 2010.
  25. http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/2010/percent/all/ Religious Composition by Country, 2010–2050 | Pew Research Center
  26. Web site: Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population. October 2009. Pewforum.org. 11 January 2018. 19 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180619214725/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2009/10/Muslimpopulation.pdf. dead.
  27. http://pewforum.org/uploadedfiles/Topics/Demographics/Muslimpopulation.pdf Mapping the Global Muslim Population. A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population
  28. Web site: Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050. 2 April 2015. Pewforum.org. 11 January 2018.
  29. Web site: The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency. Cia.gov. 11 January 2018.
  30. Web site: Religious Intelligence - Country Profile: Kazakhstan (Republic of Kazakhstan). https://web.archive.org/web/20070930153612/http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=52. dead. 30 September 2007. 30 September 2007. 11 January 2018.
  31. Web site: Religious Intelligence - Country Profile: Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic). https://web.archive.org/web/20080406122429/http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=50. dead. 6 April 2008. 6 April 2008. 11 January 2018.
  32. http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Tajikistan/rbodies.html Religious Freedom Page
  33. Web site: Turkmenistan. State.gov. 11 January 2018.
  34. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722142449/http://www.eng.stat.kz/news/Pages/n1_12_11_10.aspx "The results of the national population census in 2009"

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