Demographics of Kyrgyzstan explained

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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.

Overview

Kyrgyzstan's population increased from 2.1 million to 4.8 million between the censuses of 1959 and 1999.^[2] 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 (2018 census). Other ethnic groups include Russians (5.8%) concentrated in the north and Uzbeks (14.5%) living in the south. Small but noticeable minorities include Dungans (1.1%), Uyghurs (1.1%), Tajiks (0.9%), 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.^{[3] [4]} The percentage of ethnic Kyrgyz increased from around 50% in 1979 to nearly 73% in 2018, while the percentage of Slavic ethnic groups (Russians, Ukrainians) 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 (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 affect the political atmosphere in the country.

Population size and structure

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Data refer to annual average population.):^[5]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	3 265 870	3 314 296	6 580 166	100
0–4	413 265	392 172	805 437	12.24
5–9	388 796	369 309	758 105	11.52
10–14	309 396	297 034	606 430	9.22
15–19	258 649	249 178	507 827	7.72
20–24	263 240	252 719	515 959	7.84
25–29	289 819	279 117	568 936	8.65
30–34	282 674	281 432	564 106	8.57
35–39	222 715	220 855	443 570	6.74
40–44	180 015	182 328	362 343	5.51
45–49	157 253	167 537	324 790	4.94
50–54	142 981	156 499	299 480	4.55
55–59	129 553	149 093	278 646	4.23
60–64	99 239	121 193	220 432	3.35
65-69	59 174	80 206	139 380	2.12
70-74	33 247	50 398	83 645	1.27
75-79	13 209	21 957	35 166	0.53
80-84	13 189	25 642	38 831	0.59
85-89	4 822	10 280	15 102	0.23
90-94	3 131	5 305	8 436	0.13
95-99	1 127	1 459	2 586	0.04
100+	376	583	959	0.01
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	1 111 457	1 058 515	2 169 972	32.98
15–64	2 026 138	2 059 951	4 086 089	62.10
65+	128 275	195 830	324 105	4.93

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.^{[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Crude migration rate (per 1000)	TFR	Life expectancy(male)	Life expectancy (female)	Life expectancy (total)
1950	1,740,000	56,471	14,845	41,626	32.5	8.5	24.0
1951	1,768,000	58,828	13,927	44,901	33.3	7.9	25.4	-9.3
1952	1,788,000	57,632	13,868	43,764	32.2	7.8	24.4	-13.1
1953	1,818,000	60,755	14,288	46,467	33.4	7.9	25.5	-8.7
1954	1,859,000	63,803	13,684	50,119	34.3	7.4	26.9	-4.3
1955	1,903,000	63,883	14,923	48,960	33.6	7.8	25.8	-2.1
1956	1,941,000	65,667	11,918	53,749	33.8	6.1	27.7	-7.7
1957	1,978,000	68,644	12,275	56,369	34.7	6.2	28.5	-9.4
1958	2,030,000	70,521	12,324	58,197	34.7	6.1	28.6	-2.3
1959	2,099,000	70,501	12,930	57,571	33.6	6.2	27.4	6.6
1960	2,172,000	80,209	13,259	66,950	36.9	6.1	30.8	4.0
1961	2,256,000	80,671	15,175	65,496	35.8	6.7	29.1	9.6
1962	2,333,000	79,010	15,141	63,869	33.9	6.5	27.4	6.7
1963	2,413,000	80,279	14,986	65,293	33.3	6.2	27.1	7.2
1964	2,495,000	79,342	15,834	63,508	31.8	6.3	25.5	8.5
1965	2,573,000	80,812	16,693	64,119	31.4	6.5	24.9	6.4
1966	2,655,000	81,771	17,888	63,883	30.8	6.7	24.1	7.8
1967	2,737,000	83,609	19,550	64,059	30.5	7.1	23.4	7.5
1968	2,818,000	86,741	19,840	66,901	30.8	7.0	23.8	5.8
1969	2,896,000	87,210	21,683	65,527	30.1	7.5	22.6	5.1
1970	2,964,000	90,442	21,828	68,614	30.5	7.4	23.1	0.4
1971	3,028,000	95,932	21,343	74,589	31.7	7.0	24.7	-3.1
1972	3,094,000	94,923	23,157	71,766	30.7	7.5	23.2	-1.4
1973	3,160,000	97,421	24,181	73,240	30.8	7.7	23.1	-1.8
1974	3,230,000	99,433	23,747	75,686	30.8	7.4	23.4	-1.2
1975	3,299,000	101,287	26,920	74,367	30.7	8.2	22.5	-1.1
1976	3,365,000	106,606	27,864	78,742	31.7	8.3	23.4	-3.4
1977	3,430,000	104,971	28,510	76,461	30.6	8.3	22.3	-3.0
1978	3,495,000	106,176	28,385	77,791	30.4	8.1	22.3	-3.3
1979	3,558,000	107,091	29,578	77,513	30.1	8.3	21.8	-3.8
1980	3,628,000	107,278	30,460	76,818	29.6	8.4	21.2	-1.5
1981	3,699,000	113,434	29,591	83,843	30.7	8.0	22.7	-3.1
1982	3,775,000	117,235	29,194	88,041	31.1	7.7	23.4	-2.9
1983	3,857,000	120,708	30,241	90,467	31.3	7.8	23.5	-1.8
1984	3,937,000	126,075	32,603	93,472	32.0	8.3	23.7	-3.0	4.16
1985	4,014,000	128,460	32,332	96,128	32.0	8.1	23.9	-4.3	4.12
1986	4,093,000	133,728	29,083	104,645	32.7	7.1	25.6	-5.9	4.21
1987	4,173,000	136,588	30,597	105,991	32.7	7.3	25.4	-5.9	4.20
1988	4,250,000	133,710	31,879	101,831	31.5	7.5	24.0	-5.5	4.00
1989	4,327,000	131,508	31,156	100,352	30.4	7.2	23.2	-5.1	3.81
1990	4,395,000	128,810	30,580	98,230	29.3	7.0	22.3	-6.6	3.63	64.2	72.6	68.4
1991	4,464,000	129,536	30,859	98,677	29.0	6.9	22.1	-6.4	3.58	64.6	72.7	68.7
1992	4,515,000	128,352	32,163	96,189	28.4	7.1	21.3	-9.9	3.52	64.2	72.2	68.2
1993	4,515,000	116,795	34,513	82,282	25.9	7.6	18.3	-18.3	3.15	62.9	71.7	67.3
1994	4,523,000	110,113	37,109	73,004	24.3	8.2	16.1	-14.3	2.95	61.6	70.7	66.1
1995	4,560,000	117,340	36,915	80,425	25.7	8.1	17.6	-9.4	3.12	61.4	70.4	65.9
1996	4,628,000	108,007	34,562	73,445	23.3	7.5	15.8	-0.9	2.73	62.3	71.0	66.7
1997	4,696,000	102,050	34,540	67,510	21.7	7.4	14.3	0.4	2.59	62.6	71.4	67.0
1998	4,769,000	104,183	34,596	69,587	21.8	7.3	14.5	1.0	2.65	63.1	71.2	67.2
1999	4,837,000	104,068	32,850	71,218	21.5	6.8	14.7	-0.4	2.63	65.0	72.6	68.8
2000	4,888,000	96,770	34,111	62,659	19.8	7.0	12.8	-2.3	2.40	64.9	72.4	68.6
2001	4,927,000	98,138	32,677	65,461	19.9	6.6	13.3	-5.3	2.39	65.0	72.6	68.8
2002	4,965,000	101,012	35,235	65,777	20.3	7.1	13.2	-5.5	2.43	64.4	72.1	68.2
2003	5,011,000	105,490	35,941	69,549	21.1	7.2	13.9	-4.6	2.49	64.5	72.2	68.3
2004	5,065,000	109,939	35,061	74,878	21.7	6.9	14.8	-4.0	2.55	64.4	72.3	68.4
2005	5,116,000	109,839	36,992	72,847	21.5	7.2	14.3	-4.2	2.50	64.2	71.9	68.0
2006	5,164,000	120,737	38,566	82,171	23.4	7.5	15.9	-6.5	2.70	63.5	72.1	67.8
2007	5,207,000	123,251	38,180	85,071	23.7	7.3	16.4	-8.1	2.71	63.7	72.3	68.0
2008	5,250,000	127,332	37,710	89,622	24.3	7.2	17.1	-8.8	2.76	64.5	72.6	68.6
2009	5,383,000	135,494	35,898	99,596	25.2	6.7	18.5	6.8	2.88	65.2	73.2	69.2
2010	5,448,000	146,123	36,174	109,949	26.8	6.6	20.2	-8.1	3.06	65.3	73.5	69.4
2011	5,552,000	149,612	35,941	113,671	27.0	6.5	20.5	-1.4	3.09	65.7	73.7	69.7
2012	5,663,000	154,918	36,186	118,732	27.4	6.4	21.0	-1.0	3.15	66.1	74.1	70.1
2013	5,777,000	155,520	34,880	120,640	26.9	6.0	20.9	-0.8	3.11	66.3	74.3	70.3
2014	5,895,000	161,813	35,564	126,249	27.5	6.0	21.5	-1.1	3.19	66.5	74.5	70.5
2015	6,019,000	163,452	34,808	128,644	27.2	5.8	21.4	-0.4	3.19	66.7	74.8	70.8
2016	6,140,000	158,160	33,475	124,685	25.8	5.5	20.3	-0.2	3.06	67.0	75.1	71.1
2017	6,257,000	153,620	33,166	120,454	24.6	5.3	19.3	-0.2	2.95	67.2	75.4	71.3
2018	6,389,000	171,149	32,989	138,160	26.8	5.2	21.6	-0.5	3.30	67.4	75.6	71.5
2019	6,524,000	173,484	33,295	140,189	26.6	5.1	21.5	-0.4	3.33	67.6	75.8	71.7
2020	6,636,803	158,112	39,977	118,135	23.8	6.0	17.8	-0.5	3.05	67.8	76.0	71.9
2021	6,747,323	150,164	38,875	111,289	22.3	5.8	16.5	0.2	2.89	67.9	76.1	72.0
2022	7,037,590	150,225	31,401	118,824	21.5	4.5	17.0	26.0	2.81	68.0	76.3	72.2
2023	7,161,900	145,977	31,500	114,477	20.6	4.4	16.2	1.5	2.71	68.2	76.5	72.4

Latest data

^[12]

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January — June 2023	68,020	15,498	+52,522
January — June 2024	69,162	16,155	+52,997
Difference	+1,142 (+1.68%)	+657 (+4.24%)	+475

Total fertility rate

During the Soviet era, fertility in Kyrgyzstan was high (TFR 4 or higher). After the independence there was a fast decrease to 2.4 in the beginning of the 21st century, but the TFR increased to 3 or higher as of 2010. Since 2020, there is a decrease to 2.8 in 2022.

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 Uyghurs (2.5).^[2] The TFR for Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, and Koreans in Kyrgyzstan are considerably higher than in their home countries.

Life expectancy

Ethnic groups

According to the 2022 census,^[13] the ethnic composition of the population was as follows: Kyrgyz 77.6%, Uzbeks 14.2%, Russians 4.1%, 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 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 2022. Due to emigration (and low fertility rates), 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, 2009 and 2022 censuses).

Population of Kyrgyzstan according to ethnic group 1926–2022

Census year	Kyrgyz		Uzbeks		Russians		Dungans		Tajiks		Uyghurs		Kazakhs		Turks		Azeris		Tatars		Kurds		Koreans		Ukrainians		Germans		Chechens		Belarusians		Jews		Others		Total
		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%		%
1926^[14]	661,171		110,463		116,436		6,004		2,667		7,540		1,766		44		3,631		4,902				9		64,128		4,291		1		333		318		9,300		993,004
1939^[15]	754,323		151,551		302,916		5,921		10,670		9,412		23,925		33		7,724		20,017		1,490		508		137,299		11,741		7		1,520		1,895		17,261		1,458,213
1959^[16]	836,831		218,640		623,562		11,088		15,221		13,757		20,067		542		10,428		56,209		4,783		3,622		137,031		39,915		25,208		4,613		8,607		35,713		2,065,837
1970^[17]	1,284,773		332,638		855,935		19,837		21,927		24,872		21,998		3,076		12,536		68,827		7,974		9,404		120,081		89,834		3,391		6,868		7,677		41,157		2,932,805
1979^[18]	1,687,382		426,194		911,703		26,661		23,209		29,817		27,442		5,160		17,207		71,744		9,544		14,481		109,324		101,057		2,654		7,676		6,836		44,741		3,522,832
1989^[19]	2,229,663		550,096		916,558		36,928		33,518		36,779		37,318		21,294		15,775		70,068		14,262		18,355		108,027		101,309		2,873		9,187		6,005		49,740		4,257,755
1999	3,128,147		664,950		603,201		51,766		42,636		46,944		42,657		33,327		14,014		45,438		11,620		19,784		50,442		21,471		2,612		3,208		1,571		50,770		4,822,938
2009^[20]	3,804,788		768,405		419,583		58,409		46,105		48,543		33,198		39,133		17,267		31,424		13,171		17,299		21,924		9,487		1,875		1,394		604		43,300		5,362,793
2022^[21]	5,379,020		986,881		282,652		66,525		59,895		31,559		28,244		22,074		17,359		11,219		10,733		5,900		3,875		2,831		1,105		391		125		25,643		6,936,156

Languages

See main article: Languages of Kyrgyzstan.

• Kyrgyz (official) 73.8%
• Uzbek 14.8%
• Russian (official) 5.1%
• others 6.3%

(2021 est.)

Religion

See main article: Religion in Kyrgyzstan.

• Islam 87.6%
• Russian Orthodox 9.4%
• others 3%.

See also

• Demography of Central Asia

Notes and References

1. Web site: Население [Population]]. Национальный статистический комитет Кыргызской Республики [National Statistical Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic].
2. https://www.stat.gov.kg/stat.files/census.pdf Population census for Kyrgyzstan, 1999
3. Spoorenberg . Thomas . 2013 . Fertility changes in Central Asia since 1980. Asian Population Studies . 9 . 1 . 50–77 . 10.1080/17441730.2012.752238. 154532617 .
4. Spoorenberg . Thomas . 2015 . Explaining recent fertility increase in Central Asia . Asian Population Studies . 11 . 2 . 115–133 . 10.1080/17441730.2015.1027275 . 153924060 .
5. Web site: UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics .
6. Web site: Demographic Yearbook (DYB) Regular Issues 2000 - 2010. United Nations Statistical Division. 2001. 31 January 2016.
7. Web site: https://www.stat.gov.kg/rus/part/census.htm. ru:Население. Population. ru. National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. 31 January 2016.
8. Web site: http://stat.kg/images/stories/Chislennost%20nalichnogo%20naseleniya%20v%202015.pdf . ru:Численность населения областей, районов, городов и поселков городского типа Кыргызской Республики в 2015г. . Population of Regions, Districts, cities and towns of the Kyrgyz Republic in 2015 . ru . National Committee for Statistics of the Kyrgyz Republic . 31 March 2015 . 26 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150926104653/http://stat.kg/images/stories/Chislennost%20nalichnogo%20naseleniya%20v%202015.pdf . dead .
9. Web site: http://stat.kg/images/stories/docs/tematika/demo/Gotov.sbornik%202009-2013.pdf . ru:ДЕМОГРАФИЧЕСКИЙ ЕЖЕГОДНИК КЫРГЫЗСКОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ 2009-2013 гг. . Demographic Annual of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2009-2013 . ru . National Committee for Statistics of the Kyrgyz Republic . 2014 . 31 March 2015 . 6 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306173005/http://stat.kg/images/stories/docs/tematika/demo/Gotov.sbornik%202009-2013.pdf . dead .
10. Web site: http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_ed_1935.php . ru:Естественное движение населения республик СССР, 1935 . Natural population growth of the Republics of the USSR, 1935 . ru . Demoscope.ru . 31 March 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125545/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_ed_1935.php . 2 April 2015 .
11. Web site: XLS. https://www.stat.gov.kg/media/statisticsdynamic/ad16bcee-b878-49ad-9d27-566d2923c22b.XLS. ru:5.01.00.16 Справочные данные по населению. Table 5.01.00.16 Population reference data. ru. National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. 2015. 31 January 2016. Web site: XLS. Table 5.01.00.05 Number of live births. National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. 2015. 31 January 2016.
12. Web site: Population - Official Statistics.
13. Web site: Kyrgyzstan census 2022 .
14. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_26.php . ru:Всесоюзная перепись населения 1926 года. Национальный состав населения по регионам РСФСР . All-Union census in 1926. National composition of the population by regions of the RSFSR . ru . Demoskop Weekly . 673–674 . 22 February 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160321203605/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_26.php . 21 March 2016 .
15. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_39.php. ru:Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР. All-Union census 1939. National composition of the population by republics of the USSR. ru. Demoskop Weekly. 673–674. 22 February 2016.
16. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_59.php . ru:Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР . All-Union census 1959. National composition of the population by republics of the USSR . ru . Demoskop Weekly . 673–674 . 22 February 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100316172652/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_59.php . 16 March 2010 .
17. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_70.php . ru:Всесоюзная перепись населения 1970 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР . All-Union census 1970. National composition of the population by republics of the USSR . ru . Demoskop Weekly . 673–674 . 22 February 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091203151519/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_nac_70.php . 3 December 2009 .
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