The Samoyedic peoples (sometimes Samodeic peoples) are a group of closely related peoples who speak Samoyedic languages, which are part of the Uralic family. They are a linguistic, ethnic, and cultural grouping. The name derives from the obsolete term Samoyed used in Russian Empire for some Indigenous people of Siberia, see Samoyedic languages#Etymology for comments of the etymology.
| People | Language | data-sort-type="number" | Numbers[1] | Most important territory | Other traditional territories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nenets | Nenets | 45,000 | Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous OkrugNenets Autonomous Okrug | Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug | |
| Enets | Enets | 200–300 | Krasnoyarsk Krai | ||
| Nganasans | Nganasan | 900–1000 | Krasnoyarsk Krai | ||
| Selkups | Selkup | 3,700 | Tomsk OblastYamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug | Krasnoyarsk Krai | |
| Kamasins | Kamassian (extinct) | 20[2] | Krasnoyarsk Krai |
Traditionally, Samoyedic languages and peoples have been divided into two major areal groups: Northern Samoyedic (Nenets, Yurats, Enets, Nganasans), and Southern Samoyedic (Selkups) with a further subgroup of Sayan-Samoyedic (Kamasins, Mators) named after the Sayan Mountains. This classification does not reflect linguistic relations, being purely geographical.
The largest of the Samoyedic peoples are the Nenets, who mainly live in two autonomous districts of Russia: Yamalo-Nenetsia and Nenetsia. Some of the Nenets and most of the Enets and Nganasans used to live in the Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District. Most of the Selkups live in Yamalo-Nenetsia, but there is also a significant population in Tomsk Oblast.