Tajiks in Uzbekistan

Tajiks in Uzbekistan are ethnic Tajiks residing in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Tajiks in Uzbekistan are currently one of the second largest ethnic communities in Uzbekistan. Tajiks are considered one of the Iranian peoples. Most are Sunni Muslims and, according to government estimates, ethnic Tajiks make up 1.7 million people (4.8% of the population) as of January 1, 2021.^[1] For most Tajiks, both Uzbek and Russian are the primary languages of communication. Unlike other ethnic groups in Uzbekistan, Tajiks are the indigenous population of the region. Tajiks have long inhabited the eastern regions of Uzbekistan.^[2]

Tajiks in Uzbekistan

Languages
Tajik, Bukharian and Uzbek
Religion
Islam and Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Other Iranian peoples

According to unofficial hypotheses the number of Tajiks in Uzbekistan ranges from 8 to 11 million.^[3][4] While the precise number of Tajiks in Uzbekistan is debated, it is agreed upon that they are the second largest ethnic group in Uzbekistan after Uzbeks.

History

Population

Statistics Agency of Uzbekistan the Tajik population to be 4.8%,^[5][6] in ancient cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara both have Tajik majority populations.^[7] According to the ethnographer, Tajiks in the Fergana Valley were concentrated mainly in its western and northwestern parts: Chust, Asht, Sokh and their environs, and they made up 85% of the population of these areas. In the rest of the Fergana Valley, Tajik villages were only interspersed among the Uzbek ones^[8]

Main article: Uzbekisation

Due to assimilation pressures starting in 1924 with the establishment of the Uzbek SSR, many ethnic Tajiks identified themselves as Uzbeks in population censuses and preferred to be registered as Uzbek in their passports to avoid relocation to the less developed agricultural and mountainous regions of the Tajik SSR^[9]

The increase in the percentage of Tajiks from 3.9% in 1979 to 4.7% in 1989 in the first table can be partly attributed to a change in census instructions. The 1989 census allowed respondents to report their nationality based on ethnic self-identification rather than passport information for the first time.^[10]

population in 2021.[11] Other estimates put the number of Tajiks in Uzbekistan at a much higher 25-30%.[12] While the precise number of Tajiks in Uzbekistan is debated, it is agreed upon that they are the second largest ethnic group in Uzbekistan after Uzbeks. The official number of Tajiks in Uzbekistan since 1926[note 1] Year Number Percent Source 1926 350,670 7.4% [13] 1939 317,560 5.1% [14] 1959 311,375 3.8% [15] 1970 457,356 3.8% [16] 1979 594,627 3.9% [17] 1989 933,560 4.7% [18] 2017 1,544,700 4.8% [19] 2021 1,657,336 4.8% [11]

The official 2021 number of Tajiks in Uzbekistan per region/republic[11][note 2] Region of Uzbekistan Number Surxondaryo Region 334,120 Samarkand Region 280,447 Namangan Region 255,699 Fergana Region 223,516 Tashkent Region 164,519 Qashqadaryo Region 135,262 Sirdaryo Region 80,018 Bukhara Region 60,898 Andijan Region 39,639 Tashkent (Capital) 35,096 Jizzakh Region 33,051 Navoiy Region 14,355 Khorazm Region 433 Karakalpakstan (Autonomous republic) 283

Notable People

• Sadriddin Ayni, born 1878
• Payrav Sulaymoni, born 1899
• Mirzo Tursunzoda, born 1911
• Gulchihra Sulaymonova, born 1928
• Asad Gulzoda, born 1935

See also

• Tajikistan portal
• Uzbekistan portal

• Tajikistan–Uzbekistan relations
• Tajiks in Canada
• Tajiks in Pakistan
• Tajiks in China
• History of Bukhara
• Bukharan Jews

Notes

1. These Numbers come from official Soviet and Uzbek censuses, the numbers these censuses produced are contested
2. These numbers come from the 2021 official Uzbekistan census, the numbers this census produced are contested