Turks in Kyrgyzstan

Turks in Kyrgyzstan (Turkish: Kırgızistan'daki Türkler) are ethnic Turks who live in Kyrgyzstan.

Turks in Kyrgyzstan

Total population
50,000[1] to 70,000[2] plus 3,200 Turkish nationals[3]
Regions with significant populations
Bishkek Chüy R Osh Osh R Talas R
Languages
Turkish, Kyrgyz
Religion
Islam

History

The majority of Turks were deported from south-western Georgia to Central Asia in 1944, where they were employed largely in the agricultural sector in grain and livestock production. Of the 207,500 Meskhetian Turks registered in the 1989 Soviet census, there were 21,294 Turks in Kyrgyzstan.^[4]

Turks in Kyrgyzstan according to Soviet Censuses and 1999, 2009 National Censuses[5]
Year	Population
1970	3,076
1979	5,160
1989	21,294
1999	33,327
2009	39,133

Demographics

Turks in Kyrgyzstan are often called Fergana Turks due to their large presence in the Fergana valley.^[6]

Education

The Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University was established in Jal district of Bishkek in 1995 and has around 2,000 students. It is one of the leading universities in the country. The Kyrgyz-Turkish Anatolian High School, Kyrgyz-Turkish Anatolian Girls Vocational School, Bishkek Turkish Primary School and Turkish Language Teaching Center are run by the Turkish Ministry of Education.

Notable people

• Ömürbek Babanov, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan in 2011-12 (Turkish Meskhetian mother)^[7]
• Orhan İnandı, founder of the Sapat system of schools in Kyrgyzstan, including Ala-Too International University^[8]

See also

• Kyrgyzstan–Turkey relations
• Turks in the former Soviet Union
• Turkic Council