Ethnic demography of Kazakhstan
Encyclopedia
According to the 2009 census there are two dominant ethnic groups in Kazakhstan: ethnic Kazakhs
(63.1%) and ethnic Russians
(23.7%) with a wide array of other groups represented, including Ukrainians
, Uzbeks
, Germans, Chechens
, Koreans, and Uyghurs
- that is, virtually any group that has ever come under the Russian sphere of influence. This diverse demography is due to Kazakhstan
's central location and its historical use by Russia as a place to send colonists, dissident
s, and minority groups from its other frontiers - one can almost not understand Kazakhstan without understanding population transfer in the Soviet Union
. From the 1930s until the 1950s, both Russian opposition (and such Russians "accused" of being part of the opposition) and certain minorities (especially Volga German
s, Poles
, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars
, Kalmyks
) had been interned in labor camps often merely due to their heritage or beliefs, mostly on collective orders by Joseph Stalin
. This makes Kazakhstan one of the few places on Earth
where normally-disparate Germanic
, Indo-Iranian
, Koreans, Chechen
, and Turkic
groups live together in a rural setting and not as a result of modern immigration. Most of the population speaks Russian; only half of ethnic Kazakhs speak Kazakh fluently, although it is enjoying a renaissance. Both Kazakh
and Russian
languages have official status.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the German population of Kazakhstan proceeded to emigrate en masse during the 1990s http://people.freenet.de/Wolf/1993aengl.html, as Germany
is willing to repatriate them. Also much of the smaller Greek
minority took the chance to repatriate to Greece
, so did many Russians move to Russia
. Some groups have fewer good options for emigration but because of the economic situation are also leaving at rates comparable to the rest of the former East bloc.
Table: Ethnic Composition of Kazakhstan
* For 1897 and 1911 "Russians" includes Ukrainians and Belarusians.
, Enet, etc.) returned a population of zero.
Total Slavic/European population 27.0% in 2009 (compared with 60.3% in 1959, 57.3% in 1970,54.5% in 1979, 49.8% in 1989 and 39.0% in 1999).
The second cluster, consisting of Eastern Slavs and Tatars are characterized by steep demographic decline (BR of 8.8 and DR of 16.7 per 1,000 in 1999). The birth rates for this cluster has halved since 1990 and death rates shot up by as much as 70%. The natural decrease of population alone was approaching -0.74% in 1999 (improved slightly during the next decade).
The third cluster, consisting of ethnic Germans and related smaller ethnic groups show little change in demographic characteristics since 1990. Their birth rates and death rates has remained more or less stable during the 1990s and improved during the first decade of 21st century, despite huge loss of population through immigration. The birth rate for ethnic Germans was measured at 21.8 per 1,000 (almost thrice of that in Germany) and mortality rate was measured at 11.9 per 1,000 (despite a somewhat elderly population due to emigration). Birth rates much higher than Slavic population and the mortality much less.
s and Evangelical Lutherans among them.
Table: Demographic characteristics of various ethnic groups of Kazakhstan
Table: Number of individuals married outside their ethnic group
Most of the immigration has been directed towards Russia, but small numbers have been immigrating to Ukraine, Belarus and Armenia also. Before the German authorities stopped the repatriation of ethnic Germans and their non-German relatives, Germany was one of the most favored destination for all the ethnic groups. It is estimated that close to half of the 4.5 million Soviet Germans and their Slavic kin who now live in Germany are originally from Kazakhstan. Currently on average close to 2,000 ethnic Germans emigrate from Kazakhstan to ethnic German dominated areas in Russia such as Deutsche Nationalkreis Asowo and Nationalkreis Halbstadt. Also, out of the 1.2 million Russian speaking Jews and Slavs who live in Israel, a significant portion is from Kazakhstan.
On the other hand, ethnic Kazakhs and Uzbeks have been immigrating to large numbers to Kazakhstan ever since the collapse of the USSR. These immigrants come not only from the southern Central Asian states such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, but also from the Kazakh dominated areas in Xinjiang and Mongolia. The Kazakh government is actively encouraging the settlement of these compatriots (known as Oralman
) in Slavic dominated North and East Kazakhstan as well as the German dominated Karaganda region, in oder to dilute the minority populations there. There is also a low intensity immigration of ethnic Slavs from the less tolerant neighboring nations like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in to Kazakhstan. An estimated 400,000 Uzbeks have migrated to Kazakhstan in recent years
Table: Data on immigration in Kazakhstan
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
(63.1%) and ethnic Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
(23.7%) with a wide array of other groups represented, including Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, Uzbeks
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
, Germans, Chechens
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
, Koreans, and Uyghurs
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
- that is, virtually any group that has ever come under the Russian sphere of influence. This diverse demography is due to Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
's central location and its historical use by Russia as a place to send colonists, dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
s, and minority groups from its other frontiers - one can almost not understand Kazakhstan without understanding population transfer in the Soviet Union
Population transfer in the Soviet Union
Population transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population, often classified as "enemies of workers," deportations of entire nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite...
. From the 1930s until the 1950s, both Russian opposition (and such Russians "accused" of being part of the opposition) and certain minorities (especially Volga German
Volga German
The Volga Germans were ethnic Germans living along the River Volga in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the 18th century, they were allowed to maintain German culture, language, traditions and churches: Lutherans, Reformed,...
s, Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
, Kalmyks
Kalmyk people
Kalmyk people is the name given to the Oirats, western Mongols in Russia, whose descendants migrated from Dzhungaria in 1607. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist government...
) had been interned in labor camps often merely due to their heritage or beliefs, mostly on collective orders by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. This makes Kazakhstan one of the few places on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
where normally-disparate Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
, Indo-Iranian
Indo-Iranians
Indo-Iranian peoples are a linguistic group consisting of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani peoples; that is, speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family....
, Koreans, Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
, and Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
groups live together in a rural setting and not as a result of modern immigration. Most of the population speaks Russian; only half of ethnic Kazakhs speak Kazakh fluently, although it is enjoying a renaissance. Both Kazakh
Kazakh language
Kazakh is a Turkic language which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages, closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak....
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
languages have official status.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the German population of Kazakhstan proceeded to emigrate en masse during the 1990s http://people.freenet.de/Wolf/1993aengl.html, as Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
is willing to repatriate them. Also much of the smaller Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
minority took the chance to repatriate to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, so did many Russians move to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Some groups have fewer good options for emigration but because of the economic situation are also leaving at rates comparable to the rest of the former East bloc.
Table: Ethnic Composition of Kazakhstan
| Nationality | 1897 % | 1911 % | 1926 % | 1939 % | 1959 % | 1970 % | 1979 % | 1989 % | 1999 % | 2009 % | Kazakh | 73.9 | 60.8 | 59.5 | 38.0 | 30.0 | 32.6 | 36.0 | 39.7 | 53.4 | 63.1 | Russian | 12.8 | 27.0 | 18.0 | 40.2 | 42.7 | 42.4 | 40.8 | 37.4 | 29.9 | 23.7 | Ukrainian | * | * | 12.4 | 10.8 | 8.2 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 5.4 | 3.7 | 2.1 | German | - | - | 0.7 | 1.5 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 2.4 | 1.1 | Tatar | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.3 | Uzbek | 1.3 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.8 | Belarusian | * | * | - | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.8 | n.a. | Uyghur | - | - | - | - | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | Korean | - | - | - | - | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | n.a. |
|---|
Census of 2009
The Census of 2009 counted a total of 120 ethnic groups with non-zero population in the country, but many ethnic groups which were present during the 1999 Census (such as Rushan, Shughnan, YukaghirYukaghir
The Yukaghir, or Yukagirs , деткиль ) are a people in East Siberia, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.-Region:The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic; the Taiga Yukaghirs in the Upper Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic and in Srednekansky District of...
, Enet, etc.) returned a population of zero.
| Ethnic Group | Population |
|---|---|
| Total | 16,009,597 |
| Kazakh | 10,096,763 |
| Russian | 3,793,764 |
| Uzbec | 456,997 |
| Ukrainian | 333,031 |
| Uighur | 224,713 |
| Tatar | 204,229 |
| German | 178,409 |
| Korean | 100,385 |
| Turk | 97,015 |
| Azeri | 85,292 |
| Belarussian | 66,476 |
| Dungan | 51,944 |
| Kurd | 38,325 |
| Tadzhik | 36,277 |
| Polish | 34,057 |
| Chechen | 31,431 |
| Kyrgyz | 23,274 |
| Bashkir | 17,263 |
| Ingush | 15,120 |
| Moldvin | 14,245 |
| Armene | 13,776 |
| Greek | 8,846 |
| Mordvin | 8,013 |
| Chuvash | 7,301 |
| Udmurt | 5,824 |
| Georgian | 4,990 |
| Lithuanian | 4,925 |
| Persian | 4,819 |
| Bulgarian | 4,523 |
| Marij | 4,416 |
| Gipsy | 4,065 |
| Jewish | 3,485 |
| Lezghin | 3,481 |
| Chinese | 3,424 |
| Karalakpak | 2,828 |
| Turkmen | 2,234 |
| Balkar | 1,798 |
| Indo-Pak | 1,783 |
| Crimean Tatar | 1,532 |
| Osset | 1,326 |
| Avar | 1,202 |
| Latvian | 1,123 |
| Karachai | 995 |
| Estonian | 986 |
| Dargin | 790 |
| Afghan | 659 |
| Arab | 618 |
| Permyak | 561 |
| Karelian | 518 |
| Gagauz | 493 |
| Kumyk | 481 |
| Albanian | 459 |
| Khant | 429 |
| Kalmyk | 422 |
| Romanian | 421 |
| American | 411 |
| Lak | 382 |
| Finn | 373 |
| Mongol | 365 |
| Maghiar | 357 |
| Buriot | 346 |
| Nogai | 276 |
| Czech | 271 |
| Udin | 247 |
| Karaim | 231 |
| Kabarda | 226 |
| Khakass | 223 |
| Tabasaran | 222 |
| Altay | 221 |
| Serb | 213 |
| Italian | 209 |
| Assyrian | 195 |
| English | 191 |
| Baloch | 137 |
| Talysh | 132 |
| Koryak | 121 |
| Sakha | 119 |
| Slovak | 115 |
| Cherkess | 111 |
| Croat | 102 |
| Shor | 96 |
| Agul | 94 |
| Tat | 93 |
| Adyghe | 87 |
| Rutul | 82 |
| Abkhaz | 76 |
| French | 73 |
| Austrian | 61 |
| Livv | 49 |
| Dutch | 46 |
| Japanese | 46 |
| Kuban | 45 |
| Spanish | 41 |
| Tyvin | 37 |
| Viet | 35 |
| Krymchak | 35 |
| Vogul | 32 |
| Mountain Jewish | 30 |
| Abaza | 27 |
| Chuvan | 25 |
| Georgian Jewish | 23 |
| Swede | 16 |
| Komi | 15 |
| Nanay | 14 |
| Even | 11 |
| Others | 8 |
| Nenet | 7 |
| Negidal | 6 |
| Bukharan Jewish | 5 |
| Chukchi | 5 |
| Aleut | 4 |
| Gilyak | 4 |
| Dolgan | 3 |
| Oroch | 3 |
| Selkup | 2 |
| Udihe | 2 |
| Tsakhur | 2 |
| Evenk | 2 |
| Veps | 1 |
| Izhor | 1 |
| Ulch | 1 |
| Itelmen | 0 |
| Ket | 0 |
| Rushani | 0 |
| Sami | 0 |
| Tofalar | 0 |
| Ulta | 0 |
| Shughnan | 0 |
| Enets | 0 |
| Yukaghir | 0 |
Census of 1999
Table: Ethnic Composition of Kazakhstan (Detailed Census Data)| Ethnic groups | 1999 | 1989 | As % of 1989 | % Of Pop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total population | 14,953,126 | 16,464,464 | 90.82 | 100.00 |
| Kazakhs Kazakhs The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia .... |
7,985,039 | 6,534,616 | 122.19 | 53.40 |
| Russians Russians in Kazakhstan There has been a substantial population of Russians in Kazakhstan since the 19th century. Although their numbers have been reduced since the breakup of the Soviet Union, they remain prominent in Kazakh society today.-Early colonization:... |
4,479,618 | 6,227,549 | 71.93 | 29.95 |
| Ukrainians Ukrainians Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens... |
547,052 | 896,240 | 61.03 | 3.65 |
| Uzbeks Uzbeks The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China... |
370,663 | 332,017 | 111.63 | 2.47 |
| Germans Germans of Kazakhstan The Germans of Kazakhstan are a minority in Kazakhstan, and make up a small percentage of the population. Today they live mostly in the northeastern part of the country between the cities of Astana and Oskemen, the majority being urban dwellers... |
353,441 | 957,518 | 36.91 | 2.36 |
| Tatars Tatars Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,... |
248,952 | 327,982 | 75.90 | 1.66 |
| Uyghurs Uyghur people The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China... |
210,339 | 185,301 | 113.51 | 1.40 |
| Belarusians Belarusians Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian... |
111,926 | 182,601 | 61.29 | 0.74 |
| Koreans | 99,657 | 103,315 | 96.45 | 0.66 |
| Azeris | 78,295 | 90,083 | 86.91 | 0.52 |
| Poles Poles thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe... |
47,297 | 59,956 | 78.88 | 0.31 |
| Dungans | 36,945 | 30,165 | 122.47 | 0.24 |
| Kurds Kurdish people The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey... |
32,764 | 25,425 | 128.86 | 0.21 |
| Chechens Chechen people Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs... |
31,799 | 49,507 | 64.23 | 0.21 |
| Tajiks | 25,657 | 25,514 | 100.56 | 0.17 |
| Bashkirs Bashkirs The Bashkirs are a Turkic people indigenous to Bashkortostan extending on both parts of the Ural mountains, on the place where Europe meets Asia. Groups of Bashkirs also live in the republic of Tatarstan, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Samara and Saratov Oblasts of... |
23,224 | 41,847 | 55.49 | 0.15 |
| Moldovans Moldovans Moldovans or Moldavians are the largest population group of Moldova... |
19,458 | 33,098 | 58.78 | 0.13 |
| Ingush Ingush people The Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language... |
16,893 | 19,914 | 84.82 | 0.11 |
| Mordvins | 16,147 | 30,036 | 53.75 | 0.10 |
| Armenians Armenians in Kazakhstan Armenians in Kazakhstan are ethnic Armenians living in the Republic of Kazakhstan. There are an estimated 25,000 Armenians living within the country today.-History:... |
14,758 | 19,119 | 77.19 | 0.09 |
| Greeks Greeks in Kazakhstan The Greeks of Kazakhstan are mainly the descendants of Pontic Greek who were deported there by Stalin, from southern Russia and the Caucasus region in 1949.... |
12,703 | 46,746 | 27.17 | 0.08 |
| Kyrgyz | 10,896 | 14,112 | 77.21 | 0.07 |
| Bulgarians Bulgarians The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:... |
6,915 | 10,426 | 66.32 | 0.04 |
| Lezgins Lezgins The Lezgians are an ethnic group living predominantly in southern Dagestan and northeastern Azerbaijan and who speak the Lezgian language.- Historical concept :While ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred... |
4,616 | 13,905 | 33.19 | 0.03 |
| Turkmens Turkmen people The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,... |
1,729 | 3,846 | 44.95 | 0.01 |
| Other | 166,342 | 203,626 | 81.68 | 1.11 |
| No response | 1 | 119 | 0.84 | 0.00 |
Total Slavic/European population 27.0% in 2009 (compared with 60.3% in 1959, 57.3% in 1970,54.5% in 1979, 49.8% in 1989 and 39.0% in 1999).
Decline of Slavic and Germanic population
There is a huge disparity in the birth rates and mortality rates for the various ethnic clusters. The first ethnic cluster (composing of ethnic Kazakhs and other Central Asian groups) show a very high birth rate and lower mortality (BR of 26.1 and DR of 6.7 per 1,000 in 1999). The demographic characteristics of this group has changed little since the 1980s and 1990s.The second cluster, consisting of Eastern Slavs and Tatars are characterized by steep demographic decline (BR of 8.8 and DR of 16.7 per 1,000 in 1999). The birth rates for this cluster has halved since 1990 and death rates shot up by as much as 70%. The natural decrease of population alone was approaching -0.74% in 1999 (improved slightly during the next decade).
The third cluster, consisting of ethnic Germans and related smaller ethnic groups show little change in demographic characteristics since 1990. Their birth rates and death rates has remained more or less stable during the 1990s and improved during the first decade of 21st century, despite huge loss of population through immigration. The birth rate for ethnic Germans was measured at 21.8 per 1,000 (almost thrice of that in Germany) and mortality rate was measured at 11.9 per 1,000 (despite a somewhat elderly population due to emigration). Birth rates much higher than Slavic population and the mortality much less.
Vital statistics
As explained above, the Slavic groups have been declining ever since the 1960s, due to low birth rates and high death rates. Germans are characterized by very high birth rates, but it is mostly due to the high proportion of rural population and the presence of conservative religious factions like MennoniteMennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
s and Evangelical Lutherans among them.
Table: Demographic characteristics of various ethnic groups of Kazakhstan
| Ethnic Group | Births | Deaths | Natural Growth | Birth Rate | Death Rate | Natural Growth | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| Total | 217,578 | 321,963 | 356,575 | 147,416 | 158,297 | 152,706 | 70,162 | 163,666 | 203,869 | 14.57 | 20.79 | 22.75 | 9.87 | 10.22 | 9.74 | 0.47% | 1.06% | 1.30% |
| Kazakh | 142,363 | 227,002 | 254,402 | 52,337 | 61,639 | 61,397 | 90,026 | 165,363 | 193,005 | 17.77 | 24.73 | 27.06 | 6.62 | 6.82 | 6.63 | 1.12% | 1.79% | 2.04% |
| Russian | 39,215 | 46,667 | 49,134 | 62,130 | 62,151 | 58,586 | -22,915 | -15,484 | -9,452 | 8.84 | 11.94 | 12.68 | 14.28 | 16.30 | 15.35 | -0.54% | -0.44% | -0.27% |
| Uzbek | 9,534 | 13,398 | 15,047 | 2,224 | 2,560 | 2,828 | 7,310 | 10,838 | 12,219 | 25.54 | 30.22 | 33.02 | 6.04 | 5.91 | 6.30 | 1.95% | 2.43% | 2.67% |
| Ukrainian | 5,156 | 4,936 | 5,267 | 11,426 | 11,139 | 10,506 | -6,270 | -6,203 | -5,239 | 9.56 | 11.37 | 12.37 | 21.55 | 26.33 | 25.06 | -1.20% | -1.50% | -1.27% |
| Uighur | 3,529 | 5,424 | 6,054 | 1,187 | 1,433 | 1,495 | 2,342 | 3,991 | 4,559 | 16.72 | 23.19 | 25.34 | 5.70 | 6.12 | 6.35 | 1.10% | 1.71% | 1.90% |
| Tatar | 2,398 | 3,143 | 3,375 | 3,363 | 3,668 | 3,398 | -965 | -525 | -23 | 9.70 | 13.87 | 14.90 | 13.88 | 16.62 | 15.23 | 1.70% | -0.28% | -0.03% |
| German | 4,765 | 4,267 | 4,810 | 3,524 | 2,606 | 2,585 | 1,241 | 1,661 | 2,225 | 13.97 | 19.28 | 21.81 | 10.49 | 12.06 | 11.90 | 0.35% | 0.72% | 0.99% |
| Others | 10,411 | 15,889 | 17,424 | 8,651 | 9,283 | 9,168 | 1,760 | 6,606 | 8,256 | 13.79 | 20.45 | 22.23 | 11.66 | 12.19 | 11.87 | 0.21% | 0.83% | 1.04% |
| Unknown | 207 | 1,237 | 1,062 | 2,574 | 3,818 | 2,743 | -2,367 | -2,581 | -1,681 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Inter-ethnic marriages
Most of the inter-ethnic marriages in Kazakhstan has been between various Slavic or Germanic groups (Russian - Ukrainian, German - Ukrainian, Russian - Polish or German - Russian). Inter-marriages between Turkic and European ethnic groups are increasing, but still quite rare.Table: Number of individuals married outside their ethnic group
| Ethnic Group | Males | Females | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| Total | 18,402 | 26,632 | 24,243 | 18,402 | 26,632 | 24,243 |
| Kazakh | 2,199 | 4,981 | 4,785 | 1,542 | 4,062 | 3,874 |
| Russian | 5,957 | 7,795 | 6,991 | 7,431 | 9,714 | 8,544 |
| Uzbek | 240 | 714 | 657 | 200 | 600 | 537 |
| Ukrainian | 2,717 | 3,070 | 2,555 | 2,541 | 2,858 | 2,466 |
| Uighur | 269 | 658 | 655 | 224 | 530 | 525 |
| Tatar | 948 | 1,682 | 1,425 | 938 | 1,651 | 1,413 |
| German | 2,844 | 2,365 | 2,048 | 3,137 | 2,566 | 2,270 |
| Other | 3,180 | 5,351 | 4,426 | 2,313 | 4,610 | 4,010 |
| Unknown | 48 | 16 | 701 | 76 | 41 | 604 |
Mechanical population movement
Slavic and Germanic groups have been emigrating en masse since the 1960s, and the movement accelerated during the 1990s after the breakup of the Soviet Union. This has resulted in the reduction of the proportion of European ethnic groups in the population by more than half. More than 50% of the European Soviet ethic groups have left Kazakhstan since 1989, and just 15% of the pre-1989 ethnic German population remains now in the country.Most of the immigration has been directed towards Russia, but small numbers have been immigrating to Ukraine, Belarus and Armenia also. Before the German authorities stopped the repatriation of ethnic Germans and their non-German relatives, Germany was one of the most favored destination for all the ethnic groups. It is estimated that close to half of the 4.5 million Soviet Germans and their Slavic kin who now live in Germany are originally from Kazakhstan. Currently on average close to 2,000 ethnic Germans emigrate from Kazakhstan to ethnic German dominated areas in Russia such as Deutsche Nationalkreis Asowo and Nationalkreis Halbstadt. Also, out of the 1.2 million Russian speaking Jews and Slavs who live in Israel, a significant portion is from Kazakhstan.
On the other hand, ethnic Kazakhs and Uzbeks have been immigrating to large numbers to Kazakhstan ever since the collapse of the USSR. These immigrants come not only from the southern Central Asian states such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, but also from the Kazakh dominated areas in Xinjiang and Mongolia. The Kazakh government is actively encouraging the settlement of these compatriots (known as Oralman
Oralman
Oralman , or "returnee" is an official term used by Kazakhstani authorities to describe ethnic Kazakhs who have immigrated to Kazakhstan since its independence in 1991...
) in Slavic dominated North and East Kazakhstan as well as the German dominated Karaganda region, in oder to dilute the minority populations there. There is also a low intensity immigration of ethnic Slavs from the less tolerant neighboring nations like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in to Kazakhstan. An estimated 400,000 Uzbeks have migrated to Kazakhstan in recent years
Table: Data on immigration in Kazakhstan
| Ethnic Group | Kazakhstan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immigrants | Emigrants | Net Immigration | ||||||||
| 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | ||
| Total | 41,320 | 53,397 | 46,404 | 164,947 | 42,435 | 45,287 | -123,627 | 10,962 | 1,117 | |
| Kazakh | 10,909 | 41,763 | 35,081 | 8,258 | 2,269 | 2,281 | 2,651 | 39,494 | 32,800 | |
| Russian | 20,076 | 6,658 | 6,268 | 91,489 | 29,492 | 31,631 | -71,413 | -22,834 | -25,363 | |
| Uzbek | 1,028 | 446 | 439 | 962 | 101 | 137 | 66 | 345 | 302 | |
| Ukrainian | 2,526 | 601 | 643 | 15,315 | 3,433 | 3,676 | -12,789 | -2,832 | -3,033 | |
| Uighur | 95 | 84 | 111 | 99 | 40 | 36 | -4 | 44 | 75 | |
| Tatar | 1,129 | 476 | 433 | 3,971 | 995 | 1,034 | -2,842 | -519 | -601 | |
| German | 1,417 | 517 | 525 | 32,921 | 2,991 | 3,146 | -31,504 | -2,474 | -2,621 | |
| Other | 4,140 | 2,852 | 2,904 | 11,932 | 3,114 | 3,346 | -7,792 | -262 | -442 | |
| CIS Nations | ||||||||||
| Immigrants | Emigrants | Net Immigration | ||||||||
| 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | ||
| Total | 39,461 | 42,613 | 31,425 | 120,240 | 39,767 | 42,908 | -80,779 | 2,846 | -11,483 | |
| Kazakh | 19,796 | 32,110 | 21,222 | 7,689 | 2,082 | 2,120 | 2,432 | 30,028 | 19,102 | |
| Russian | 19,796 | 6,308 | 6,033 | 81,020 | 28,657 | 30,775 | -61,224 | -22,349 | -24,742 | |
| Uzbek | 1,020 | 441 | 435 | 921 | 95 | 126 | 99 | 346 | 309 | |
| Ukrainian | 2,488 | 556 | 600 | 13,182 | 3,289 | 3,532 | -10,694 | -2,733 | -2,932 | |
| Uighur | 94 | 73 | 99 | 78 | 29 | 31 | 16 | 44 | 68 | |
| Tatar | 1,124 | 465 | 427 | 3,714 | 981 | 1,002 | -2,590 | -516 | -575 | |
| German | 1,119 | 259 | 253 | 4,164 | 1,874 | 2,250 | -3,045 | -1,615 | -1,997 | |
| Other | 3,699 | 2,401 | 2,356 | 9,472 | 2,760 | 3,072 | -5,773 | -359 | -716 | |
| Non-CIS Nations | ||||||||||
| Immigrants | Emigrants | Net Immigration | ||||||||
| 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | 1999 | 2007 | 2008 | ||
| Total | 1,859 | 10,784 | 14,979 | 44,707 | 2,668 | 2,379 | -42,848 | 8,116 | 12,600 | |
| Kazakh | 788 | 9,653 | 13,859 | 569 | 187 | 161 | 219 | 9,466 | 13,698 | |
| Russian | 280 | 350 | 235 | 10,469 | 835 | 856 | -10,189 | -485 | -621 | |
| Uzbek | 8 | 5 | 4 | 41 | 6 | 11 | -33 | -1 | -7 | |
| Ukrainian | 38 | 45 | 43 | 2,133 | 144 | 144 | -2,095 | -99 | -101 | |
| Uighur | 1 | 11 | 12 | 21 | 11 | 5 | -20 | 0 | 7 | |
| Tatar | 5 | 11 | 6 | 257 | 14 | 32 | -252 | -3 | -26 | |
| German | 298 | 258 | 272 | 28,757 | 1,117 | 896 | -28,459 | -859 | -624 | |
| Other | 441 | 451 | 548 | 2,460 | 354 | 274 | -2,019 | 97 | 274 | |
Religion
According to the 2009 Census data, almost all the Central Asian Turkics are Muslims and Slavs are Orthodox:| Ethnic Groups | Islam | Christianity | Judaism | Budhdhism | Other | Atheism | NA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 70.20% | 26.32% | 0.03% | 0.09% | 0.02% | 2.82% | 0.51% |
| Kazakhs | 98.34% | 0.39% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.98% | 0.26% |
| Russians | 1.43% | 91.64% | 0.04% | 0.02% | 0.03% | 6.09% | 0.75% |
| Uzbeks | 99.05% | 0.39% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.37% | 0.16% |
| Ukrainians | 0.94% | 90.74% | 0.03% | 0.01% | 0.02% | 7.31% | 0.94% |
| Uyghurs | 98.35% | 0.51% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.03% | 0.61% | 0.47% |
| Tatars | 79.57% | 10.24% | 0.02% | 0.03% | 0.06% | 8.11% | 1.97% |
| Germans | 1.58% | 81.59% | 0.05% | 0.04% | 0.11% | 13.96% | 2.68% |
| Koreans | 5.24% | 49.35% | 0.21% | 11.40% | 0.14% | 28.51% | 5.16% |
| Turks | 99.13% | 0.30% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.33% | 0.21% |
| Azeris | 94.81% | 2.51% | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.03% | 1.86% | 0.76% |
| Belarusians | 0.79% | 90.16% | 0.04% | 0.01% | 0.03% | 7.82% | 1.15% |
| Dungans | 98.93% | 0.37% | 0.01% | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.34% | 0.28% |
| Kurds | 98.28% | 0.53% | 0.03% | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.74% | 0.38% |
| Tajiks | 97.78% | 0.91% | 0.01% | 0.02% | 0.08% | 0.85% | 0.35% |
| Poles | 0.69% | 90.07% | 0.04% | 0.01% | 0.13% | 7.30% | 1.76% |
| Chechens | 93.69% | 2.99% | 0.02% | 0.01% | 0.05% | 2.08% | 1.16% |
| Kirghiz | 96.67% | 0.89% | 0.03% | 0.03% | 0.02% | 1.51% | 0.86% |
| Others | 34.69% | 52.32% | 0.82% | 0.91% | 0.13% | 8.44% | 2.69% |