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Genetik/Peoples/Circassians

Circassians

Черкесы · Q15763

language area per Glottologcensus counts
114,697
Russia, census 2021
115,021
sum of censuses in 3 countries, 2001-2021
Abkhaz-Adyge
language family (Glottolog)

In brief

The largest documented number lives in Russia: 114,697 people in the 2021 census.

Official figures exist for 3 countries; together they add up to 115,021. This is not an estimate of the world total: the censuses were held in different years (2001-2021) and define belonging differently, and countries without such data are not counted.

In Russia's 2020 census (reference date 1 October 2021), 114,697 people identified with the nationality "Черкесы" (Circassians)1. That is 0.09% of the 130,587,364 residents who stated a nationality.

Rosstat also assigns 6 other self-designations to this nationality (listed in Russian in the source table).

Main language: West Circassian. Glottolog classifies it in the Abkhaz-Adyge family.

Where they live: census figures

Each figure comes from the country's official census. Censuses define belonging differently (self-identification, citizenship, mother tongue, ancestry); the type is given on each row.

Russia2021 · ethnicity / nationality · «Черкесы» · [1]
114,697
Ukraine2001 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Circassian» · [2]
199
Kazakhstan2021 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Cherkess» · [3]
125
Sum across 3 countries115,021

In detail: Russia, 2021 census

Sex

Men 56,314 · 49.1%Women 58,383 · 50.9%

Urban and rural

Urban 48,741 · 42.5%Rural 65,956 · 57.5%

Where: the 10 regions with the largest numbers

Karachay-Cherkess Republic
58,825
Kabardino-Balkar Republic
26,544
Republic of Adygea
16,133
Krasnodar Krai
6,166
Stavropol Krai
2,455
Moscow (city)
1,405
Moscow Oblast
615
Saint Petersburg (city)
321
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Yugra
292
Rostov Oblast
243

Source [1]: Rosstat, 2020 census, vol. 5, table 1

Languages and their lineage

West Circassian

  1. Abkhaz-Adygeabkh1242
  2. Circassiancirc1239
  3. West Circassianadyg1241

Arabic

  1. Afro-Asiaticafro1255
  2. Semiticsemi1276
  3. West Semiticwest2786
  4. Central Semiticcent2236
  5. Arabianarab1394
  6. Arabicarab1395

Turkish

  1. Turkicturk1311
  2. Common Turkiccomm1245
  3. Oghuzoghu1243
  4. Nuclear Oghuznucl1769
  5. West Oghuzwest2406
  6. Turkishnucl1301

Kabardian

  1. Abkhaz-Adygeabkh1242
  2. Circassiancirc1239
  3. Kabardiankaba1278

People-to-language links: Wikidata (properties P103 and P2936), checked against ISO 639-3 codes. Language classification: Glottolog 5.3.

Peoples of the same language family

KabardayAdyghe peopleAbazinsAbkhaziansShapsugs

Sources

  1. Rosstat. National composition of the population of the Russian Federation. Results of the 2020 All-Russian Population Census (reference date 1 October 2021), vol. 5, table 1. Tom5_tab1_VPN-2020.xlsx (archived copy)
  2. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Ukraine, Census - de facto - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  3. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Kazakhstan, Census - de facto - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  4. Hammarström H., Forkel R., Haspelmath M., Bank S. (2026). Glottolog 5.3. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. glottolog.org (CC BY 4.0)