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Genetik/Peoples/Crimean Karaites

Crimean Karaites

Караимы · Q720982

language area per Glottologcensus counts
1,196
Ukraine, census 2001 (national and/or ethnic group, UN)
1,990
sum of censuses in 4 countries, 2001-2021
Turkic
language family (Glottolog)

In brief

The largest documented number lives in Ukraine: 1,196 people in the 2001 census.

Official figures exist for 4 countries; together they add up to 1,990. 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), 500 people identified with the nationality "Караимы" (Crimean Karaites)1. That is less than 0.01% of the 130,587,364 residents who stated a nationality.

Rosstat also assigns 1 other self-designation to this nationality (listed in Russian in the source table).

Main language: Karaim. Glottolog classifies it in the Turkic 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.

Ukraine2001 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Karaim» · [2]
1,196
Russia2021 · ethnicity / nationality · «Караимы» · [1]
500
Lithuania2021 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Karaite» · [3]
192
Kazakhstan2021 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Karaim» · [4]
102
Sum across 4 countries1,990

In detail: Russia, 2021 census

Sex, urban and rural, Russian regions

Sex

Men 260 · 52.0%Women 240 · 48.0%

Urban and rural

Urban 455 · 91.0%Rural 45 · 9.0%

Where: the 10 regions with the largest numbers

Republic of Crimea (as listed by Rosstat)
295
Moscow (city)
62
Sevastopol (as listed by Rosstat)
23
Moscow Oblast
21
Saint Petersburg (city)
14
Sverdlovsk Oblast
9
Rostov Oblast
8
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Yugra
8
Chelyabinsk Oblast
7
Novosibirsk Oblast
5

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

Languages and their lineage

Karaim

  1. Turkicturk1311
  2. Common Turkiccomm1245
  3. Kipchak-Turkestankipc1240
  4. Kipchakkipc1239
  5. Northwest Kipchaknort3424
  6. West Kipchakwest1472
  7. Karaimkara1464

Russian

  1. Indo-Europeanindo1319
  2. Classical Indo-Europeanclas1257
  3. Balto-Slavicbalt1263
  4. Slavicslav1255
  5. East Slaviceast1426
  6. Russianruss1263

Polish

  1. Indo-Europeanindo1319
  2. Classical Indo-Europeanclas1257
  3. Balto-Slavicbalt1263
  4. Slavicslav1255
  5. West Slavicwest2792
  6. Lechiticlech1241
  7. Polish-Silesianpoli1262
  8. Polishpoli1260

Lithuanian

  1. Indo-Europeanindo1319
  2. Classical Indo-Europeanclas1257
  3. Balto-Slavicbalt1263
  4. Eastern Balticeast2280
  5. Lithuanianlith1251

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

KazakhsUyghursAzerbaijanisTatarsKyrgyz peopleBashkir peopleChuvash peopleUzbeksKumyk peopleTurkish peopleYakutsTuvansCrimean TatarsKarachaysSalar peopleGagauzBalkarsNogaisAltai peopleKhakass peopleTurkmensKryashensKarakalpaksShors

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. Lithuania, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  4. 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…
  5. Hammarström H., Forkel R., Haspelmath M., Bank S. (2026). Glottolog 5.3. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. glottolog.org (CC BY 4.0)