Genetik
RU
Genetik/Peoples/Uyghurs

Uyghurs

Уйгуры · Q46118

language area per Glottologcensus counts
11,624,257
China, census 2020 (ethnicity / nationality)
11,965,827
sum of censuses in 6 countries, 2001-2021
Turkic
language family (Glottolog)

In brief

The largest documented number lives in China: 11,624,257 people in the 2020 census.

Official figures exist for 6 countries; together they add up to 11,965,827. 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), 2,217 people identified with the nationality "Уйгуры" (Uyghurs)1. That is less than 0.01% of the 130,587,364 residents who stated a nationality.

Main language: Uighur. 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.

China2020 · ethnicity / nationality · «维吾尔族 (in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region only)» · [2]
11,624,257
Kazakhstan2021 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Uyghur» · [3]
290,337
Kyrgyzstan2009 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Uyghur» · [4]
48,543
Russia2021 · ethnicity / nationality · «Уйгуры» · [1]
2,217
Tajikistan2010 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Uyghur» · [5]
276
Ukraine2001 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Uighur» · [6]
197
Sum across 6 countries11,965,827

In detail: Russia, 2021 census

Sex, urban and rural, Russian regions

Sex

Men 1,271 · 57.3%Women 946 · 42.7%

Urban and rural

Urban 1,685 · 76.0%Rural 532 · 24.0%

Where: the 10 regions with the largest numbers

Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Yugra
167
Moscow Oblast
131
Novosibirsk Oblast
124
Moscow (city)
119
Republic of Tatarstan
99
Sverdlovsk Oblast
94
Chelyabinsk Oblast
82
Saint Petersburg (city)
68
Republic of Bashkortostan
62
Altai Krai
62

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

Languages and their lineage

Uighur

  1. Turkicturk1311
  2. Common Turkiccomm1245
  3. Kipchak-Turkestankipc1240
  4. Turkestanuygh1241
  5. Modern Turkestanuygh1240
  6. Uyghuricuigh1243
  7. Uighuruigh1240

Sinitic

  1. Sino-Tibetansino1245
  2. Siniticsini1245

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

KazakhsAzerbaijanisTatarsKyrgyz peopleBashkir peopleChuvash peopleUzbeksKumyk peopleTurkish peopleYakutsTuvansCrimean TatarsKarachaysSalar peopleGagauzBalkarsNogaisAltai peopleKhakass peopleTurkmensKryashensKarakalpaksShorsDolgans

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. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region government (text republished by the Chinese Embassy in Turkey). 新疆维吾尔自治区第七次全国人口普查公报（第一、二、三、四、五号） (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Seventh National Population Census communique). https://tr.china-embassy.gov.cn/chn/sgxw/202205/t20220531_10696207.htm
  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. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Kyrgyzstan, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  5. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Tajikistan, Census - de facto - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
  6. 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…
  7. Hammarström H., Forkel R., Haspelmath M., Bank S. (2026). Glottolog 5.3. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. glottolog.org (CC BY 4.0)