Editing Central Asia (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Central Asia}}
[[File:Central Asia population pyramid 2023.svg|thumb|Population pyramid of Central Asia in 2023]]
[[File:Central Asia Ethnic en.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|Ethnic map of Central Asia.<br /> White areas are thinly-populated semi-desert.<br />The three northwest-tending lines are the Syr Darya and Amu Darya Rivers flowing from the eastern mountains into the Aral Sea and in the south the irrigated north side of the Kopet Dagh mountains.]]
[[File:Uzbek Kids.JPG|thumb|left|Uzbek children in [[Samarkand]]]]
[[File:Afghan children in Badakhshan Province-2012.jpg|thumb|Children in Afghanistan]]
By a broad definition including Mongolia and Afghanistan, more than 90 million people live in Central Asia, about 2% of Asia's total population. Of the regions of Asia, only [[North Asia]] has fewer people. It has a population density of 9 people per km<sup>2</sup>, vastly less than the 80.5 people per km<sup>2</sup> of the continent as a whole. Kazakhstan is one of the least densely populated countries in the world.

=== Languages ===
[[Russian language|Russian]], as well as being spoken by around six million ethnic [[Russians]] and [[Ukrainians]] of Central Asia,<ref>Robert Greenall, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4420922.stm Russians left behind in Central Asia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911080317/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4420922.stm |date=11 September 2013 }}, [[BBC News]], 23 November 2005.</ref> is the de facto [[lingua franca]] throughout the former Soviet Central Asian Republics. [[Mandarin Chinese]] has an equally dominant presence in [[Inner Mongolia]], [[Qinghai]] and [[Xinjiang]].

The languages of the majority of the inhabitants of the former Soviet Central Asian Republics belong to the [[Turkic languages|Turkic language group]]. [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]] is mainly spoken in [[Turkmenistan]], and as a minority language in [[Afghanistan]], [[Russia]], [[Iran]] and [[Turkey]]. [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] and [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]] are related languages of the [[Kipchaks|Kypchak]] group of Turkic languages and are spoken throughout [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], and as a minority language in [[Tajikistan]], [[Afghanistan]] and [[Xinjiang]]. [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] and [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]] are spoken in [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], Kyrgyzstan, [[Afghanistan]] and [[Xinjiang]].

[[Middle Iranian languages]] were once spoken throughout Central Asia, such as the once prominent [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]], [[Khwarezmian language|Khwarezmian]], [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] and [[Scythian language|Scythian]], which are now extinct and belonged to the [[Eastern Iranian]] family. The Eastern Iranian [[Pashto language]] is still spoken in [[Afghanistan]] and northwestern [[Pakistan]]. Other minor Eastern Iranian languages such as [[Shughni language|Shughni]], [[Munji language|Munji]], [[Ishkashimi language|Ishkashimi]], [[Sarikoli language|Sarikoli]], [[Wakhi language|Wakhi]], [[Yaghnobi language|Yaghnobi]] and [[Ossetic]] are also spoken at various places in Central Asia. Varieties of [[Persian language|Persian]] are also spoken as a major language in the region, locally known as [[Dari]] (in [[Afghanistan]]), [[Tajik language|Tajik]] (in [[Tajikistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]]), and [[Bukhori]] (by the [[Bukharan Jews]] of Central Asia).

[[Tocharian languages|Tocharian]], another [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language group]], which was once predominant in oases on the northern edge of the [[Tarim Basin]] of [[Xinjiang]], is now extinct.

Other language groups include the [[Tibetic languages]], spoken by around six million people across the [[Tibetan Plateau]] and into [[Qinghai]], [[Sichuan]] (Szechwan), [[Ladakh]] and [[Baltistan]], and the [[Nuristani languages]] of northeastern Afghanistan. [[Korean language|Korean]] is spoken by the [[Koryo-saram]] minority, mainly in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.<ref>Alekseenko, Aleksandr Nikolaevich (2000). Республика в зеркале переписей населения[Republic in the Mirror of the Population Censuses] (PDF). ''Population and Society: Newsletter of the Centre for Demography and Human Ecology'' (in Russian). Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (47): 58–62. Retrieved 18 March 2019.</ref>

=== Religions ===
{{Pie chart
| thumb = right
| caption = Religion in Central Asia
| label1 = [[Islam]]
| value1 = 87.78
| color1 = DarkGreen
| label2 = [[Christianity]]
| value2 = 7.29
| color2 = DodgerBlue
| label3 = [[Irreligion]]
| value3 = 6.44
| color3 = Grey
| label4 = [[Folk religion]]
| value4 = 0.8
| color4 = Red
| label5 = [[Buddhism]]
| value5 = 0.4
| color5 = Gold
| label6 = Others
| value6 = 0.21
| color6 = Black
| label7 = [[Judaism]]
| value7 = 0.02
| color7 = DarkBlue
}}
[[File:Bibi Khanym Mosque in Samarkand from north.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bibi Khanym Mosque]] in [[Uzbekistan]]]]
[[Islam in Central Asia|Islam]] is the religion most common in the Central Asian Republics, [[Afghanistan]], Xinjiang, and the peripheral western regions, such as [[Bashkortostan]]. Most Central Asian Muslims are [[Sunni]], although there are sizable [[Shia]] minorities in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Tajikistan]].

[[Buddhism in Central Asia|Buddhism]] and [[Zoroastrianism]] were the major faiths in Central Asia before the arrival of Islam. Zoroastrian influence is still felt today in such celebrations as [[Nowruz]], held in all five of the Central Asian states.<ref>Christoph Marcinkowski, ''Shi'ite Identities: Community and Culture in Changing Social Contexts'' (Münster: LIT, 2010), 244. {{ISBN|9783643800497}}</ref> The [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism|transmission of Buddhism along the Silk Road]] eventually brought the religion to China.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China|last=Zürcher|first=Erik|publisher=BRILL|year=2007|isbn=9789004156043|pages=23}}</ref> Amongst the [[Turkic peoples]], [[Tengrism]] was the leading religion before Islam.<ref>Megan Rancier, ''Turkic Soundscapes: From Shamanic Voices to Hip-Hop'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 2018), 258. {{ISBN|9781351665957}}</ref> [[Tibetan Buddhism]] is most common in Tibet, Mongolia, [[Ladakh]], and the southern Russian regions of Siberia.

The form of [[Christianity]] most practiced in the region in previous centuries was [[Nestorianism]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Bosch |first=David |author-link=David Bosch |title=Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEpf6wqHcGwC |year=1991 |publisher=[[Orbis Books]] |isbn=978-1-60833-146-8 |page=204 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> but now the largest denomination is the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], with many members in Kazakhstan, where about 25% of the population of 19 million identify as Christian, 17% in Uzbekistan and 5% in Kyrgyzstan. [[Pew Research Center]] estimates indicate that in 2010, around 6 million [[Christians]] lived in Central Asian countries, the Pew Forum study finds that Kazakhstan (4.1 million) has the largest Christian population in the region, followed by Uzbekistan (710,000), Kyrgyzstan (660,000), Turkmenistan (320,000) and Tajikistan (100,000).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf|title=Global Christianity – A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population|publisher=Pew Research Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801204254/https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf|archive-date=1 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Bukharan Jews]] were once a sizable community in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, but nearly all have emigrated since the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]].

In Siberia, [[shaministic]] practices persist, including forms of [[divination]] such as [[Kumalak]].

Contact and migration with [[Han people]] from China has brought [[Confucianism]], [[Daoism]], [[Mahayana Buddhism]], and other [[Chinese Folk Religion|Chinese folk beliefs]] into the region.

Central Asia is where many integral beliefs and elements in various religious traditions of [[Judaism]], Christianity, Islam, Buddhism.<ref name=":0" />

<table class="wikitable sortable">
<tr>
<th rowspan="2">Country</th>
<th rowspan="2" data-sort-type="number">Population</th>
<th colspan="2" data-sort-type="number">Muslim</th>
<th colspan="2" data-sort-type="number">Christian</th>
<th colspan="2" data-sort-type="number">Irreligion</th>
<th colspan="2" data-sort-type="number">Folk Religion</th>
<th colspan="2" data-sort-type="number">Other Religion</th>
<th colspan="2" data-sort-type="number">Buddhist</th>
<th colspan="2" data-sort-type="number">Jewish</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Pop.</th>
<th>%</th>
<th>Pop.</th>
<th>%</th>
<th>Pop.</th>
<th>%</th>
<th>Pop.</th>
<th>%</th>
<th>Pop.</th>
<th>%</th>
<th>Pop.</th>
<th>%</th>
<th>Pop.</th>
<th>%</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>{{flag|Uzbekistan}}</td>
<td>27,440,000</td>
<td>26,534,480</td>
<td>96.70%</td>
<td>631,120</td>
<td>2.30%</td>
<td>219,520</td>
<td>0.80%</td>
<td>10,000</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>10,000</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>10,000</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>10,000</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>{{flag|Tajikistan}}</td>
<td>6,880,000</td>
<td>6,652,960</td>
<td>96.70%</td>
<td>110,080</td>
<td>1.60%</td>
<td>103,200</td>
<td>1.50%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>{{flag|Turkmenistan}}</td>
<td>5,040,000</td>
<td>4,687,200</td>
<td>93.00%</td>
<td>322,560</td>
<td>6.40%</td>
<td>25,200</td>
<td>0.50%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>&lt;0.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>{{flag|Kyrgyzstan}}</td>
<td>6,520,000</td>
<td>5,868,000</td>
<td>90.00%</td>
<td>521,600</td>
<td>8.00%</td>
<td>130,400</td>
<td>2.00%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0.00%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0.00%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0.00%</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>0.00%</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>{{flag|Kazakhstan}}</td>
<td>18,745,000</td>
<td>12,990,285</td>
<td>69.30%</td>
<td>3,130,415</td>
<td>16.70%</td>
<td>2,493,085</td>
<td>13.30%</td>
<td>20,620</td>
<td>0.10%</td>
<td>18,745</td>
<td>0.10%</td>
<td>16,870</td>
<td>0.10%</td>
<td>3,400</td>
<td>0.02%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background:#D7EEF4">
<td><strong>Total</strong></td>
<td><strong>64,625,000</strong></td>
<td><strong>55,535,690</strong></td>
<td><strong>85.94%</strong></td>
<td><strong>4,663,615</strong></td>
<td><strong>7.22%</strong></td>
<td><strong>4,158,860</strong></td>
<td><strong>6.44%</strong></td>
<td><strong>51,370</strong></td>
<td><strong>0.08%</strong></td>
<td><strong>136,105</strong></td>
<td><strong>0.21%</strong></td>
<td><strong>26,870</strong></td>
<td><strong>0.04%</strong></td>
<td><strong>10,000</strong></td>
<td><strong>0.02%</strong></td>
</tr></table>