Editing Nomad (section)

====Sedentarization====
{{See also|Sedentism}}
From 1920 to 2008, the population of nomadic pastoral tribes slowly decreased from over a quarter of [[Iran]]'s population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bestirantravel.com/culture/history/nomads.html|title=Persian & Iranian Nomads at Best Iran Travel.com|access-date=29 April 2015|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920130312/http://www.bestirantravel.com/culture/history/nomads.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tribal pastures were nationalized during the 1960s. The National Commission of [[UNESCO]] registered the population of Iran at 21 million in 1963, of whom two million (9.5%) were nomads.<ref>{{cite journal|url=|title=Censuses of Pastoral Nomads and Some General Remarks about the Census of Nomadic Tribes of Iran in 1998 |journal=Nomadic Peoples|volume=7|issue=2|pages=24–35|access-date=|date=December 2003|last1=Moussavi-Nejad|first1=Ebrahim|doi=10.3167/082279403781826328}}</ref> Although the nomadic population of Iran has dramatically decreased in the 20th century, Iran still has one of the largest nomadic populations in the world, an estimated 1.5 million in a country of about 70 million.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-18-ft-irannomads18-story.html Iran's nomads going extinct], Los Angeles Times, February 18, 2008</ref>

In [[Kazakhstan]] where the major agricultural activity was nomadic herding,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/country/content.country/kazakhstan_672|title=National Geographic: Images of Animals, Nature, and Cultures|access-date=29 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518101036/http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/country/content.country/kazakhstan_672|archive-date=18 May 2009|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|forced collectivization]] under [[Joseph Stalin]]'s rule met with massive resistance and major losses and confiscation of livestock.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kazsociety.org.uk/events/2006/06/51.htm|title=Kazahstan Student Society in the United Kingdom|access-date=29 April 2015|archive-date=8 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808000026/http://www.kazsociety.org.uk/events/2006/06/51.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Livestock in Kazakhstan fell from 7 million cattle to 1.6 million and from 22 million sheep to 1.7 million. The resulting [[Soviet famine of 1932–1933|famine of 1931–1934]] caused some 1.5 million deaths: this represents more than 40% of the total [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] population at that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.kz/heritagenet/kz/hn-english/history_en.htm|title=General information|access-date=29 April 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304212415/http://www.unesco.kz/heritagenet/kz/hn-english/history_en.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Fulani herdsman.jpg|thumb|[[Fulani herdsmen|Fulani herdsman]] in [[Togo]]. Spread throughout West Africa, the [[Fula people|Fulani]] are the largest nomadic group in the world.]]
In the 1950s as well as the 1960s, large numbers of [[Bedouin]] throughout the Middle East started to leave the traditional, nomadic life to settle in the cities of the Middle East, especially as home ranges have shrunk and population levels have grown. Government policies in [[Egypt]] and [[Israel]], oil production in [[Libya]] and the [[Persian Gulf]], as well as a desire for improved standards of living, effectively led most Bedouin to become settled citizens of various nations, rather than stateless nomadic herders. A century ago, nomadic Bedouin still made up some 10% of the total [[Arab]] population. Today, they account for some 1% of the total.<ref>[http://www.angelfire.com/az/rescon/MEHBKPPL.html The Middle East People Groups and Their Distribution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126112213/http://www.angelfire.com/az/rescon/MEHBKPPL.html |date=2009-01-26 }}, Zeidan, David, OM-IRC, 1995</ref>

At independence in 1960, [[Mauritania]] was essentially a nomadic society. The great [[Sahel drought]]s of the early 1970s caused massive problems in a country where 85% of its inhabitants were nomadic herders. Today only 15% remain nomads.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/mauritania/60.htm Mauritania – Political Power in the Mid-1980s] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921122851/http://countrystudies.us/mauritania/60.htm |date=2011-09-21 }}, U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies</ref>

As many as 2 million nomadic [[Kuchis]] wandered over [[Afghanistan]] in the years before the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion]], and most experts agreed that by 2000 the number had fallen dramatically, perhaps by half. A severe [[drought]] had destroyed 80% of the livestock in some areas.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-30-mn-46357-story.html "Severe Drought Driving Nomads From Desert"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', June 30, 2000</ref>

[[Niger]] experienced a serious [[2005–06 Niger food crisis|food crisis in 2005]] following erratic rainfall and [[desert locust]] invasions. Nomads such as the [[Tuareg people|Tuareg]] and [[Fulani]], who make up about 20% of Niger's 12.9 million population, had been so badly hit by the Niger food crisis that their already fragile way of life is at risk.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4153804.stm Niger way of life 'under threat'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202013520/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4153804.stm |date=2018-02-02 }}, BBC News, August 16, 2005</ref> Nomads in [[Mali]] were also affected.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4132326.stm Mali's nomads face famine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224054313/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4132326.stm |date=2021-02-24 }} [[BBC News]], August 9, 2005</ref> The Fulani of West Africa are the world's largest nomadic group.<ref>{{cite news |title=West Africa's Fulani nomads fight climate change to survive |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20191205-west-africa-s-fulani-nomads-fight-climate-change-to-survive |work=France 24 |date=5 December 2019}}</ref>