Kyrgyzstan People - 2023
SOURCE: 2023 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
6,122,781 (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: Kyrgyzstani(s)
adjective: Kyrgyzstani
Ethnic groups
Kyrgyz 73.8%, Uzbek 14.8%, Russian 5.1%, Dungan 1.1%, other 5.2% (includes Uyghur, Tajik, Turk, Kazakh, Tatar, Ukrainian, Korean, German) (2021 est.)
Languages
Kyrgyz (official) 71.4%, Uzbek 14.4%, Russian (official) 9%, other 5.2% (2009 est.)
major-language sample(s):
Дүйнөлүк фактылар китеби, негизги маалыматтын маанилүү булагы. (Kyrgyz)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Muslim 90% (majority Sunni), Christian 7% (Russian Orthodox 3%), other 3% (includes Jewish, Buddhist, Baha'i) (2017 est.)
Demographic profile
Kyrgyzstan is a sparsely populated country whose population is unevenly distributed. More than 50% of the population lives in or around the two cities of Bishkek and Osh and their surrounding districts, which together account for about 12% of the country’s area. Kyrgyzstan’s population continues to grow rapidly owing to its high fertility rate and the traditional preference for larger families, a low mortality rate, a growing share of women of reproductive age, and measures to support families with children. The country has a youthful age structure; over 45% of the population is under the age of 25 as of 2022. Nevertheless, Kyrgyzstan is transitioning from an agricultural society with high fertility and mortality rates to an industrial society with lower fertility and mortality rates.
As part of the USSR, Kyrgyzstan’s rapid population growth was not problematic because its needs were redistributed among the Soviet States. As an independent state, however, population growth became burdensome. International labor migration continues to serve as a safety valve that decreases pressure on the labor market and resources (healthcare, education, and pensions), while also reducing poverty through much-needed remittances. The main destinations for labor migrants are Russia and Kazakhstan, where wages are higher; almost a third of Kyrgyzstan’s working-age population migrates to Russia alone. Outmigration was most pronounced in the 1990s, after the collapse of the USSR, when ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, and Germans left Kyrgyzstan, changing the proportion of ethnic Kyrgyz in the country from barely 50% in 1992 to almost three-quarters today.
While Kyrgyzstan is a net emigration country, it does receive immigrants. The majority of immigrants are from the Commonwealth of Independent States – particularly Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan – but more recent arrivals also include persons from China, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. Chinese immigrants work primarily in construction and gold mining, while Turkish immigrants mainly work in construction, trade, education, and services. Border areas between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan experience irregular migration, but many of these migrants plan to move on to Europe.
Age structure
0-14 years: 29.54% (male 928,876/female 879,729)
15-64 years: 63.86% (male 1,914,277/female 1,995,500)
65 years and over: 6.6% (2023 est.) (male 154,684/female 249,715)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 63.5
youth dependency ratio: 56.4
elderly dependency ratio: 7.2
potential support ratio: 13.9 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 27.3 years
male: 26.1 years
female: 28.5 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
0.82% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
19.08 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
6.07 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
-4.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Population distribution
the vast majority of Kyrgyzstanis live in rural areas; densest population settlement is to the north in and around the capital, Bishkek, followed by Osh in the west; the least densely populated area is the east, southeast in the Tien Shan mountains
Urbanization
urban population: 37.8% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.05% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.105 million BISHKEK (capital) (2023)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
22.6 years (2019 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
50 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 25.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 20.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 72.63 years
male: 68.57 years
female: 76.96 years (2023 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.47 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.2 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
39.4% (2018)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 89.9% of population
total: 93.6% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 10.1% of population
total: 6.4% of population (2020 est.)
Current health expenditure
5.3% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
2.21 physicians/1,000 population (2014)
Hospital bed density
4.4 beds/1,000 population (2014)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
16.6% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 4.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.43 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 3.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 25.4% (2020 est.)
male: 48% (2020 est.)
female: 2.8% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
1.8% (2018)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
66.2% (2023 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 15: 0.3%
women married by age 18: 12.9% (2018 est.)
Education expenditures
6.2% of GDP (2020 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.5% (2018)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 14 years
male: 13 years
female: 14 years (2021)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 19.3%
male: 15.6%
female: 27.3% (2021 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Kyrgyzstan on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Kyrgyzstan 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Kyrgyzstan 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 06 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.