Demographics of Kyrgyzstan

Video Transcript

Kyrgyzstan is probably the most contentious ethnically. They have significant ethnic divides between the ethnic Kyrgyz and the ethnic Uzbeks and the Tajiks, caused by various reasons, not least of which are the separate enclaves that belong to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the southern region of Kyrgyzstan, which is where most of the ethnic unrest actually exists. It's in the southern part of the country from Osh down to Batken. The ethnic Kyrgyz problems are where the ethnicities are usually over the unclear border areas of the enclaves, and just the natural competition with the businesses and just other rivalries that exist. They used to have a much greater Russian ethnic population, but over the last how many years now since the downfall of the Soviet Union, there's been a steady and significant migration of the ethnic Russians back to Russia.

In this video, a U.S. Army civilian employee discusses the various ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan.