Turk communities
Introductions to some of the Turk communities within our scope — in independent states, in stateless, indigenous and minority settings, and in diaspora.
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Map of Turk communities
Representative places of Turk communities and diasporas around the world. Choose a region, search for a city or select a point.
763 representative places
Select a point on the map, search for a city, or choose a region. Drag to move the map when zoomed in.
Points mark illustrative places of Turk communities and diasporas — not a complete survey, and not GCTCH offices or partnerships. Urmia is highlighted by design. Base map: Natural Earth 1:110m (public domain), Robinson projection; places from WGS84 coordinates.
All places, by region (763)
Anatolia & Caucasus
Iran & Middle East
Turkistan
Volga–Ural & Siberia
East Turkestan, China & Mongolia
Balkans & Eastern Europe
Diaspora
Community profiles
Listed alphabetically. The order implies no ranking or priority.
- Oghuz branchAfsharsAfşarlar / AvşarlarOne of the historic Oghuz tribes, whose confederation produced Nader Shah and the Afsharid dynasty of Iran.
- Oghuz branchAhiska (Meskhetian) TurksAhıska TürkleriA Turk community from the Meskheti region of southern Georgia, deported in 1944 and dispersed across several countries since.
- Siberian branchAltaiansAltai-Kizhi / AltaylarA Turk people of the Altai Mountains, known for a heroic epic tradition sung in the guttural kai style.
- Oghuz branchAzerbaijani TurksAzərbaycan türkləri / Azerbaycan TürkleriAn Oghuz Turk people of the South Caucasus and north-western Iran, with a classical literary tradition and celebrated mugham and ashiq music.
- Oghuz branchBalkan TurksBalkan Türkleri / Rumeli TürkleriTurk communities of south-eastern Europe, settled in the Balkans since the Ottoman period and today living in several states.
- Kipchak branchBalkarsMalqarlıla, Taulula / BalkarlarA Turk mountain people of the central Caucasus, deported in 1944 and able to return to their valleys only in 1957.
- Kipchak branchBashkirsBashqorttar / BaşkurtlarA Turk people of the southern Urals, with a heroic epic tradition, the quray flute and a long history of beekeeping and horse culture.
- Oghur branchChuvashChăvashsem / ÇuvaşlarThe Turk people of the middle Volga whose language is the last living member of the Oghur branch, heir to the language of Volga Bulgaria.
- Kipchak branchCrimean TatarsQırımtatarlar / Kırım TatarlarıThe indigenous Turk people of Crimea, whose 1944 deportation and later return shape community life to this day.
- Siberian branchDolgansDulgan / DolganlarA young Siberian Turk people of the Taymyr Peninsula, traditionally reindeer herders and hunters of the tundra and forest-tundra.
- Oghuz branchGagauzGagauzlarA predominantly Orthodox Christian Turk people of southern Moldova and the neighbouring Balkan region.
- Oghuz branchIraqi and Syrian TurkmensIrak ve Suriye TürkmenleriLong-established Turkmen communities of Iraq and Syria, many of them displaced by conflict since 2011 and 2014.
- Kipchak branchKarachaysQaraçaylıla / KaraçaylarA Turk people of the upper Kuban valleys below Mount Elbrus, deported in 1943 and allowed to return in 1957.
- Kipchak branchKaraimsKarajlar (Qaraylar) / KaraimlerA small Kipchak-speaking Turk people of Crimea, Lithuania, Ukraine and Poland, whose traditional faith is Karaism.
- Kipchak branchKarakalpaksQaraqalpaqlar / KarakalpaklarA Kipchak Turk people of the Amu Darya delta, whose homeland on the Aral Sea has been transformed by the sea’s retreat.
- Kipchak branchKazakhsQazaqtar / KazaklarA Kipchak Turk people of the steppe of Turkistan, heirs to the Kazakh Khanate and a rich tradition of nomadic music and oral poetry.
- Siberian branchKhakasTadarlar / HakaslarA Siberian Turk people of the Minusinsk Basin, known for a heroic epic tradition performed with throat singing.
- Arghu branchKhalajKhalaj / HalaçlarA Turk people of central Iran whose language preserves features lost elsewhere in the Turk language family.
- Oghuz branchKhorasan TurksHorasan TürkleriAn Oghuz Turk community of north-eastern Iran whose speech links the Azerbaijani and Turkmen worlds.
- Kipchak branchKumyksQumuqlar / KumuklarA Turk people of coastal Dagestan whose language was for centuries the common language of the north-eastern Caucasus.
- Kipchak branchKyrgyzKyrgyzdar / KırgızlarA mountain-pastoral Turk people of the Tian Shan, keepers of the Manas epic, one of the longest oral epics in the world.
- Kipchak branchNogaisNoğaylar / NogaylarHeirs of the Nogai Horde, a Turk people of the North Caucasus steppe with a rich tradition of heroic epics.
- Oghuz branchQashqaiKaşkaylar / QashqayiA Turk tribal confederation of southern Iran, long known for seasonal migration and renowned weaving.
- Siberian branchSakha (Yakut)Sakhalar / YakutlarThe northernmost Turk people, whose culture adapted horse and cattle herding to the subarctic.
- Oghuz branchSalarsSalır / SalarlarA Muslim Turk people of the upper Yellow River whose tradition traces their ancestors to Samarkand.
- Siberian branchShorsTadar, Shor / ŞorlarA Siberian Turk people of the Mountain Shoria taiga, long renowned for ironworking and for their sung heroic epics.
- Kipchak branchSiberian TatarsSeber Tatarlar / Sibirya TatarlarıThe indigenous Turk people of western Siberia, heirs to the Khanate of Sibir on the Irtysh.
- Siberian branchTofalars (Tofa)Tofa / TofalarA small Siberian Turk people of the Eastern Sayan, traditionally reindeer herders and taiga hunters.
- Oghuz branchTurkish CypriotsKıbrıslı Türkler / Kıbrıs TürkleriThe Turkish-speaking community of Cyprus, whose presence on the island dates from the Ottoman conquest of 1570–1571.
- Oghuz branchTurkmensTürkmenlerAn Oghuz Turk people of the Karakum desert and its oases, renowned for their carpets, Akhal-Teke horses and the poetry of Magtymguly.
- Oghuz branchTurks of TürkiyeTürkler / Türkiye TürkleriThe Turk people of Anatolia and Thrace, heirs to the Seljuk and Ottoman worlds and the founders of the Republic of Türkiye.
- Siberian branchTuvansTyvalar / TuvalarA Turk people of the upper Yenisei, famed for khoomei throat singing and a pastoral way of life.
- Kipchak branchUrumsUrumlarTurk-speaking Orthodox Christian communities of Greek identity, resettled from Crimea to the Azov coast in 1778–1780, with a separate Urum community in Georgia.
- Karluk branchUyghursUyghurlar / UygurlarA Turk people of the Tarim and Turpan basins with a long urban, literary and musical heritage.
- Karluk branchUzbeksOʻzbeklar / ÖzbeklerA Karluk Turk people of the great oasis cities of Turkistan — Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva — and heirs to the Chagatai literary tradition.
- Kipchak branchVolga TatarsTatarlar / Kazan TatarlarıThe Turk people of the middle Volga, heirs to Volga Bulgaria and the Kazan Khanate, and a centre of modern Turk reform thought.
- Siberian branchWestern Yugurs (Yellow Uyghurs)Sarıg Yoğur / Sarı UygurlarA small Buddhist Turk people of the Gansu corridor, linked by history to the Uyghurs of Ganzhou.
These profiles are short, sourced introductions written by GCTCH, not the communities’ own voice. Community-led material will be added with explicit consent. Corrections are welcome at info@gctch.org.
Where Turk communities live
Countries and regions where Turk communities and peoples of Turk descent live, listed alphabetically. Diaspora communities also live across Europe, North America and beyond.
| Country or region | Main Turk communities |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Uzbeks and Turkmens, especially in the north; also Kyrgyz |
| Azerbaijan | Azerbaijani Turks |
| Bulgaria | Turks, especially in the north-east and the south |
| China | Uyghurs, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz, especially in East Turkestan; also Salars and Yugurs (Yellow Uyghurs) |
| Cyprus | Turkish Cypriots, mainly in the north of the island |
| Georgia | Azerbaijani (Borchali) Turks, especially in Kvemo Kartli — including Marneuli and Qaracala; Ahiska (Meskhetian) Turks, linked to the historic Ahiska region |
| Greece | Turks, especially in Western Thrace; Turkish communities on Rhodes and Kos |
| Iran | Azerbaijani Turks, Afshars, Qashqai, Turkmens, Khorasani Turks and Khalaj |
| Iraq | Iraqi Turkmens, especially in and around Kirkuk, Erbil and Tal Afar |
| Kazakhstan | Kazakhs; also Uzbeks, Uyghurs, Tatars and other communities |
| Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz; also Uzbeks and other communities |
| Moldova | Gagauz, especially in Gagauzia |
| Mongolia | Kazakhs, especially in Bayan-Ölgii; also Tuvan communities |
| North Macedonia and Kosovo | Balkan Turks |
| Romania | Turks and Tatars, especially in Dobruja |
| Russia — North Caucasus | Kumyks, Karachays, Balkars and Nogais |
| Russia — Siberia and the north-east | Sakha (Yakuts), Tuvans, Altai, Khakas, Shors, Dolgans, Tofalars and Siberian Tatars |
| Russia — Volga–Ural | Tatars in Tatarstan, Bashkirs in Bashkortostan, Chuvash in Chuvashia |
| Syria | Syrian Turkmens, especially around Aleppo, Latakia, Hama and Homs |
| Tajikistan | Uzbeks; also Kyrgyz and Turkmens |
| Türkiye | Turks of Türkiye; also Azerbaijani, Tatar, Uyghur and other Turk communities |
| Turkmenistan | Turkmens; also Uzbeks and Kazakhs |
| Ukraine, especially Crimea | Crimean Tatars; also Karaites and Urums |
| Uzbekistan | Uzbeks and Karakalpaks; also Kazakhs and Turkmens |
The family of Turk languages
Turk languages are usually grouped into a few branches. Classifications vary between scholars; this is a common simplified overview.
| Branch | Language |
|---|---|
| OghuzSouth-western | Afshar, Azerbaijani, Gagauz, Khorasani Turkish, Qashqai, Salar, Turkish, Turkmen, Iraqi and Syrian Turkmen dialects |
| KipchakNorth-western | Bashkir, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Karaim, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kumyk, Kyrgyz, Nogai, Siberian Tatar, Tatar |
| KarlukSouth-eastern | Uyghur, Uzbek |
| SiberianNorth-eastern | Altai, Dolgan, Khakas, Sakha (Yakut), Shor, Tofa, Tuvan, Western Yugur |
| OghurVolga | Chuvash |
| ArghuCentral Iran | Khalaj |
States whose state language is a Turk language
Turk communities also live as minorities, Indigenous peoples and diasporas in many other countries.
- Azerbaijan
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Türkiye
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan