Affinity Bloc: Turkic Peoples

Overview: The Uzbeks are the largest ethnic group in Uzbekistan, and they make up the largest Muslim community within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a regional organization of former Soviet Republics. Ethnologue identifies two Uzbek languages. Northern Uzbek is spoken in Uzbekistan; Southern Uzbek is spoken in Afghanistan. In terms of religion, the great majority of Uzbeks are Sunni Muslims.

  -- James S. Olson, An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press (1994), pp. 706-717).

Peoples within this cluster: Uzbek, Northern; Uzbek, Southern (Afghan Uzbek)

Countries where they are found: Afghanistan; China; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Pakistan; Tajikistan; Türkiye; Turkmenistan; United States; Uzbekistan