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; Canada; China; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Pakistan; Tajikistan; Türkiye; Turkmenistan; United States; Uzbekistan