10,786,734 (2025 est.) According to Worldmeters
Tajikistan's main ethnic group are the
Tajiks, with minorities such as the
Uzbeks and
Kyrgyz, and a small
Russian minority. Because not everyone in Tajikistan is an ethnic Tajik, the non-Tajik citizens of the country are referred to as Tajikistani. The official nationality of any person from Tajikistan is a
Tajikistani, while the ethnic Tajik majority simply call themselves
Tajik. Contemporary
Tajiks are an
Iranian people. In particular, they are descended from ancient Eastern Iranian peoples of
Central Asia, such as the
Soghdians and the
Bactrians, with an admixture of Western Iranian
Persians as well as non-Iranian peoples. Until the 20th century, people in the region used two types of distinction to identify themselves: way of life - either
nomadic or sedentary - and place of residence. By the late nineteenth century, the Tajik and
Uzbek peoples, who had lived in proximity for centuries and often used each other's languages, did not perceive themselves as two distinct nationalities. The modern labels were imposed artificially when Central Asia was divided into five Soviet republics in the 1920s.
Age structure Source: ==Vital statistics==