Demographics of the Kurdish people

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Country	Estimated number		Source
Turkey	15,000,000 - 20,000,000		CIA factbook
Iran	8,500,000		CIA factbook
Iraq	5,500,000		CIA factbook
Pakistan	2,619,000 - 3,904,600		CIA factbook
Syria	1,619,000 - 1,904,600		CIA factbook
Kuwait	233,500		[1]
Azerbaijan	200,000		khrp.org
Lebanon	80,000		Kurdish Institute
Armenia	75,000		khrp.org
Georgia	40,000		khrp.org
Sub Total Asia		30,000,000 - 35,000,000
Germany	500,000 - 600,000		Kurdish Institute
France	100,000 - 120,000		Kurdish Institute
Netherlands	70,000 - 80,000		Kurdish Institute
Switzerland	60,000 - 70,000		Kurdish Institute
Belgium	50,000 - 60,000		Kurdish Institute
Austria	50,000 - 60,000		Kurdish Institute
Sweden	25,000 - 30,000		Kurdish Institute
United Kingdom	20,000 - 25,000		Kurdish Institute
Greece	20,000 - 25,000		Kurdish Institute
Denmark	8,000 - 10,000		Kurdish Institute
Norway	4,000 - 5,000		Kurdish Institute
Italy	3,000 - 4,000		Kurdish Institute
Finland	2,000 - 3,000		Kurdish Institute
Ukraine	2,088+		Demographics of Ukraine
Sub Total Europe¹		912,000 - 1,092,000
United States	15,000 - 20,000		Kurdish Institute
Canada	6,000 - 7,000		Kurdish Institute
Sub Total North America		21,800 - 27,000
Grand Total		27,006,500 - 28,809,200
1. Excluding Turkey

The exact number of Kurdish people living in the Middle East is unknown. This is due to the absence of recent statistics, the lack of extensive census analysis, and the reluctance, for political reasons, of the various governments in Kurdish-inhabited regions to give accurate figures. The fact that some Kurds have intermarried with other local ethnic groups also contributs to the uncertainty as to who can be counted as a 'Kurd'. For example, many Kurds in Turkey have adopted Turkish, moved to mainly Turkish regions of the country and assimilated to some extent, while most Kurds in Iraq have attempted to maintain their distinct identity. In addition, groups such as the Zazas (or Dimli) are sometimes counted by Kurdish organizations as Kurds, but they are a closely-related Iranian people. Both Kurdi and Zazaki languages belong to north-western Iranian Languages group.

Nonetheless, as professor Carole A. O'Leary of the American University noted, with a worldwide population between 27 and 28 million people, the Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without a separate nation-state [2].

Kurds are regarded as the fourth largest ethnicity in the Middle East after Arabs, Persians and Turks.