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-statehttp://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue4/jv6n4a5.html.

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

Kurdish-inhabited areas

References

• Estimate population of coutries of the world

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