Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire

Descendants of Ottoman-Turkish settlers living outside of the modern borders of Turkey

Ottoman Empire

Alternative names| Ottoman civilization
Geographical range| Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, North Africa
Dates| 1299 – 1922
Major sites| Constantinople, Smyrna, Adrianople
Characteristics| Throughout the centuries of Ottoman rule, hundreds of thousands of Turkish settlers were sent to various regions of the Ottomans, including regions of the Balkans, Caucasus, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Cyprus, Levant and North Africa

The  Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire refers to ethnic Turks, who are the descendants of Ottoman-Turkish settlers from Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, living outside of the modern borders of the Republic of Turkey and in the independent states which were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. Thus, they are not considered part of Turkey's modern diaspora, rather, due to living for centuries in their respective regions (and for centuries under Turkish rule), they are now considered "natives" or "locals" as they have been living in these countries prior to the independence and establishment of the modern-nation states.

Today, whilst the Turkish people form a majority in the Republic of Turkey and Northern Cyprus, they also form one of the "Two Communities" in the Republic of Cyprus, as well as significant minorities in the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Levant, the Middle East and North Africa. Consequently, the Turkish ethnicity and/or language is officially recognised under the constitutional law of several states, particularly in the Balkans.

## Turkish communities

[edit]

### Cyprus

[edit]

According to the 1960 Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus (Articles 2 and 3) the Turkish Cypriots are recognised as one of the "Two Communities" of the Republic (alongside the Greek Cypriots). Hence, legally, they have equal power-sharing rights with the Greek Cypriots and are not defined as a "minority group", despite being fewer in numbers (numbering 1,128 in the south of the island in the 2011 census[1]). The Turkish language is an official language of the republic, alongside the Greek language.[2][3] However, due to the Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, followed by the Greek-led 1974 Cypriot coup d'état and then the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the northern half of the island was occupied by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots declared their own "state" - the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Turkey - in 1983. Today it is partly populated by Turkish Cypriots and mostly by Turkish settlers. According to the 2011 "TRNC" census, the population of Northern Cyprus was 286,257.[4] Other estimates suggests that there is between 300,000-500,000 Turkish Cypriots and Turkish settlers living in the north of the island.[5][6]

## Turkish minorities

[edit]

### Balkans

[edit]

Country | Census figures | Alternate estimates | Legal recognition | Further information | Lists of Turks by country

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Bosnia and Herzegovina | 267 (1991 census)[7] | 50,000[8][9] | The Turkish language is officially recognized as a minority language, in accordance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, under Article 2, paragraph 2, of the 2010 ratification.[10] | Turks in Bosnia and Herzegovina | List of Bosnian Turks
Bulgaria | 588,318 or 8.8% of Bulgaria's population (2011 census)[11] | 750,000[8]-800,000[12]: 170 | The Bulgarian constitution of 1991 does not mention any ethnic minorities and the Bulgarian language is the sole official language of the State. However, in accordance with Article 36(2), the Turkish minority has the right to study their own language alongside the compulsory study of the Bulgarian language. Moreover, under Article 54(1), the Turkish minority have the right to "develop their culture in accordance with his ethnic identification".[13] | Turks in Bulgaria | List of Bulgarian Turks
Croatia | 367 (2011 Croatian census)[14] | 2,000[15] | The Turks are officially recognised as a minority ethnic group, in accordance with the 2010 Constitution of Croatia.[16] | Turks in Croatia | List of Croatian Turks
Greece | 85,945 or 1.2% of Greece's population (1951 census)[17] | 150,000[8]
(80,000[18] to 130,000 in Western Thrace,[19][20] 10,000[21] to 15,000 in Athens,[22] 5,000 in Rhodes and Kos,[23] and 5,000 in Thessaloniki)[22] | The Turks of Western Thrace have protected status to practice their religion and use the Turkish language, in accordance with the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. However, the other sizeable Turkish minorities in Greece have no official recognition.[24] | Turks in Greece |
Kosovo | 18,738 or 1.1% of Kosovo's population (2011 Kosovar census)[25] | 30,000[26] to 50,000[8] | The Turkish language is recognized as an official language in the municipalities of Prizren and Mamuša and has minority status in Gjilan, Pristina, Vučitrn, and Mitrovica.[27] | Turks in Kosovo | List of Kosovar Turks
North Macedonia | 77,959 or 3.85% of North Macedonia's population (2002 census)[28] | 170,000-200,000[29][30] | Initially the 1988 draft constitution spoke of the "state of the Macedonian people and the Albanian and Turkish minority". Once the 1991 constitution came into force the Turkish language was used officially where Turks formed a majority in the Centar Župa Municipality and the Plasnica Municipality. Since the 2001 amendment to the constitution, the Turkish language is officially used where Turks form at least 20% of the population and hence it is also an official language of Mavrovo and Rostuša.[31] | Turks in North Macedonia | List of Turks in North Macedonia
Montenegro | 104 (2011 Montenegrin census).[32] | N/A | N/A | Turks in Montenegro |
Romania | 28,226 or 0.15% of Romania's population (2011 Romanian census)[33] | 55,000[34] to 80,000[35] | The Turkish language is officially recognized as a minority language, in accordance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, under Part III of the 2007 ratification.[10] | Turks in Romania | List of Romanian Turks
Serbia | 647 (2011 Serbian census)[36] | N/A | N/A | Turks in Serbia |

### Caucasus

[edit]

Country | Census figures | Alternate estimates | Legal recognition | Further information | Lists of Turks by country

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Abkhazia | 731 (2011 Abkhazian census)[37] | 15,000[38] | N/A | Turks in Abkhazia |
Azerbaijan | Turkish minority N/A.
The 2009 Azeri census recorded 38,000 Turks;[39] however, it does not distinguish between the Turkish minority (descendants of Ottoman settlers who remained in Azerbaijan), Meskhetian Turks who arrived after 1944, and recent Turkish arrivals. | 19,000[40]
(Descendants of Ottomans settlers who remained in Azerbaijan only. This does not include the much larger Meskhetian Turkish and mainland Turkish arrivals who form a part of the diaspora) | N/A | Turks in Azerbaijan |
Georgia | *Pre-World War II:
137,921 (1926 USSR Census)[41]
The Turkish population was not recorded in later censuses; nonetheless, it is estimated that 200,000 Turks from the Meskheti region of Georgia were deported to Central Asia in 1944.[41]

*Post-World War II:
The Meskhetian Turkish population in the USSR was published for the first in the 1970 census. However, by this point, the Turkish minority in Georgia had already diminished to several hundred due to the forced deportation of 1944.[41] There were 853 Turks in Georgia in 1970,[42] 917 in 1979,[43] and 1,375 in 1989.[44]

*Post-USSR:
Although a small number has returned to Georgia, they have not been recorded in the 2002 Georgian census. | 1,500[45][46] | N/A | Meskhetian Turks |

### Levant

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In the Levant the Turks are scattered throughout the region. In Iraq and Syria the Turkish minorities are commonly referred to as "Turkmen", "Turkman" and "Turcoman"; these terms have historically been used to designate Turkic (Oghuz) speakers in Arab areas, or Sunni Muslims in Shitte areas.[47] Indeed, today, the majority of Iraqi Turkmen and Syrian Turkmen are the descendants of Ottoman Turkish settlers.[48][49][50][51][52] and, therefore, share close cultural and linguistic ties with Turkey, particularly the Anatolian region.[53][51] There is also Turkish minorities located in Jordan (Turks in Jordan) and Lebanon (Turks in Lebanon). In Lebanon, they live mainly in the villages of Aydamun and Kouachra in the Akkar District, as well as in Baalbek, Beirut, and Tripoli.

Country | Census figures | Alternate estimates | Legal recognition | Further information | Lists of Turks by country

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Iraq | 567,000 or 9% of the total Iraqi population (1957 census)[50][54][55][56] | 3,000,000 (Iraqi Ministry of Planning estimate, 2013)[57][58] | In 1925 the Turks were recognised as a constitutive entity of Iraq, alongside the Arabs and Kurds, however, the minority were later denied this status.[59]

In 1997 the Iraqi Turkoman Congress adopted a Declaration of Principles, Article Three of which states the following: "The official written language of the Turkomans is Istanbul Turkish, and its alphabet is the new Latin alphabet."[60][61] | Iraqi Turkmens | List of Iraqi Turks
Israel | N/A | N/A | N/A | Turks in Israel |
Jordan | N/A | Turkish minority:

Palestinian-Turkish refugees:
55,000 in Irbid[62]
5,000 near Amman[62]
5,000 in El-Sahne[62]
3,000 in El-Reyyan[62]
2,500 in El-Bakaa[62]
1,500 in El-Zerkaa[62]
1,500 in Sahab[62] | N/A | Turks in Jordan | List of Jordanian Turks
Lebanon | N/A | 80,000[63]
(plus 125,000 to 150,000 Syrian Turkmen refugees[64]) | N/A | Turks in Lebanon | List of Lebanese Turks
Palestine | N/A | est. West Bank: 35,000 to 40,000[65]
| N/A | Turks in Palestine |
Syria | N/A | 500,000-3.5 million[66][67][68][69] | N/A | Syrian Turkmens | List of Syrian Turks

### North Africa

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In North Africa there is still a strong Turkish presence in the Maghreb, particularly in Algeria[70][71][72] Libya,[73][74][75] and Tunisia[70][76] (see Algerian Turks, Libyan Turks, and Tunisian Turks). They live mainly in the coastal cities (such as in Algiers, Constantine, Oran and Tlemcen in Algeria; Misurata and Tripoli in Libya; and Djerba, Hammamet, Mahdia, and Tunis in Tunisia). In these regions, people of partial Turkish origin have historically been referred to as Kouloughlis (Turkish: kuloğlu) due to their mixed Turkish and central Maghrebi blood.[77][78][79] Consequently, the terms "Turks" and "Kouloughlis" have traditionally been used to distinguish between those of full and partial Turkish ancestry.[80] In addition, there is also a notable Turkish minority in Egypt. Prior to the Egyptian revolution in 1919, the ruling and upper classes were mainly Turkish, or of Turkish descent, which was part of the heritage from the Ottoman rule of Egypt.[81]

Country | Census figures | Alternate estimates | Legal recognition | Further information | Lists of Turks by country

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Algeria | N/A | Approximately 5% of Algeria's population[82] estimates: 600,000 to 2 million[83][82][84][85]
| N/A | Turks in Algeria | List of Algerian Turks
Egypt | N/A | 1.5 million (including 150,000 in Arish)[86]
plus 100,000 Cretan Turks[87] | N/A | Turks in Egypt | List of Egyptian Turks
Libya | 35,062 or 4.7% of Libya's population (1936 census)[88]
| Approximately 350.000 today based on official data from the 1936 census.
Among those 100,000 Cretan Turks[87] | N/A | Turks in Libya | List of Libyan Turks
Tunisia | N/A | Between approximately 5% up to 17% of Tunisia's population[89]
estimates: 500,000[90]-2,000,000[91] | N/A | Turks in Tunisia | List of Tunisian Turks

### Other countries

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Country | Census figures | Alternate estimates | Legal recognition | Further information | Lists of Turks by country

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Saudi Arabia | N/A | 200,000[86] | N/A | Turks in Saudi Arabia | List of Saudi Arabian Turks
Yemen | N/A | 10,000 to 100,000[92] or more than 200,000[86] | N/A | Turks in Yemen | List of Yemeni Turks

## See also

[edit]

* Misak-ı Millî
* Muhacir
* Balkan Turks
* Turks in Europe

## References and notes

[edit]

1. ^ Republic of Cyprus Statistics Service (2011). "Population Enumerated with Cypriot Citizenship, By Ethnic/Religious Group, Age and Sex (1.10.2001)". Retrieved 2016-04-26.
2. ^ Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus. "The Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-04-26. "Article 1...the Greek and the Turkish Communities of Cyprus respectively..."
3. ^ Hajioannou, Xenia; Tsiplakou, Stavroula (2016), "Language policy and language planning in Cyprus", in Kaplan, Robert B.; Baldauf, Richard B.; Kamwangamalu, Nkonko (eds.), Language Planning in Europe: Cyprus, Iceland and Luxembourg, Routledge, p. 81, ISBN 978-1136872808, "The Cyprus Constitution (Articles 2 and 3) recognizes two communities (Greek and Turkish) and three minority religious groups: the Maronites, who belong to the Eastern Catholic Church; the Armenian Cypriots; and the Latins, who are Roman Catholics of European or Levantine descent."
4. ^ TRNC State Planning Organization (2011). "Nüfus ve Konut Sayımı" (PDF). p. 4.
5. ^ International Crisis Group (2010). "CYPRUS: BRIDGING THE PROPERTY DIVIDE". International Crisis Group. p. 2\. Archived from the original on 2011-11-03.
6. ^ Cole 2011, 95.
7. ^ Bosnia and Herzegovina Federal Office of Statistics. "POPULATION GROUPED ACCORDING TO ETHNICITY, BY CENSUSES 1961 - 1991". Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
8. ^ a b c d Cole, Jeffrey (2011), Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, pp. 367–368, ISBN 978-1-59884-302-6, "Today Turkish/Muslim populations residing in the former European Turkey approximately amounts to 1.3 million, with roughly 50,000 in Bosnia- Herzegovina, 50,000 in Kosovo, 55,000 in Romania, 150,000 in Greece, 200,000 in the North Macedonia, 750,000 in Bulgaria, and the rest living in various Balkan countries. This estimate does not included those citizens of Turkey who work and reside in the Balkans..."
9. ^ Minahan, James (1998), Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 45, ISBN 0313306109, "Turk (Rumelian Turk) estimated at less than 1% of the population, numbering about 50,000. The Turks of Bosnia are a distinct people, the descendants of Anatolian Turks settled in the region during the Ottoman era."
10. ^ a b Council of Europe. "List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148". Retrieved 2013-12-21.
11. ^ National Statistics Institute of Bulgaria. "2001 census, population by ethnic group".
12. ^ Bokova, Irena (2010), "Reconstructions of Identities: Regional vs. National or Dynamics of Cultural Relations", in Ruegg, François; Boscoboinik, Andrea (eds.), From Palermo to Penang: A Journey Into Political Anthropology, LIT Verlag Münster, pp. 167–178, ISBN 978-3643800626
13. ^ Schwartz, Herman (2002), The Struggle for Constitutional Justice in Post-Communist Europe, University of Chicago Press, p. 184, ISBN 0226741966
14. ^ "Stanovništvo prema narodnosti, popisi 1971. - 2011" (in Croatian). Retrieved 2015-11-22.
15. ^ Zaman. "Altepe'den Hırvat Müslümanlara moral". Retrieved 2011-09-09.
16. ^ Anita Skelin Horvat. "Language Policy in Istria, Croatia –Legislation Regarding Minority Language Use" (PDF) (in Bulgarian). p. 51. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
17. ^ Tsitselikis, Konstantinos (2012), Old and New Islam in Greece: From Historical Minorities to Immigrant Newcomers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, p. 569, ISBN 978-9004221529
18. ^ "Demographics of Greece". European Union National Languages. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
19. ^ Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (2009), "Western Thrace Turkish Minority" (PDF), www.pekem.org, Culture and Education Foundation of Western Thrace Minority, p. 2, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-27
20. ^ Ergener, Rashid; Ergener, Resit (2002), About Turkey: Geography, Economy, Politics, Religion, and Culture, Pilgrims Process, p. 106, ISBN 0-9710609-6-7
21. ^ Madianou, Mirca (2005), Mediating the nation: news, audiences and the politics of identity, Routledge Cavendish, pp. 36–37, ISBN 1-84472-028-4
22. ^ a b Pettifer, James; Nazarko, Mentor (2007), Strengthening Religious Tolerance for a Secure Civil Society in Albania and the Southern Balkans, IOS Press, p. 68, ISBN 978-1-58603-779-6
23. ^ Clogg, Richard (2002), Minorities in Greece, Hurst & Co. Publishers, p. 84, ISBN 1-85065-706-8
24. ^ Trudgill, Peter; Schreier, Daniel (2006), "Greece and Cyprus / Griechenland und Zypern", in Ulrich, Ammon (ed.), Sociolinguistics / Soziolinguistik, Walter de Gruyter, p. 1886, ISBN 3110199874
25. ^ European Centre for Minority Issues Kosovo. "Minority Communities in the 2011 Kosovo Census Results: Analysis and Recommendations" (PDF). p. 4\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-01-03. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
26. ^ OSCE (2010), "Community Profile: Kosovo Turks", Kosovo Communities Profile, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, "Approximately 30,000 Kosovo Turks live in Kosovo today, while up to 250,000 people from different Kosovo communities speak or at least understand the Turkish language."
27. ^ European Centre for Minority Issues Kosovo. "Community Profile: Turkish Community" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
28. ^ State Statistical Office of North Macedonia (2005), Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002 (PDF), North Macedonia — State Statistical Office, p. 34
29. ^ Knowlton, MaryLee (2005), Macedonia, Marshall Cavendish, p. 66, ISBN 0-7614-1854-7, "The Turks are the second largest national minority in North Macedonia. Like other ethnic groups, they claim higher numbers than the census shows, somewhere between 170,000 and 200,000. The government estimates them at around 100,000."
30. ^ Abrahams, Fred (1996), A Threat to "Stability": Human Rights Violations in Macedonia, Human Rights Watch, p. 53, ISBN 1-56432-170-3
31. ^ Dzankic, Jelena (2016), Citizenship in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro: Effects of Statehood and Identity Challenges, Routledge, p. 81, ISBN 978-1317165798
32. ^ Statistical Office of Montenegro. "Population of Montenegro by sex, type of settlement, etnicity, religion and mother tongue, per municipalities" (PDF). p. 7. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
33. ^ National Institute of Statistics (2011), Comunicat de presă privind rezultatele provizorii ale Recensământului Populaţiei şi Locuinţelor – 2011 (PDF), Romania-National Institute of Statistics, p. 10
34. ^ Phinnemore, David (2006), The EU and Romania: Great Expectations, The Federal Trust for Education & Research, p. 157, ISBN 1-903403-78-2, "Today, there are around 55,000 Turks living in Romania and they are represented as a minority in parliament."
35. ^ Constantin, Daniela L.; Goschin, Zizi; Dragusin, Mariana (2008), "Ethnic entrepreneurship as an integration factor in civil society and a gate to religious tolerance. A spotlight on Turkish entrepreneurs in Romania", Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 7 (20): 59, "The significant Turkish population living in Romania (nearly 80,000 members)."
36. ^ "Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији: Становништво према националној припадности - "Остали" етничке заједнице са мање од 2000 припадника и двојако изјашњени" (PDF).
37. ^ "Abkhazia Population Censuses (1886-2011)". Retrieved 2015-11-22.
38. ^ Bul Turk. "Abhazya'da Yaşayan Osmanlı Türkleri ilgi bekliyor". Retrieved 2010-05-12.
39. ^ The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. "Population by ethnic groups". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
40. ^ Minahan, James (1998), Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 19, ISBN 0313306109, "...numbering about 19,000. The Turks are the remnant of a larger Turkish population that has mostly assimilated into Azeri culture since the seventeenth century, aided by the similarity between the Turkish and Azeri languages and cultures. Many of the Turks came to the region when Azerbaijan formed part of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. Unlike the majority of the Azeris, the Turks are mostly Sunni Muslim."
41. ^ a b c Zisserman-Brodsky, Dina (2003), "The Relevant Nationalities-Basic Facts", Constructing Ethnopolitics in the Soviet Union: Samizdat, Deprivation and the Rise of Ethnic Nationalism, Pelgrave Macmillan, p. 214, ISBN 1403973628
42. ^ Демоскоп Weekly. "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1970 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Retrieved 2009-11-10.
43. ^ Демоскоп Weekly. "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Retrieved 2009-11-10.
44. ^ Демоскоп Weekly. "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР". Retrieved 2009-11-10.
45. ^ Al Jazeera (2014). "Ahıska Türklerinin 70 yıllık sürgünü". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2016-07-05.
46. ^ Aydıngün, Ayşegül; Harding, Çiğdem Balım; Hoover, Matthew; Kuznetsov, Igor; Swerdlow, Steve (2006), "Meskhetian Turks: An Introduction to their History, Culture, and Resettlement Experiences" (PDF), www.cal.org, Center for Applied Linguistics, pp. 13–14, archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-14
47. ^ Peyrouse, Sebastien (2015), Turkmenistan: Strategies of Power, Dilemmas of Development, Routledge, p. 62, ISBN 978-0230115521, "Many Turkic peoples who have lived for centuries in the Middle East have been called Turkmen, Turkman, and Turkoman without being seen a part of the Turkmen nation in the Turkmenistani meaning of the term... The majority of "Turkmen" in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey have been established there for several centuries and have no relationship with contemporary Turkmenistan. "Turkmen" is often used to designate Turkic-speakers in Arab areas, or Sunnis in Shitte areas. In this case, "Oghuz" more accurately identifies the common genealogical and linguistic ties."
48. ^ Taylor, Scott (2004), Among the Others: Encounters with the Forgotten Turkmen of Iraq, Esprit de Corps, p. 31, ISBN 1-895896-26-6, "The largest number of Turkmen immigrants followed the army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent when he conquered all of Iraq in 1535. Throughout their reign, the Ottomans encouraged the settlement of immigrant Turkmen along the loosely formed boundary that divided Arab and Kurdish settlements in northern Iraq."
49. ^ Jawhar, Raber Tal'at (2010), "The Iraqi Turkmen Front", in Catusse, Myriam; Karam, Karam (eds.), Returning to Political Parties?, The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, pp. 313–328, ISBN 978-1-886604-75-9, "There's a strong conflict of opinions regarding the origins of Iraqi Turkmen, however, it is certain that they settled down during the Ottoman rule in the northwest of Mosul, whence they spread to eastern Baghdad. Once there, they became high ranked officers, experts, traders, and executives in residential agglomerations lined up along the vast, fertile plains, and mingled with Kurds, Assyrians, Arabs, and other confessions. With the creation of the new Iraqi state in 1921, Iraqi Turkmen managed to maintain their socioeconomic status."
50. ^ a b International Crisis Group (2008), Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation?, International Crisis Group, archived from the original on 12 January 2011, "Turkomans are descendents of Ottoman Empire-era soldiers, traders and civil servants... The 1957 census, Iraq's last reliable count before the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958, put the country's population at 6,300,000 and the Turkoman population at 567,000, about 9 per cent...Subsequent censuses, in 1967, 1977, 1987 and 1997, are all considered highly problematic, due to suspicions of regime manipulation."
51. ^ a b The New York Times (2015). "Who Are the Turkmens of Syria?". The New York Times. "In the context of Syria, though, the term ["Turkmen"] is used somewhat differently, to refer mainly to people of Turkish heritage whose families migrated to Syria from Anatolia during the centuries of the Ottoman period — and thus would be closer kin to the Turks of Turkey than to the Turkmens of Central Asia...Q. How many are there? A. No reliable figures are available, and estimates on the number of Turkmens in Syria and nearby countries vary widely, from the hundreds of thousands up to 3 million or more."
52. ^ Öztürkmen, Ali; Duman, Bilgay; Orhan, Oytun (2015), "Suriye'de Değişimin Ortaya Çıkardığı Toplum: Suriye Türkmenleri" (PDF), Ortadoğu Stratejik Araştırmalar Merkezi, 83: 5, "Yavuz Sultan Selim, 1516 yılında Mercidabık'ta Memlukluları yenerek bugünkü Suriye topraklarını Osmanlılara bağlamıştır. 1516'dan sonra yönetimi Osmanlı Devleti'ne geçen bölge 1918 yılına kadar kesintisiz olarak 402 yıl boyunca Türklerin hakimiyeti altında kalmıştır. Bu dönemde Suriye'de Türkmen yerleşimi artarak devam etmiş ve bölgede önemli bir Türk nüfusu oluşmuştur...Suriye'de Türkçe konuşan Türkmen sayısının yaklaşık bir buçuk milyon, Türkçeyi unutmuş Türkmenlerle beraber sayının 3,5 milyon civarında olduğu belirtilmektedir."
53. ^ BBC (June 18, 2004). "Who's who in Iraq: Turkmen". Retrieved 2011-11-23. "The predominantly Muslim Turkmen are an ethnic group with close cultural and linguistic ties to Anatolia in Turkey."
54. ^ Knights, Michael (2004), Operation Iraqi Freedom And The New Iraq: Insights And Forecasts, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, p. 262, ISBN 0944029930, "The 1957 Iraqi census — the last in which the Turkmens were permitted to register — counted 567,000 Turkmens".
55. ^ Taylor, Scott (2004), Among the Others: Encounters with the Forgotten Turkmen of Iraq, Esprit de Corps, ISBN 1-895896-26-6, "According to the second census of 1958, the Turkmen registry stood at 567,000...if the Turkmen simply kept pace with the rest of Iraq's birthrate, then they would now account for approximately 2,080,000 of the present 25 million inhabitants. Many Turkmen argue that their birthrate actually exceeds that of most of the other Iraqi ethnic groups. One need only visit the children-filled streets of Tal Afar to believe their claim."
56. ^ Güçlü, Yücel (2007), Who Owns Kirkuk? The Turkoman Case (PDF), Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2007, p. 79, "The last reliable census in Iraqi - and the only one in which participants could declare their mother tongue - was in 1957. It found that Turkomans were the third largest ethnicity in Iraq, after Arabs and Kurds. The Turkomans numbered 567,000 out of a total population of 6,300,000."
57. ^ Bassem, Wassim (2016). "Iraq's Turkmens call for independent province". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2016-10-17. "Turkmens are a mix of Sunnis and Shiites and are the third-largest ethnicity in Iraq after Arabs and Kurds, numbering around 3 million out of the total population of about 34.7 million, according to 2013 data from the Iraqi Ministry of Planning."
58. ^ Triana, María (2017), Managing Diversity in Organizations: A Global Perspective, Taylor & Francis, p. 168, ISBN 978-1317423683, "Turkmen, Iraqi citizens of Turkish origin, are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq after Arabs and Kurds, and they are said to number about 3 million of Iraq's 34.7 million citizens according to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning."
59. ^ Stansfield, Gareth (2013). Iraq: People, History, Politics. John Wiley & Sons. p. 72\. ISBN 978-0745656212.
60. ^ Türkmeneli İşbirliği ve Kültür Vakfı. "Declaration of Principles of the (Iraqi?) Turkman Congress". Retrieved 2011-11-25.
61. ^ Nissman, David (5 March 1999), "The Iraqi Turkomans: Who They Are and What They Want", Iraq Report, 2 (9), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
62. ^ a b c d e f g El-Hatip, Alyaa (2014), "Filistin Türkmenlerinin Genel Durumu", Ortadoğu Türkmenlerİ Sempozyumu, ORSAM, p. 96
63. ^ Al-Akhbar. "Lebanese Turks Seek Political and Social Recognition". Retrieved 2012-03-02.
64. ^ Ahmed, Yusra (2015), Syrian Turkmen refugees face double suffering in Lebanon, Zaman Al Wasl, retrieved 11 October 2016
65. ^ El-Hatip, Alyaa (2014), "Filistin Türkmenlerinin Genel Durumu", Ortadoğu Türkmenlerİ Sempozyumu, ORSAM, p. 95, "Batı Şaria Türkmenlerinin sayısı 35-40 bini bulmaktadır."
66. ^ BBC (2015). "Who are the Turkmen in Syria?". BBC News. "There are no reliable population figures, but they are estimated to number between about half a million and 3.5 million."
67. ^ Enab Baladi (2015). "تركمان سوريا والعودة إلى الجذور". "رغم غياب الإحصائيات الدقيقة لأعداد التركمان في سوريا، إلى أن أعدادهم تقدر ما بين 750 ألف إلى مليون ونصف تركماني، يتركز معظمهم في المناطق الشمالية مثل حلب، اللاذقية، حمص وحماة، بالإضافة إلى دمشق."
68. ^ Khalifa, Mustafa (2013), "The impossible partition of Syria", Arab Reform Initiative: 4, "Turkmen are the third largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 4-5% of the population. Some estimations indicate that they are the second biggest group, outnumbering Kurds, drawing on the fact that Turkmen are divided into two groups: the rural Turkmen who make up 30% of the Turkmen in Syria and who have kept their mother tongue, and the urban Turkmen who have become Arabised and no longer speak their mother language."
69. ^ BBC Arabic (2015). "من هم التركمان في سوريا ؟". "وليست هناك إحصائيات دقيقة عن عدد التركمان ، لكن يقدر عددهم بين 1.5 إلى 3.5 مليون ."
70. ^ a b Current Notes on International Affairs, vol. 25, Department of Foreign Affairs (Australia), 1954, p. 613, "In Algeria and Tunisia, however, the Arab and Berber elements have become thoroughly mixed, with an added strong Turkish admixture."
71. ^ Algeria: Post Report, Foreign Service Series 256, U.S. Department of State (9209), 1984, p. 1, "Algeria's population, a mixture of Arab, Berber, and Turkish in origin, numbers nearly 21 million and is almost totally Moslem."
72. ^ Rajewski, Brian (1998), Africa, Volume 1: Cities of the World: A Compilation of Current Information on Cultural, Geographical, and Political Conditions in the Countries and Cities of Six Continents, Gale Research International, p. 10, ISBN 081037692X, "Algeria's population, a mixture of Arab, Berber, and Turkish in origin, numbered approximately 29 million in 1995, and is almost totally Muslim."
73. ^ Malcolm, Peter; Losleben, Elizabeth (2004), Libya, Marshall Cavendish, p. 62, "There are some Libyans who think of themselves as Turkish, or descendants of Turkish soldiers who settled in the area in the days of the Ottoman Empire."
74. ^ Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif (2011), Making of Modern Libya, The: State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance, Second Edition, vol. 10, SUNY Press, p. 44, ISBN 978-1438428932, "The majority of the population came from Turkish, Arab, Berber, or black backgrounds,...Some inhabitants, like the Cologhli, were descendants of the old Turkish ruling class"
75. ^ "Libya", The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. 10, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1983, pp. 878, ISBN 085229400X, "The population of the west is far more cosmopolitan than that of the east and includes a higher proportion of people with Berber, Negro, and Turkish origins."
76. ^ Focus of Tunisia, vol. 115, The Rotarian, 1969, p. 56, "The population [of Tunisia]...is made up mostly of people of Arab, Berber, and Turkish descent"
77. ^ Stone, Martin (1997), The Agony of Algeria, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, p. 29, ISBN 1-85065-177-9.
78. ^ Milli Gazete. "Levanten Türkler". Archived from the original on 2010-02-23. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
79. ^ Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif (1994), The Making of Modern Libya: State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance (Print), Albany, N.Y: SUNY Press, p. 189, ISBN 0791417611, "Cologhli or Kolughli. from Turkish Kolughlu, descendants of intermarriage between Turkish troops and local North African women"
80. ^ Miltoun, Francis (1985), The spell of Algeria and Tunisia, Darf Publishers, p. 129, ISBN 1850770603, "Throughout North Africa, from Oran to Tunis, one encounters everywhere, in the town as in the country, the distinct traits which mark the seven races which make up the native population: the Moors, the Berbers, the Arabs, the Negreos, the Jews, the Turks and the Kouloughlis… descendants of Turks and Arab women."
81. ^ Abdelrazek, Amal Talaat (2007), Contemporary Arab American women writers: hyphenated identities and border crossings, Cambria Press, p. 37, ISBN 978-1-934043-71-4, "This interiorized rejection of things local and Arabic in part derives from the fact that the ruling and upper classes in the years before the revolution were mainly Turkish, or of Turkish descent, part of the heritage from the Ottoman rule in Egypt. If one was not really Western, but belonged to the elite, one was Turkish. Only the masses, the country folk, were quite simply Egyptian in the first place, and possibly Arabs secondarily."
82. ^ a b Oxford Business Group (2008), The Report: Algeria 2008, Oxford Business Group, p. 10, ISBN 978-1-902339-09-2, "...the Algerian population reached 34.8 million in January 2006...Algerians of Turkish descent still represent 5% of the population and live mainly in the big cities [accounting to 1.74 million]" `{{citation}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
83. ^ Turkish Embassy in Algeria (2008), Cezayir Ülke Raporu 2008, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, p. 4, archived from the original on 29 September 2013, "Bunun dışında, büyük bir bölümü Tlemcen şehri civarında bulunan ve Osmanlı döneminde buraya gelip yerleşen 600-700 bin Türk kökenli kişinin yaşadığı bilinmektedir. Fransız Büyükelçiliği, kendi kayıtlarına göre bu rakamın 2 milyon civarında olduğunu açıklamaktadır."
84. ^ Özkan, Fadime (2015), Deneme Bir İki, Okur Kitaplığı, p. 475, ISBN 978-6054877942, "Cezayir'de Türk rakamlarına göre 600 bin, Fransız rakamlarına göre 2 milyon Türk asıllı Cezayirlinin yaşadığını...".
85. ^ Strateji Geliştirme Daire Başkanlığı (2010), "Sosyo-Ekonomik Açıdan Cezayir" (PDF), Gümrük ve Ticaret Bülteni (3), Strateji Geliştirme Daire Başkanlığı: 35, "Bu sistem ile Osmanlı İmparatorluğunun bu topraklarda hüküm sürdüğü yaklaşık üç yüzyıllık sürede, bir milyon Türk genci Cezayir'e gönderilmiştir. Birçoğu çatışmalar ve savaşlar esnasında ölen bu gençlerden bir bölümünün sağ kalarak soylarını sürdürmekte olduğu düşünülmektedir. Cezayir resmi kaynaklarınca 600-700 bin, Fransız Büyükelçiliği'nce 2 milyon olarak açıklanan Cezayir'deki Türk asıllı vatandaş sayısı, kanaatime göre çok daha fazladır. Zira, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu döneminde gönderilen bir milyon Yeniçeri içerisinden ticaretle uğraşan ve oralardaki bayanlarla evlenerek soyunu devam ettiren çok sayıda gencin mevcut olduğu, bunların da yaklaşık 500 yıl içerisinde çoğaldıkları tahmin edilmektedir. 18. yüzyılda toplam nüfusun içerisinde % 30'luk paya sahip olan Türklerin, günümüzde % 0,2'lik (binde iki) bir paya sahip olması pek açıklayıcı görünmemektedir."
86. ^ a b c Güzel, Hasan Celâl (2016). "Orta Doğuda Türk/Türkmen Varlığı" (PDF). Yeni Turkiye. p. 150\. "Bunların dışında, Suudî Arabistan'da 150 bin Türk nüfusu, Mısır'da 150 bin civarında Ariş Türkleri, Yemen'de en az 200 bin Türk, Ürdün'de çok sayıda Türk asıllı nüfus yaşamaktadır. Mısır nüfusunun üçte birinin, yani 25 milyon nüfusun Türk asıllı olduğu ileri sürülmektedir."
87. ^ a b Rippin, Andrew (2008). World Islam: Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415456531.
88. ^ Pan, Chia-Lin (1949), "The Population of Libya", Population Studies, 3 (1): 100–125, doi:10.1080/00324728.1949.10416359
89. ^ Hizmetli, Sabri (1953), "Osmanlı Yönetimi Döneminde Tunus ve Cezayir'in Eğitim ve Kültür Tarihine Genel Bir Bakış" (PDF), Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 32, Ankara University: 10, "Bunun açık belgelerinden birisi, aradan birbuçuk yüzyıllık sömürgecilik döneminin geçmiş olmasına rağmen, Cezayirli ve Tunusluların 25 %'nin Türk asıllı olduğunu övünerek söylemesi, sosyal ve kültürel hayatta Türk kültürünün varlığını hissettirmeye devam etmesi, halk dilinde binlerce Türkçe kelimenin yaşamasıdir."
90. ^ Akar, Metin (1993), "Fas Arapçasında Osmanlı Türkçesinden Alınmış Kelimeler", Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi, 7: 94–95, "Günümüzde, Arap dünyasında hâlâ Türk asıllı aileler mevcuttur. Bunların nüfusu Irak'ta 2 milyon, Suriye'de 3.5 milyon, Mısır'da 1.5, Cezayir'de 1 milyon, Tunus'ta 500 bin, Suudî Arabistan'da 150 bin, Libya'da 50 bin, Ürdün'de 60 bin olmak üzere 8.760.000 civarındadır. Bu ailelerin varlığı da Arap lehçelerindeki Türkçe ödünçleşmeleri belki artırmış olabilir."
91. ^ Sertoglu, Sedat (1998), Haftaya Bakış, vol. 7, Bakış Basın Yayın Organizasyon, p. 35, "Bugün Tunus'ta Türk kökenli 2 milyon insan yaşadığı bildirilmekte ve Dunlardan 60-70 yaşın üzerindekiler Türkçe bilmektedirler.".
92. ^ "Yemen Raporu". Union of NGOs of The Islamic World. 2014. p. 26\. "Bu noktadan hareketle, bölgede yaklaşık 10 bin ila 100 bin arasında Türk asıllı vatandaş bulunduğu tahmin edilmektedir." `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|url=` (help)

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Turkish people by country

Traditional areas of
Turkish settlement|

| Turkish majorities:|

Turkey (Muhacirs), Northern Cyprus (Turkish Cypriot diaspora, Mainland Turks)

|

Turkish minorities
in the Balkans:|

* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Greece
* Crete
* Dodecanese
* Western Thrace
* Kosovo
* North Macedonia
* Montenegro
* Romania
* Serbia

Turkish minorities
in the Caucasus:|

* Azerbaijan
* Georgia
* Abkhazia
* Meskhetia

Turkish minorities
in the Levant:|

* Iraq
* Turkmeneli
* Israel
* Jews
* Jordan
* Lebanon
* Palestine
* Syria
* Turkmen Mountain

Turkish minorities
in North Africa:|

* Algeria
* Kouloughlis
* Egypt
* Libya
* Tunisia

Other regions|

* Saudi Arabia
* Yemen

Diaspora in Africa|

South Africa

Diaspora in Europe|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Berlin
* Hungary
* Ireland
* Italy
* Liechtenstein
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom
* London

Diaspora in North America|

* Canada
* Mexico
* United States
* South Carolina

Diaspora in the Persian Gulf|

* Kuwait
* Qatar
* United Arab Emirates

Diaspora in Oceania|

* Australia
* New Zealand

Diaspora in South America|

* Argentina
* Brazil
* Venezuela

Diaspora in South Asia|

* Afghanistan
* India
* Pakistan

Diaspora in East Asia|

* China
* Japan

Diaspora in Post-Soviet States|

* Azerbaijan
* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Russia
* Turkmenistan
* Ukraine
* Uzbekistan

Turkophobia|

* Persecution of Muslims during Ottoman contraction
* Exodus of Muslims from Serbia (1862)
* Kirkuk Massacre of 1924
* 1944 Deportation of the Meskhetian Turks
* Gavurbağı massacre
* Exodus of Turks from Bulgaria (1950-1951)
* 1956–1989 Assimilation of Bulgarian Turks
* 1959 Kirkuk massacre
* Bloody Christmas (1963)
* Akritas plan
* Afrikaanderwijk riots
* Revival Process
* Tochni massacre
* Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre
* Turkish diplomats assassinated by Armenian militant organisations
* Assassination of Taha Carım
* Assassination of Orhan Gündüz
* Assassination of Erkut Akbay
* Assassination of Galip Balkar
* 1983 Orly Airport attack
* 1989 Fergana massacre
* 1990 Komotini events
* 1991 Altun Kupri massacre
* 1993 Solingen arson attack
* National Socialist Underground murders
* Murder of Enver Şimşek
* 2004 Cologne bombing
* Banya Bashi Mosque clashes
* Iraqi Turkmen genocide

See also|

* Turkish communities and minorities in the former Ottoman Empire
* Turkish population
* Turks in Europe
* Turks in the Arab world
* Kouloughlis
* Turks in the Balkans
* Turks in the former Soviet Union
* Turkish diaspora

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