Kurds

Kurds , or the Kurdish people, are an <a href="/facts/Iranian_peoples/gnzfoI8h">Iranic ethnic group</a> from <a href="/facts/West_Asia/xXM15vIz">West Asia</a>. They are indigenous to <a href="/facts/Kurdistan/bRDraJ2f">Kurdistan</a>, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a>, northwestern <a href="/facts/Iran/24yukge8">Iran</a>, northern <a href="/facts/Iraq/pqYSFJw8">Iraq</a>, and northeastern <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a>. Consisting of 30–45 million people, the global Kurdish population is largely concentrated in Kurdistan, but significant communities of the <a href="/facts/Kurdish_diaspora/xHJWV267">Kurdish diaspora</a> exist in parts of West Asia beyond Kurdistan and in parts of Europe, most notably including: Turkey's <a href="/facts/Central_Anatolian_Kurds/h3UrQcJN">Central Anatolian Kurds</a>, as well as <a href="/facts/Kurds_in_Istanbul/h2spPAPg">Istanbul Kurds</a>; Iran's <a href="/facts/Khorasani_Kurds/WmrywMzp">Khorasani Kurds</a>; the <a href="/facts/Caucasian_Kurds/DSKUsICF">Caucasian Kurds</a>, primarily in <a href="/facts/Kurds_in_Azerbaijan/anf8ImXb">Azerbaijan</a> and <a href="/facts/Kurds_in_Armenia/2LjeddQq">Armenia</a>; and the Kurdish populations in various European countries, namely <a href="/facts/Kurds_in_Germany/WlmmNgwo">Germany</a>, <a href="/facts/Kurds_in_France/gcxqpQHh">France</a>, <a href="/facts/Kurds_in_Sweden/cNtLKh3K">Sweden</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Kurds_in_the_Netherlands/pqYFusvD">Netherlands</a>.
The <a href="/facts/Kurdish_language/6LSckYAz">Kurdish languages</a> and the <a href="/facts/Zaza%25E2%2580%2593Gorani_languages/kJICw3MY">Zaza–Gorani languages</a>, both of which belong to the <a href="/facts/Western_Iranian_languages/YqyLanhH">Western Iranic branch</a> of the <a href="/facts/Iranian_languages/JaJyqM4t">Iranic language family</a>, are the native languages of the Kurdish people. Other widely spoken languages among the community are those of their host countries or neighbouring regions, such as <a href="/facts/Turkish_language/C5X56Ijp">Turkish</a>, <a href="/facts/Persian_language/jfUYbHbt">Persian</a>, or <a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a>. The most prevalent religion among Kurds is <a href="/facts/Sunni_Islam/WYo0zeq0">Sunni Islam</a>, with <a href="/facts/Shia_Islam/JIQl7ooz">Shia Islam</a> and <a href="/facts/Kurdish_Alevism/Umt8hr67">Alevism</a> being significant Islamic minorities. <a href="/facts/Yazidism/IkLNfLnN">Yazidism</a>, which is the ethnic religion of the Kurdish-speaking <a href="/facts/Yazidi_people/EKqxwqte">Yazidi people</a>, is the largest non-Islamic minority religion among the broader Kurdish community, followed by <a href="/facts/Yarsanism/c6Kpj0Xs">Yarsanism</a>, <a href="/facts/Zoroastrianism/rM0QUMtg">Zoroastrianism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Kurdish_Christians/7kn5TylF">Christianity</a>.
Although they exercise autonomy <a href="/facts/Kurdistan_Region/zk6GP3bG">in Iraq</a> and <a href="/facts/Democratic_Autonomous_Administration_of_North_and_East_Syria/YEoQU4YH">in Syria</a>, the Kurds are a <a href="/facts/Stateless_nation/0XC1L2ql">stateless nation</a>. The prospect of <a href="/facts/Kurdish_independence/PHRDJvKJ">Kurdish independence</a>, which is rooted in <a href="/facts/Early_Kurdish_nationalism/JcdIaT5W">early Kurdish nationalism</a>, has been the source of much ethnic and political tension in West Asia since the 19th century. In the aftermath of <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a> and the <a href="/facts/Partition_of_the_Ottoman_Empire/UCtlDbQw">partition of the Ottoman Empire</a>, the victorious <a href="/facts/Allies_of_World_War_I/HBo9sw1M">Western Allies</a> made territorial provisions for the establishment of a Kurdish state, as outlined in the 1920 <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_S%25C3%25A8vres/j8znB5Eu">Treaty of Sèvres</a>, but it was never ratified after being signed. Three years later, when the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Lausanne/u3edX8Q9">Treaty of Lausanne</a> set the boundaries of the Turkish state, the Western Allies ceased their push for Kurdish statehood in the face of certain agreements and guarantees—chiefly Turkey's recognition of European sovereignty over <a href="/facts/Arab_world/F8Jouq98">Arab lands</a> in exchange for the Allies' recognition of Turkish sovereignty over all of <a href="/facts/Anatolia/vMkrLrPr">Anatolia</a>. As such, since the 20th century, the <a href="/facts/History_of_the_Kurds/nPk0LTNo">history of the Kurds</a> has largely been marked by struggles for independence, predominantly in the <a href="/facts/Kurdish%25E2%2580%2593Turkish_conflict/NNfu0IEQ">Kurdish–Turkish conflict</a> and the <a href="/facts/Iraqi%25E2%2580%2593Kurdish_conflict/hMot7rqE">Iraqi–Kurdish conflict</a>, and to a lesser extent in the <a href="/facts/Kurdish_separatism_in_Iran/UWJ2LC30">Iranian–Kurdish conflict</a> and the much more recent <a href="/facts/Syrian%25E2%2580%2593Kurdish_conflict/GKjM93Ve">Syrian–Kurdish conflict</a>.

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Kurds