Kurds in Turkey

Kurds In Turkey

According to some estimates Kurds compose 15.7%-25% and by others 10%-23% of the population in Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye'deki Kürtler, Kurdish: Kurdên li Tirkiye). Unlike the Turkish people, the Kurds speak an Indo-European language. There are Kurds living in all provinces of Turkey, but are primarily concentrated in the east and southeast of the country, which largely resembles the region of Kurdistan.

In the 1930s, Turkish government policy aimed at assimilating Kurds in Turkey, many have resisted these measures and today Kurds make up around 15-18% of the population of Turkey. Since the 1980s, Kurdish movements included both peaceful political activities for basic civil rights for Kurds in Turkey as well as armed rebellion and guerrilla warfare, including military attacks aimed at Turkish military bases, demanding a separate Kurdish state. According to a Turkish opinion poll, 59% of self-identified Kurds in Turkey think that Kurds in Turkey do not seek a separate state (while 71.3% of self-identified Turks think they do).