Tajiks of Uzbekistan

The Tajiks of Uzbekistan are ethnic Tajiks residing in the Republic of Uzbekistan. They constitute about 5% of the total population,^[1] though some estimates suggest the actual number is significantly higher.^[2] Samarkand, the third-largest city in Uzbekistan,^[3] and the ancient city of Bukhara both have Tajik majority populations.^[4]

Sadriddin Ayni, National poet of Tajikistan, was a Tajik born in the Uzbek ruled Emirate of Bukhara

History

Population

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Tajiks have become the second largest ethnic group in Uzbekistan.^[5][6] Tajiks form the majority in the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand.^[4] Additionally, 20.4% of the population of Tajiks in Uzbekistan reside in the Surxondaryo Region, and 19.9% of Tajiks live in the Samarqand Region.^[7]

Number of Tajiks in Uzbekistan

Year	Number	Percent	Source
1926	350,670	7.4%	[8]
1939	317,560	5.1%	[9]
1959	311,375	3.8%	[10]
1970	457,356	3.8%	[11]
1979	594,627	3.9%	[12]
1989	933,560	4.7%	[5]
2017	1,544,700	4.8%	[6]
2021	1,657,336	4.8%	[13]

The increase in the percentage of Tajiks from 3.9% in 1979 to 4.7% in 1989 can be partly attributed to a change in census instructions. The 1989 census allowed respondents to report their nationality based on ethnic self-identification rather than passport information for the first time.^[7]

True Population & Uzbekisation

Main article: Uzbekisation

Due to assimilation pressures starting in 1924 with the establishment of the Uzbek SSR, many ethnic Tajiks identified themselves as Uzbeks in population censuses and preferred to be registered as Uzbek in their passports to avoid relocation to the less developed agricultural and mountainous regions of the Tajikistan SSR.^[14] While official Uzbek statistics estimate the Tajik population in Uzbekistan to be around 5%,^[15][1] some experts believe that Tajiks may actually constitute 25% to 30% of the total population.^[2] Consequently, the true number of Tajiks in modern Uzbekistan remains uncertain.

See also

• Demographics of Uzbekistan
• Bukharan Jews
• History of Bukhara

References

1. "Uzbekistan", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2024-06-20, retrieved 2024-07-03
2. Richard Foltz, "The Tajiks of Uzbekistan", Central Asian Survey, 15(2), 213-216 (1996).
3. "Samarqand viloyati statistika boshqarmasi". samstat.uz. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
4. "Узбекистан: Таджикский язык подавляется :: Озодагон". 2019-03-22. Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
5. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". 2010-03-16. Archived from the original on 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
6. "Telegram: Contact @statistika_rasmiy". 2023-02-02. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
7. "Ethnic Atlas of Uzbekistan". 2008-10-06. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
8. "All-Union Population Census of 1926". 2015-02-08. Archived from the original on 2015-02-08. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
9. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". 2011-07-22. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
10. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". 2010-03-16. Archived from the original on 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
11. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". 2009-12-03. Archived from the original on 2009-12-03. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
12. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". 2010-03-24. Archived from the original on 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
13. "Permanent population by national and / or ethnic group, urban / rural place of residence". 2023-02-02. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
14. Rahim Masov, The History of the Clumsy Delimitation, Irfon Publ. House, Dushanbe, 1991 (in Russian). English translation: The History of a National Catastrophe, transl. Iraj Bashiri, 1996.
15. "Population". 2008-06-20. Archived from the original on 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2024-07-03.