The Kurds are a people of the Middle East whose communities, languages and cultural traditions extend across modern state borders. Large Kurdish populations live in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, alongside communities elsewhere in the region and a substantial diaspora, especially in Europe. Kurdish identity connects people through family histories, language, culture and a sense of belonging, while allowing considerable differences in religion, everyday life and political opinion. Council on Foreign Relations: The Time of the Kurds.
Where do Kurdish people live?
The name Kurdistan refers to a historical and cultural region associated with Kurdish settlement. It reaches across parts of southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, western Iran and northern Syria. It is useful to distinguish that wider region from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which has a specific place within Iraq's federal system. Large cities outside the Kurdish heartlands, including Istanbul, are also home to many Kurds. Migration means that a person's current address does not necessarily tell us their ethnicity or ancestral home. CFR overview; Minority Rights Group: Kurds in Türkiye.
Population totals should be treated as estimates. Definitions, migration and the information collected by censuses affect the figures available. For example, Iraq's 2024 census did not ask about ethnicity or religious affiliation. A precise-looking figure cannot remove that underlying uncertainty. Minority Rights Group: Iraq.
What languages do Kurds speak?
Kurdish belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Here, “Iranian” describes a linguistic relationship; it does not mean that all Kurdish people are citizens of Iran or that Kurdish is simply Persian. Kurdish and Persian are related languages with distinct historical developments. Kurmanji, also called Northern Kurdish, and Sorani, or Central Kurdish, are major varieties. Southern Kurdish varieties are also spoken, including in the Kermanshah region. Encyclopaedia Iranica: Kurdish studies; Iranica: Languages of Kermanshah.
The linguistic landscape is more complex than a single label suggests. Gurani, Kurdish and Persian coexist in parts of Kermanshah, and bilingualism or multilingualism is common there. Language use can change between home, school and public life. Linguistic classification and personal identity therefore need to be considered separately: the language someone speaks is one part of their history, rather than a complete definition of who they are. Iranica's regional language study.
How should we understand Kurdish origins?
Kurdish history reaches far beyond the creation of today's borders. It also involves changing communities and identities. Historical scholarship records cases in which tribal groups adopted new languages, moved between regions or were described differently by successive writers. This evidence makes a single, unchanged ancestry for every Kurdish community an unsuitable starting point. It also cautions against ranking modern peoples by supposedly exact ages. Encyclopaedia Iranica: Tribes and changing identities.
Specific historical institutions provide firmer ground for study. The Baban principality, for example, ruled from the Sulaymaniyah area and played a role in Ottoman–Persian relations from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. Its history shows Kurdish political life developing through local rule, regional rivalries and relationships with larger empires. Encyclopaedia Iranica: Baban.
Religion, culture and shared traditions
Many Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but Kurdish communities are religiously diverse. There are significant Alevi communities in Turkey, while Feyli Kurds include Shia Muslim communities in Iraq and Iran. Yazidi identity also requires care: some Yazidis identify as Kurdish, while others understand themselves as a distinct ethnic group. Respecting how people identify avoids turning a broad regional history into a claim that everyone belongs to the same community. Kurds in Türkiye; Feyli Kurds; Minority Rights Group's Iraq profile.
Newroz, the spring festival celebrated by Kurds, illustrates how a tradition can carry Kurdish meaning while also belonging to a wider cultural world. Nowruz celebrations take place across numerous countries and communities; UNESCO recognises this shared heritage. Shared customs can connect neighbours without erasing their distinct identities. CFR on Kurdish culture; UNESCO on Nowruz.
Why are Kurdish rights a political question?
The settlement after the First World War left Kurdish communities within several states. The 1920 Treaty of Sèvres envisaged a route towards Kurdish statehood, but it was not implemented. The Republic of Turkey subsequently developed around a strongly unified national identity, with lasting consequences for Kurdish cultural and political rights. Minority Rights Group: Historical background to Türkiye.
Kurdish political views are varied. People and organisations have pursued cultural rights, representation, autonomy or independence in different circumstances. It is inaccurate to treat an entire people as interchangeable with one party or armed organisation. In Iraq, Article 117 of the 2005 constitution recognises the Kurdistan Region within the federal state: an institutional arrangement that should be distinguished from the broader question of an independent Kurdistan. CFR: Thinking About “the Kurds”; UK Parliament: Kurdistan Region of Iraq introductory profile.