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Kyrgyzstan | Kirgiz | 2000
Population: 4,500,000
Language: Altaic Family, Turkish Branch
Main Regions: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, China, Tajikistan
Some thousands of years ago the Kyrgyz, a Turkish-speaking nomadic people, migrated from North East Siberia and Mongolia, southwards towards the Tien-Shan mountain range in Central Asia. Although very few Kyrgyz live as nomads today, nomadism is still strongly anchored in the Kyrgyz culture. This is visible, among other things, in the national flag, in which the central symbol is the crown of a traditional yurt (felt tent).
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