Central Asia is a diverse land with many ethnic groups, languages, religions and tribes. This article discusses all of the above, and includes the demographics of the nations of the five former
Soviet republics:
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan, and
Uzbekistan, a group which has a total population of about 61 million. When
Afghanistan, which is not always considered part of the region, is included, then Central Asia has a total population of about 90 million as of 2010. It is to be noted that
Pakistan has a large population of Central Asian peoples. Although most central Asians have belonged to religions which were introduced into the area within the last 1,500 years, such as
Sunni Islam,
Shia Islam,
Ismaili Islam,
Tengriism, and
Syriac Christianity,
Buddhism was introduced to Central Asia over 2,200 years ago, and
Zoroastrianism, over 2,500 years ago.