They inhabit the Kurdistan region which includes parts of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Kurds were mostly nomadic until the end of World War I and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.
The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million living in different regions of the world. Kurds make up about 10% of the population in Syria, 19% of the population of Turkey, 15-20% of the population of Iraq and are one of the largest ethnic minorities in Iran.
Kurds speak the Kurdish languages and the Zaza–Gorani languages, which belong to the Western Iranian branch of the Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. They are a multilingual people and speak two or more languages. Generally, they speak Kurdish as well as the language of the nation where they are from, such as, Arabic, Persian, or Turkish.
The Kurds are tribal people and many of them lived, until recently, a nomadic lifestyle in the mountainous regions of Turkey. Their way of life revolving around sheep and goat herding throughout the Mesopotamian plains and the highlands of Turkey and Iran. Most Kurds practiced only marginal agriculture.
Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, but there are minorities of Shia Muslims also living in regions like Kermanshah Province and llam, Iran. Among them are many who practice Sufism and other mystical sects.
Kurdish people
