Germans of Kazakhstan
| |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 226,092 (2021 census) | |
| Languages | |
| German, Kazakh and Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Protestantism; minorities of Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodoxy, Irreligious | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Russian Kazakhstanis, German Poles |
The Germans of Kazakhstan (German: Kasachstandeutsche; Kazakh: Қазақстандық немістер, romanized: Qazaqstandyq nemıster) are a minority in Kazakhstan, and make up a small percentage of the population. Today they live mostly in the northeastern part of the country between the cities of Astana and Oskemen, the majority being urban dwellers.
Their number peaked at nearly 1 million (957 thousand people per 1989 census) near the time of the Soviet dissolution, but most have emigrated since then, usually to Germany or Russia. However, after a significant decrease from 1989 to 2009, by 2015 the number had seen a slight increase of a few thousand, the first time since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Between 2009 and 2021 the German population had increased by 26.7%, though mostly due to changes in patterns of ethnic identity rather than actual population growth.