The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East; mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran; Iraq; Syria; and Turkey; a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and; as a result; are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.

The Kurds number about 40 million; the majority living in West Asia; including significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey outside of Kurdistan. A recent Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western countries; primarily in Germany. The Kurds are in the majority in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Syrian Kurdistan and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran; where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue autonomy. Pictures From History