Kashmiri people

Kashmiris

A Kashmiri man with his grandson
Regions with significant populations
India (Jammu and Kashmir)	6,797,587 (2011)*[1]
Pakistan (outside Azad Kashmir)	353,064 (2017)*[2]
Pakistan (Azad Kashmir)	132,450 (as per 1998 census)[3]
Canada	6,165[4]
Languages
Kashmiri
Religion
Majority: Islam (Sunni majority, Shia minority) Minority: Hinduism, Sikhism
Related ethnic groups
Other Indo-Aryan peoples
*The population figures are only for the number of speakers of the Kashmiri language. May not include ethnic Kashmiris who no longer speak the Kashmiri language.

The Kashmiri people are a Dardic ethnic group living in the central valley of Kashmir in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. They speak the Kashmiri language. Kashmiri is an Indo-Aryan language. The Kashmiris are also known as Koshur.

There are about 7.1 million people speaking the Kashmiri language. About 6.7 million^[5] of them live in Jammu and Kashmir, and about 350,000^[6] in Azad Kashmir and the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) in Pakistan. Although all residents of Azad Kashmir call themselves 'Kashmiri', most residents of Azad Kashmir are not ethnic Kashmiris but rather a northern subgroup of Punjabis who speak a northern Punjabi dialect.^[A]

1. ↑ "Abstract Of Speakers' Strength of Languages And Mother Tongues – 2011" (PDF). Census India (.gov). 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
2. ↑ Kiani, Khaleeq (28 May 2018). "CCI defers approval of census results until elections". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
3. ↑ Shakil, Mohsin (2012), Languages of Erstwhile State of Jammu Kashmir (A Preliminary Study)
4. ↑ "Canada 2021 Census Profile". Census Profile, 2021 Census. Statistics Canada Statistique Canada. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
5. ↑ "Census of Indian languages 2011" (PDF).
6. ↑ Kiani, Khaleeq (28 May 2018). "CCI defers approval of census results until elections". Retrieved 2020-03-17.