Chuvash people

Chuvash

чӑвашсем çăvaşsem
Old Chuvash men, the beginning of 20th century
Total population
c. 1.5 million[1]
Regions with significant populations
Russia Chuvashia	1,435,872 684,930[2][3][4]
Kazakhstan	22,305[5]
Ukraine	10,593[6]
Uzbekistan	10,074[7]
Tajikistan	3,904[8]
Turkmenistan	2,281[9]
Belarus	2,242[10]
Moldova	1,204[11]
Languages
Chuvash Russian
Religion
Majority: Orthodox Christianity Minority: Vattisen Yaly Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Volga Tatars, Mari, Besermyan

The Chuvash people (UK: /ˈtʃuːvɑːʃ/ CHOO-vahsh,^[12] US: /tʃʊˈvɑːʃ/ chuu-VAHSH;^[13] Chuvash: чӑваш [tɕəˈʋaʃ]; çăvaş), plural: чӑвашсем, çăvaşsem; Russian: чува́ши [tɕʊˈvaʂɨ]) are a Turkic ethnic group, a branch of the Ogurs, native to an area stretching from the Idel-Ural (Volga-Ural) region to Siberia.

Most of them live in Chuvashia and the surrounding areas, although Chuvash communities may be found throughout the Russian Federation. They speak Chuvash, a Turkic language that diverged from other languages in the family more than a millennium ago. Among the Chuvash believers, the majority are Eastern Orthodox Christians although there is still a small community that follows Sunni Islam.