Kyrgyzstan has a population (2001 estimate) of 4,753,003, giving it an average population density of 24 persons per sq km (62 per sq mi). The population is clustered in two principal areas: the Fergana Valley in the southwest and the Chu Valley in the north. Only 40 percent of the population lives in urban areas. The two largest cities are Bishkek, the capital, located on the Chu River in the far north; and Osh, located in the Fergana Valley.

The Kyrgyz speak a language belonging to the northwestern, or Kipchak, group of the Turkic languages. They were formerly a transhumant (nomadic) people who were settled into collectivized agriculture by the Soviet regime. Besides Kyrgyz, the country's population includes minorities of Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, and Germans (exiled to the region from European parts of the Soviet Union in 1941), as well as Tatars, Kazaks, Dungans (Hui; Chinese Muslims), Uighurs, and Tajiks. Since independence in 1991, many Russians and Germans have emigrated.