Baloch people
بلۏچ | |
|---|---|
Baloch people | |
| Total population | |
c. 15 million
| |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Pakistan | 8,117,795 (2023 census) |
| Iran | 4,800,000 |
| Oman | 1,000,000 |
| Afghanistan | 300,000–500,000 |
| United Arab Emirates | 383,000 |
| India | 64,000 |
| Qatar | 53,000 |
| Bahrain | 44,000 |
| Turkmenistan | 36,000 |
| Kuwait | 20,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | 12,000 |
| Somalia | 11,000 |
| Languages | |
| Balochi, Brahui, various other languages of host regions spoken by splinter groups
Other languages: Persian (in Iran and Afghanistan), Urdu (in Pakistan), Pashto (in Afghanistan), English | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Islam (mainly Sunni Islam) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Brahuis, other Iranian peoples | |
The Baloch people or the Balochs are an Iranian nomadic pastoral ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranic Balochi language and are native to the Balochistan region of South and West Asia, occupying parts of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There are also Baloch diaspora communities in neighbouring regions, including in Central Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula.
The majority of the Baloch reside within Pakistan. About 50% of the total Baloch population live in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, while 40% are settled in Sindh and a significant albeit smaller number resides in the Pakistani Punjab. They make up 3.6% of Pakistan's total population, 2% of Iran's population, and around 0.5%–1% of the population of Afghanistan, and the largest non-Arab community in Oman.