Demographics of Turkey in modern Turkey is a highly debated and difficult issue. Figures published in several different sources prove this difficulty by varying greatly. It is necessary to take into account all these difficulties and be cautious while evaluating the ethnic groups. A possible list of ethnic groups living in Turkey could be as follows: According to the 2012 edition of the CIA World Factbook, 70-75% of Turkey's population consists of ethnic Turks, with Kurds accounting for 18% and other minorities between 7 and 12%. According to Milliyet, a 2008 report prepared for the National Security Council of Turkey by academics of
Laz people in Turkey Laz people in Turkey The Laz people in Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Lazları, Laz: ლაზეფე თურქონაშე "Lazepe Turkonaşe") refers to an ethnic group who are native to eastern Black Sea coast of southwestern Georgia, and their descendants. Most Laz people today live in Turkey, but the Laz minority group has no official status in Turkey. Their number today is estimated at 2,250,000. In the census of 1965, 26,007 Turkish citizens spoke Laz as mother language. Proportionally, they were most numerous in Artvin (5.8%), Rize (2.0%) and Sakarya (0.7%). 3,943 of these could only speak Laz. Another 55,158 spoke Laz as their