Yazidis in Georgia
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 6,000[1] (est.) | |
| Languages | |
| Northern Kurdish (Kurmanci), Georgian | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Iranian peoples |
Yazidis in Georgia may refer to people born in or residing in Georgia of full or partial Yazidi origin, an ethno-religious community religious group.
History
The Yazidi population in Georgia has been dwindling since the 1990s, mostly due to economic migration to neighboring Russia, Western Europe and North America. According to a census carried out in 1989, there were over 30,000 Yazidis in Georgia; according to the 2002 census, however, only around 18,000 Yazidis remained in Georgia. Today they number around 6,000 by some estimates, including recent refugees from Sinjar in Iraq, who fled to Georgia following persecution by ISIL.[1] [2] [3]
On June 16, 2015, Yazidis celebrated the opening of a temple and a cultural center named after Sultan Ezid in Varketili, a suburb of Tbilisi. This is the third such temple in the world after those in Iraqi Kurdistan and Armenia.[1]
