page_title: Wakhi people
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Wakhi people / Demographics
caption_attribution_description: English: The art of cultural Wakhi Music sustains its heritage Gulmit, Gilgit Baltistan
context_page_description: The Wakhi people or the Khik, are an Iranian ethnic group living in adjacent, remote regions of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and China. They are predominantly centered in Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, the northern-most part of Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan, the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan and the southwestern region of China's Xinjiang. They are native speakers of Wakhi, an Indo-European language of the Iranian branch.
context_section_description: Ethnic Wakhi-speakers have a total population of about 50,000–58,000. The population is divided between four countries: Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and China's Xinjiang. The Wakhi people have been settlers of their lands for hundreds if not thousands of years. The machinations of The Great Game during the eighteenth and nineteenth century created boundaries which separated the large body of the Wakhis into living in four countries. 
  In Tajikistan, Wakhi are inhabitants of Roshtqal'a District and Ishkoshim District of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region
  In Afghanistan, Wakhi primarily live in the Wakhan region of Badakhshan Province
  In Gilgit-Baltistan in the north of Pakistan, Wakhi predominantly live in the upper region of Hunza popularly known as Gojal. Wakhi speakers also live in Ishkoman Valley of District Ghizer, and some villages of Yasin Valley.  
  In Pakistan, Wakhi also live in Broghal in Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.  
  In China, Wakhi are inhabitants of Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County an administrative area within Kashgar Prefecture of Xinjiang
  In China, the Wakhi people, together with the Sarikoli people, are officially recognized as "Tajiks", with ethnic-minority autonomous status. In Afghanistan, they are officially called "Pamiri". In Tajikistan, they are recognized by the state as "Tajiks", but self-identify as "Pamiri". In Pakistan, they refer to themselves as "Wakhi" or "Pamiri" or "Gujali".
  The Wakhi predominantly adhere to Nizari Ismaili Shia Islam, which is regarded as their ethnic religion and are followers of the Aga Khan.
caption: Wakhi musicians in Gulmit, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.
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