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KCO · Europe

Kurds in France

Labour migrants came from Türkiye from the 1960s, and refugees from 1980. The Institut kurde de Paris was founded in 1983. Three Kurdish women activists were killed in Paris in January 2013, and three people were killed at a Kurdish cultural centre in Paris in December 2022.

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At a glance

01The programme

This programme brings together Kurds living in France, city by city. Its charter form is a Diaspora Chapter, fitted to local law and to the risks members face.

Forming Diaspora Chapter: not yet chartered.

02Cities

The map needs JavaScript. The places it shows are listed beside it.

Layers

Places on this map (3)

Map: OpenFreeMap, OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Boundaries: Natural Earth. Places: the platform’s own pages.

  • Grand Est

    Strasbourg

    Near the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights

  • Île-de-France

    Paris

    Institut kurde de Paris; site of the 2013 and 2022 killings

  • Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

    Marseille

    Labour migrants and refugees

Subdivisions of France

Each first-level subdivision has a local page. It gathers official services, learning, safety and civic life.

The list follows UN sources first: OCHA COD-AB, then UN SALB, then ISO 3166-2. It takes no position on any status or boundary.

Listed separately in UN M49
  • FR-971 Guadeloupe: M49 312, Guadeloupe
  • FR-972 Martinique: M49 474, Martinique
  • FR-973 Guyane (française): M49 254, French Guiana
  • FR-974 La Réunion: M49 638, Réunion
  • FR-976 Mayotte: M49 175, Mayotte
  • FR-BL Saint-Barthélemy: M49 652, Saint Barthélemy
  • FR-MF Saint-Martin: M49 663, Saint Martin (French Part)
  • FR-NC Nouvelle-Calédonie: M49 540, New Caledonia
  • FR-PF Polynésie française: M49 258, French Polynesia
  • FR-PM Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon: M49 666, Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  • FR-TF Terres australes françaises: M49 260, French Southern Territories
  • FR-WF Wallis-et-Futuna: M49 876, Wallis and Futuna Islands

Subdivisions in the profile

03How statistics see the community

France keeps no ethnic statistics.

Counts of Kurds differ by what they measure: birthplace, citizenship, language or self-identification. Each figure names its measure, year and source, and none are summed.

Institute estimate (range), 2016Every figure keeps its measure, year, source and label. Unknown is shown as unknown.
  1. Germany850,000 to 950,000
  2. France230,000 to 250,000
  3. Netherlands100,000 to 120,000
  4. Sweden85,000 to 100,000
  5. Switzerland85,000 to 95,000
  6. Austria80,000 to 95,000
  7. United Kingdom70,000 to 90,000
  8. Belgium70,000 to 85,000
  9. Greece40,000 to 50,000
  10. Denmark25,000 to 30,000
  11. Italy25,000 to 30,000
  12. Norway25,000 to 30,000
  13. Finland15,000 to 18,000

Sources Institut kurde de Paris, The Kurdish diaspora (Dec 2016 table of ranges) Secondary source

Show as a table
CountryFigure
Germany850,000 to 950,000
France230,000 to 250,000
Netherlands100,000 to 120,000
Sweden85,000 to 100,000
Switzerland85,000 to 95,000
Austria80,000 to 95,000
United Kingdom70,000 to 90,000
Belgium70,000 to 85,000
Greece40,000 to 50,000
Denmark25,000 to 30,000
Italy25,000 to 30,000
Norway25,000 to 30,000
Finland15,000 to 18,000

The France profile

04Areas

  • Academy

    Every field of knowledge, courses in all Kurdish varieties, and communities of practice.

  • Heritage

    History from the Zagros to today, memory, faiths, arts, literature and food.

  • Language

    Kurmanji, Sorani, Zazaki, Southern Kurdish and Gorani, in every script.

  • Research

    Kurdish studies: the observatory, reading lists and new research.

  • Opportunities

    Livelihoods, skills, jobs, mentoring and diaspora-to-region bridges.

  • Civic

    Civic education, rights literacy, statelessness help and dialogue.

  • Development

    Social programmes, livelihoods and disaster preparedness for Kurdish communities.

  • News and events

    Kurdish and regional news with every outlet labelled, and the calendar of Kurdish days.

05Learn in the Academy

Courses and disciplines of the Academy on the subject of this page.

Courses

Disciplines

A completion record shows what was studied and assessed. It is not a certificate or a qualification.

All disciplines

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