Places · Van vilayet · Demographics
Van vilayet demographics
Every documented census and post-Soviet observation, on a single shared timeline. Hover any chart point or population bar for the source-by-source breakdown.
Density 1.0× span
- Armenian
- Kurdish
All observations · 7 rows
| Year | Group | Share | Population | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1828 | Armenian | 35% | — | Ottoman Population, 1830-1914: Demographic and Social Characteristics | Pre-1878 Van vilayet. Armenian share approximate; the principal pre-modern Armenian heartland. |
| 1828 | Kurdish | 50% | — | Ottoman Population, 1830-1914: Demographic and Social Characteristics | |
| 1912 | Armenian | 28% | 197,000 | Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople census of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire (1912-13) | Armenian Patriarchate enumeration 1912-13; ~25-30% of the vilayet population. Midpoint 28% used here. |
| 1914 | Kurdish | 50% | — | Ottoman Population, 1830-1914: Demographic and Social Characteristics | Approximate share. Ottoman census aggregated Sunni Muslims; Hovannisian (1991) breaks down Kurds vs Turks. |
| 1914 | Armenian | 18% | 67,792 | Ottoman Population, 1830-1914: Demographic and Social Characteristics | Ottoman state census 1914. Lower than Patriarchate figure; discrepancy debated. Percentage approximate from Karpat's vilayet totals. |
| 1927 | Kurdish | 78% | — | The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History | Post-genocide Republican Turkish period: with Armenian population eliminated, Kurds became the overwhelming majority of the former vilayet area until later Turkish state demographic policies. |
| 1927 | Armenian | 0% | 0 | The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History | Armenian population of Van vilayet effectively zero by the early Republican Turkish period after the 1915 deportations and 1918 evacuation with the Russian army. |