The Kurds are an indigenous people of the Middle East whose historic homeland, Kurdistan, extends across areas that today lie within Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. With a population numbering in the tens of millions, the Kurds are one of the largest peoples in the world without a sovereign state of their own.

Kurds share deep historical, cultural, and linguistic ties, while also reflecting considerable regional, religious, and political diversity. Kurdish society includes speakers of several Kurdish varieties and followers of different religious traditions. Despite more than a century of political borders dividing their homeland, a strong sense of Kurdish identity, culture, and connection to Kurdistan has endured.