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|
Total population | |
---|---|
c. 30,000 (highest est.) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Russia | 14,881 (2021 census)[1] |
Languages | |
Tsez | |
Religion | |
Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Georgians, Avars and other Northeast Caucasian peoples |
The Tsez (also known as the Dido or the Didoi) are a North Caucasian ethnic group. Their unwritten language, also called Tsez or Dido, belongs to the Northeast Caucasian group with some 15,354 speakers.[2] For demographic purposes, today they are classified with the Avars with whom the Tsez share a religion, Sunni Islam, and some cultural traits. They are centered at the Tsunta district of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. The term “Dido” is sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to the Tsez as well as the Bezhtas, Hinukhs, Khwarshis and Hunzibs, which are also categorized as Avar subgroups.[2] According to the 2002 Russian census, there were 15,256 self-identified Tsez in Russia (15,176 in their homeland), notated as an "Avar subgroup", though the real number is probably slightly greater.