Because not everyone in Tajikistan is an ethnic Tajik, the non-Tajik citizens of the country are referred to as Tajikistani.

[2] Until the 20th century, people in the region used two types of distinction to identify themselves: way of life - either nomadic or sedentary - and place of residence.

The modern labels were imposed artificially when Central Asia was divided into five Soviet republics in the 1920s.

[2] Historically, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were also home to Bukharan Jews, who trace their ancestry to the Lost Tribes of Israel taken captive by the Babylonians in the 7th century BC, but almost no Bukharian Jews are left in Tajikistan.

The different ethnic minorities speak different languages, for instance Uzbek, Turkmen, Kyrgyz and Khowar.