* No official census: There isn't a single, globally accepted census that tracks language speakers.
* Political sensitivity: The Kurdish language has faced suppression and marginalization in some of the countries where it is spoken, making accurate data collection challenging.
* Dialect variation: Kurdish has numerous dialects, some of which are mutually unintelligible.
Estimates:
* Ethnologue (a resource for language data) estimates that around 30 million people speak Kurdish as a first language.
* Other sources estimate that around 40 million people speak Kurdish worldwide.
Important Considerations:
* Kurdish as a first language vs. second language: These estimates typically focus on Kurdish as a first language. However, many people also speak Kurdish as a second language, making the total number of speakers potentially higher.
* Regional variations: The proportion of Kurdish speakers varies significantly across different regions. For example, Kurdish is the dominant language in parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria.
* Political context: The political situation in Kurdish-populated regions can influence language use and the collection of data.
Overall, it's safe to say that Kurdish is spoken by a significant number of people across the Middle East and beyond. However, obtaining a precise percentage remains a challenge.