1 The Baloch or Baluch (Balochi: بلۏچ‎,

The Baloch or Baluch (Balochi: بلۏچ‎, romanized: Balòc) are an Iranian people[8] who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. There are also Baloch diaspora communities in neighbouring regions, including in India,[9] Turkmenistan and the Arabian Peninsula.

Baloch

بلۏچ

Baloch people (4).jpg

Baloch children photographed in Ashkutu, Iran in March 2017

Total population

c. 10 million (2013)[1]

3–5 million Baloch-speakers (Brill, 2011)[2]

Regions with significant populations

Pakistan

6.8 million (2017)[3]

Iran

1.5 million–2 million (2013)[1]

United Arab Emirates

468,000 (2014)[4]

Afghanistan

500,000–2 million[5][6]

Turkmenistan

100,000 [7]

Languages

Balochi, Brahui, Jadgali

Urdu, Persian, Arabic (spoken by locality), Pashto, Sindhi

Religion

Majority:

Star and Crescent.svg Islam

Minority:

Om.svg Hinduism, Khanda.svg Sikhism

Related ethnic groups

Other Iranian peoples

The Baloch people mainly speak Balochi, a Northwestern Iranian language, despite their contrasting location on the southeastern side of the Persosphere. The vast majority of Baloch reside within Pakistan. About 50% of the total ethnic Baloch population live in the Pakistani province of Balochistan,[10] while 40% are settled in Sindh and a significant albeit smaller number reside in Pakistani Punjab. They make up nearly 3.6% of Pakistan's total population, and around 2% of the populations of both Iran and Afghanistan.[11]