Turkey has a population estimated at 56.4 million in 1990. Though the great majority of its people are Turks, ethnically and linguistically, there is a significant Kurdish population in the south-eastern region. The Kurds, though Muslims, have their own language and close tribal and family affiliations. Turkey also has small groups of Greeks, Armenians, Laz (a Black Sea people), Assyrians and Jews. The Turkish Jewish community is the remnant of a great influx which took place in the 1500s when the Jews of Spain were force by the Inquisition to flee their homes. They were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire, and brought with them knowledge of many recent European scientific and economic discoveries and advancement.
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