This article deals with the various ethnic groups inhabiting the Caucasus region. There are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region.
Caucasians who speak languages which have long been indigenous to the region are generally classified into three groups: Kartvelian peoples, Northeast Caucasian peoples and Northwest Caucasian peoples.
The largest peoples speaking languages which belong to the Caucasian language families and who are currently resident in the Caucasus are the Georgians (7,000,000), the Chechens (1,500,000 (according to 2010 Russian Census)), the Lezgins (about 800,000 (source Lezgins)), the Kabardins (600,000) and the Avars (500,000), while outside the Caucasus, the largest people of Caucasian origin, in diaspora in more than 40 countries (such as Jordan, Turkey, the countries of Europe, Syria, United States) are the Circassians with about 3,000,000-4,000,000 speakers. Georgians are the only Caucasian people who have their own undisputedly independent state—Georgia. Abkhazia's status is disputed. Other Caucasian peoples have republics within the Russian Federation: Adyghe (Adygea), Cherkess (Karachay–Cherkessia), Kabardins (Kabardino-Balkaria), Ingush (Ingushetia), Chechens (Chechnya), while other Northeast Caucasian peoples mostly live in Dagestan.