Over 71.4 percent Kyrgyzstanis speak state language fluently

Over 71.4 percent of Kyrgyzstan's population speaks the state (Kyrgyz) language fluently, results of 2009 population census, presented Thursday by the National Statistics Committee, said, news agency "24.kg" reported.

Multilingualism still remains one the main features and the most important cultural values of the country. Kyrgyz (the state language), Russian (the official language) and Uzbek are considered to be the most widespread languages in the republic. Therewith, 59.4 percent of Kyrgyzstanis at the age of 15 and older speak two and more languages.

Kyrgyz is mainly popular among the Uzbeks and the Tajiks as the second language (48.9 percent and 32 percent of adult population in the ethnic groups speak the state language). Moreover, 36.2 percent of the Russians called Kyrgyz their second language, the committee said.

Russian remains the language of interethnic communication in the country.

The Uzbek language, which is spoken by 3.7 percent of population at the age of 15 and older, is ranked the third important in Kyrgyzstan.

For comparison, only 1.2 percent of the adult population fluently speaks English, while 49.3 percent of them are the Russians, 32.8 percent - the Kyrgyz, 3.4 percent - the Uzbeks and 2.6 percent - the Koreans.