User:Selçuk Denizli/sandbox

Population
There are no reliable estimates on the total number of Syrian Turkmen residing in the country because official censuses have only asked citizens about their religion, therefore, citizens have not been allowed to declare their ethnic origin or mother tongue. A report published by the UNHCR points out that the majority of Syrians are considered "Arab", however, this is a term based on spoken language (Arabic) not ethnic affiliation. Consequently, this has created difficulties in estimating the total Syrian Turkmen population.

On the one hand, Minority Rights Group International has said that "little information is available on ethnic Turkomans in Syria" but describes them as one of the "smaller ethnic minorities". On the other hand, Professor Taef El-Azhari has said that the Turkmen have "always been the forgotten minority in the area despite their large population". The UNHCR report (compiled by various academics), as well as Professor Pierre Beckouche and Dr Peter Behnstedt, have placed Syrian Turkmen as the third largest ethnic group in the country (after Arabs and Kurds respectively).

Estimated figures
In the late 20th century, Dr. Larry Clark stated there was "more than 200,000" Turkmen and the German Orient-Institute stated that unconfirmed estimates ranged between 800,000 and 1 million. C. Heather Bleaney stated that one estimate surmised that the Turkish-speaking population formed 1.2% of Syria's population, but that elsewhere they were estimated to form up to 3%. Professor Daniel Pipes estimated that 3% of the population were Turkish-speakers, whilst several other scholars also claimed that Sunni Muslim Turkish-speakers formed around 3% of the population (including: Professor Itamar Rabinovich, Professor Moshe Ma'oz, Dr. Nikolaos van Dam, Dr Henry Munson, Professor Alasdair Drysdale and Professor Raymond Hinnebusch ).

By the 21st century, Assistant Professor Sebastian Maisel claimed that Syrian Turkmen numbered 250,000. However, Professor Pierre Beckouche stated that Sunni Muslim Turkmen formed 4% of the country's population before 2011. Professor Taef El-Azhari, Dr. Sebastien Peyrouse, and Dr. Paul Antonopoulos have said that there is around 1 million Turkmen. In addition, Dr. Eldad J. Pardo and Maya Jacobi have cited an estimate of 750,000 to 1.5 million Turkmen. Dr. Jonathan Spyer, as well as a report published in cooperation between the Norwegian Church Aid and the World Council of Churches (compiled by various academics), stated that Turkmen number anywhere from 500,000 to 3 million.