Buryat is a Mongolic

Mongolic languages

The Mongolic languages are a group of languages spoken in East-Central Asia, mostly in Mongolia and surrounding areas plus in Kalmykia. The best-known member of this language family, Mongolian, is the primary language of most of the residents of Mongolia and the Mongolian residents of Inner...

 variety spoken by the Buryats

Buryats

The Buryats or Buriyads , numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic, a federal subject of Russia...

 that is either classified as a language or as a major dialect group of Mongolian

Mongolian language

The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...

. The majority of Buryat speakers live in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 along the northern border of Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

 where it is an official language in the Buryat Republic, Ust-Orda Buryatia

Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug

Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug , or Ust-Orda Buryatia, is an administrative division of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia.It was a federal subject of Russia from 1993 to January 1, 2008, when it merged with Irkutsk Oblast Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug , or Ust-Orda Buryatia, is an administrative division of Irkutsk...

 and Aga Buryatia

Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug

Agin-Buryat Okrug , or Aga Buryatia, is an administrative division of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. It was a federal subject of Russia until it merged with Chita Oblast to form Zabaykalsky Krai on March 1, 2008. Prior to merger, it was called Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug...

. In the Russian census of 2002, 353,113 people out of an ethnic population of 445,175 could speak Buryat (72.3%). Some other 15,694 can also speak Buryat, mostly ethnic Russians.