List of ethnic groups in China

Ethnolinguistic map of China

Multiple ethnic groups populate China, the area claimed by both the People's Republic of China (China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

The Han people are the largest ethnic group in mainland China. In 2010, 91.51% of the population were classified as Han (~1.2 billion).^[1] Besides the Han Chinese majority, 55 other ethnic (minority) groups are categorized in present China, numbering approximately 105 million people (8%), mostly concentrated in the bordering northwest, north, northeast, south and southwest but with some in central interior areas.

The major minority ethnic groups in China are Zhuang (16.9 million), Hui (10.5 million), Manchu (10.3 million), Uyghur (10 million), Miao (9.4 million), Yi (8.7 million), Tujia (8.3 million), Tibetan (6.2 million), Mongol (5.9 million), Dong (2.8 million), Buyei (2.8 million), Yao (2.7 million), Bai (1.9 million), Korean (1.8 million), Hani (1.6 million), Li (1.4 million), Kazakh (1.4 million) and Dai (1.2 million).^[2] At least 126,000 people from Canada, the US and Europe are living in Mainland China.^[3] In addition, there are also unrecognized ethnic groups, for example: Chuanqing people (穿青人), and others, who comprise over 730,000 people.

Ethnic groups recognized by the People's Republic of China[]

The following are the 56 ethnic groups (listed by population) officially recognized by the People's Republic of China (39 in 1954; 54 by 1964; with the most recent addition the Jino people in 1979).^[4]

^AGB 3304－91 "Names of ethnicities of China in romanization with codes";^[5]
BThe population only includes mainland China and Taiwan;
^CFor ethnic groups officially recognised in 1964 or earlier, this is the year of first inclusion in the national census, which were in 1954^[6] and 1964;^[7]
1Also included are the Chuanqing;
²Also includes Utsuls of Hainan, descended from Cham refugees;
³A subset of which is also known as Hmong (Thus, Hmong peoples worldwide are NOT only Miao);
⁴including Amdowa and Khampa, as well as roughly half of Pumi speakers, the remainder of whom are classified as a separate Pumi ethnicity;
⁵Also known as Kam;
⁶Also included are the Sangkong;
⁷This category includes several different Tai-speaking groups historically referred to as Bai-yi [in fact, the Dai nationalities are actually speakers of Shan languages varieties -for example : Tai Lue and Tai Nuea peoples are actually Shan peoples subgroups]. Although that, the speakers of Bumang are also included in this Dai nationality.  ;
⁸Also included are the Mosuo;
⁹Also included are the Qago (木佬人);
¹⁰Known as Kachin in Myanmar;
¹¹Also included are the Then;
¹²Actually not Tajik people but Pamiri people;
¹³The same group as Vietnamese or Kinh people in Sino-Vietnamese;
¹⁴Known as Palaung in Myanmar;
¹⁵The same group as Nanai on the Russian side of the border;
¹⁶A collective name for all Taiwanese aborigine groups in Taiwan. In fact, the numbers of Gaoshan in census covers only those who lives in Mainland China (mainly in Fujian) and consists of Amis (autonym : Pangcah), Paiwan and Bunun peoples

Taiwanese aborigines[]

The People's Republic of China government officially refers to all Taiwanese Aborigines (Chinese: 原住民族; pinyin: Yuánzhùmínzú), as Gaoshan (Chinese: 高山族; pinyin: Gāoshānzú), whereas the Republic of China (Taiwan) recognizes 16 groups of Taiwanese aborigines. The term Gaoshan has a different connotation in Taiwan than it does in mainland China.

"Unrecognized" ethnic minority groups[]

Part of a poster in Beijing showing the 56 ethnic groups of China

This is a list of ethnic groups in China that are not officially recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China.

• Äynu (艾努人 Àinǔ rén)
• Altaians (Oirots) are classified as Mongols^[8]
• Fuyu Kyrgyz are classified as Kyrgyz
• Gejia (家人 Gèjiā rén)
• Bajia (八甲人 Bājiǎ rén)
• Deng (僜人 Dèng rén)
• Hu (户人 Hù rén)
• Khmu (克木人 Kèmù rén)
• Kucong (Yellow Lahu / Lahu Shi; 苦聪人 / 苦聰人 Kǔcōng rén)
• Mang (芒人 Máng rén)
• Ili Turks (土尔克人 / 土爾克人)
• Sherpas (夏尔巴人 / 夏爾巴人 Xià'ěrbā rén)
• Tankas (疍家人 / 蜑家人 Dànjiā rén) including Fuzhou Tanka
• Tebbu (迭部人 Diébù rén)
• Tuvans (图瓦人 Túwǎ rén) are considered part of the Mongol ethnicity^[9]
• Waxiang (瓦乡人 Wǎxiāng rén)
• Jews (犹太人 / 猶太人 Yóutài rén) (Jewish people of China and Jews in general)
• Macanese (土生葡人 Tǔshēng pú rén), mixed race Catholic Portuguese speakers who lived in Macau since 16th century of various ethnic origins
• Utsuls (回辉人 Huíhuī rén), descendants of Cham Muslims who fled Vietnamese invasions of Champa
• Han subgroups such as Hakka, Hoklo, Hainanese, Gaoshan Han, Hui'an and Tunbaos.

During the Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (2000), 734,438 persons in the Chinese mainland, 97% of them in Guizhou, were specifically recorded as belonging to "Undistinguished ethnic groups".^[10] Presumably, other members of such groups may have been counted within larger "recognized" groups.

Ethnic groups in Hong Kong and Macau[]

Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China. The governments of Hong Kong and Macau do not use the official PRC ethnic classification system, nor does the PRC's official classification system take ethnic groups in Hong Kong and Macau into account. Minority groups such as Europeans (mainly English and Portuguese), and South or Southeast Asians (mainly Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Nepalese, and Pakistanis) live in Hong Kong.

Gallery[]

• 

  Han

• 

  Zhuang

• 

  Manchu

• 

  Hui

• 

  Miao

• 

  Uyghur

• 

  Tujia

• 

  Yi

• 

  Mongol

See also[]

• Affirmative action in China
• Demographics of China
• Demographics of Taiwan
• Taiwanese people
• Ethnic minorities in China
• Han Chinese subgroups
• Hua–Yi distinction
• Languages of China
• List of endangered languages in China
• Tai–Kadai ethnic groups in China
• Taiwanese aborigines
• Unrecognized ethnic groups in China
• Zhonghua minzu

References[]

Further reading[]

• Olson, James S. (1998). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28853-4.
• Schwars, Henry G. (1984). The Minorities of Northern China: A Survey.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ethnic groups in China.

• "Chinese ethnic odyssey" - collection of articles from the People's Daily
• Family album of Chinese 56 ethnic groups
• nytimes.com
• Map share of ethnic by county of China
• Map share of dominate ethnic by county of China