European ethnic groups

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This article deals with the European people as an ethnic group or ethnic groups. For information about residents or nationals of Europe, see Demography of Europe. For information on other uses please see disambiguation page: European

The European peoples are the various nations and ethnic groups of Europe.

European Ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe.

Contents

[edit] Ethnic groups of Europe

see Category:Ethnic groups in Europe
Further information: Demography of Europe, Languages of Europe, and Eurolinguistics
Languages of Europe:                     North Germanic                 West Germanic                 Celtic                     Western Romance    Italian+Southern     Eastern Romance     Basque                     East Slavic                 West Slavic             South Slavic         Baltic     Greek     Albanian     Armenian     Iranian             Finno-Permic     Hungarian     Ob-Ugric     Caucasian     Turkic     Kalmyk     Arabic+Maltese     Berber
Languages of Europe:
                    North Germanic                 West Germanic                 Celtic
                    Western Romance    Italian+Southern     Eastern Romance     Basque
                    East Slavic                 West Slavic             South Slavic         Baltic
    Greek     Albanian     Armenian     Iranian
            Finno-Permic     Hungarian     Ob-Ugric
    Caucasian     Turkic     Kalmyk     Arabic+Maltese     Berber

Of the total population of Europe of some 730 million (as of 2005), some 85% or 630 million fall within three large ethno-linguistic super-groups, viz., Slavic, Latin (Romance) and Germanic. The largest groups that do not fall within either of these are the Greeks and the Hungarians (about 13 million each). About 20-25 million residents are members of diasporas of non-European origin. The population of the European Union with some 500 million accounts for two thirds of European population.

The largest ethnic group of Europe are probably the Russians with some 90 million settling in the European parts of Russia, followed by the Germans (76 million), Italians (58 million), French (49 million[1]), English (45 million), Spanish (42 million), Poles (42 million) and the Ukrainians (41 million).

Inasmuch as ethnic Jews are considered a separate ethnicity, Europe has a population of about 2 million ethnic Jews (mostly also counted as part of the ethnic group of their respective home countries):

Depending on what parts of the Caucasus are considered part of Europe, various peoples of the Caucasus may also be considered "European peoples":

[edit] Indigeneity

[edit] Prehistoric populations

Further information: Prehistoric Europe, Eurasian nomads, and Indo-European expansion

The Basques are assumed to descend from the populations of the Atlantic Bronze Age directly. The Indo-European groups of Europe (the Centum groups plus Balto-Slavic and Albanian) are assumed to have developed in situ by admixture of early Indo-European groups arriving in Europe by the Bronze Age (Corded ware, Beaker people). The Finnic peoples are indigenous to northeastern Europe.

Reconstructed languages of Iron Age Europe include Proto-Celtic, Proto-Italic and Proto-Germanic, all of these Indo-European languages of the centum group, and Proto-Slavic and Proto-Baltic, of the satem group. A group of Tyrrhenian languages appears to have included Etruscan, Rhaetian and perhaps also Eteocretan and Eteocypriot. A pre-Roman stage of Proto-Basque can only be reconstructed with great uncertainty.

Regarding the European Bronze Age, the only secure reconstruction is that of Proto-Greek (ca. 2000 BC). A Proto-Italo-Celtic ancestor of both Italic and Celtic (assumed for the Bell beaker period), and a Proto-Balto-Slavic language (assumed for roughly the Corded Ware horizon) has been postulated with less confidence. Old European hydronymy has been taken as indicating an early (Bronze Age) Indo-European predecessor of the later centum languages.

[edit] Historical populations

Further information: History of Europe
Provinces of the Roman Empire in AD 117.
Provinces of the Roman Empire in AD 117.

Iron Age (pre-Great Migrations) populations of Europe known from Greco-Roman historiography, notably Herodotus, Pliny, Ptolemy and Tacitus:

[edit] Historical immigration

Further information: Scythians, Huns, Turkic expansion, and Islamic conquests
The Great Migrations of Late Antiquity.
The Great Migrations of Late Antiquity.
Map showing the three main political divisions around 800: The Carolingian Empire (purple), the Byzantine Empire (orange) and the Caliphate of Córdoba (light green). (Borders are approximate.)
Map showing the three main political divisions around 800: The Carolingian Empire (purple), the Byzantine Empire (orange) and the Caliphate of Córdoba (light green). (Borders are approximate.)

Ethno-linguistic groups that arrived from outside Europe during historical times are:

[edit] Indigenous minorities

Further information: Definitions and identity of indigenous peoples
A Sami family in northern Scandinavia around 1900
A Sami family in northern Scandinavia around 1900

In a more narrow sense of "indigenous peoples", ethnic minorities marginalized by historical expansion of their neighbour populations, Europe's present-day indigenous populations are relatively few, mainly confined to northern and far-eastern reaches of this Eurasian peninsula. Whilst there are numerous ethnic minorities distributed within European countries, few of these still maintain traditional subsistence cultures and are recognized as indigenous peoples, per se. The following groups can be considered "indigenous peoples" of Europe in this narrow sense:[8]

[edit] Physical appearance and genetic origins

Main article: Genetic history of Europe
Further information: White people and Caucasoid

There has been human habitation (Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis) in Europe for over a million years,[10][11] but human remains with a recognisably modern anatomy have only been dated back to 40,000 years ago, with the Cro magnon settlement. It is probable that the origins of Cro Magnon man can be traced back ultimately to ancestors in East Africa. [12] There remains a remote possibility of limited interbreeding of Cro-Magnon and Neanderthals during the Upper Paleolithic.

Over the prehistoric period there was continual immigration to Europe, notably with the neolithic revolution.[13]

In 19th to early 20th century scientific racism, European groups were described as members of a Caucasian race, divided into an Alpine, a Mediterranean and a Nordic subgroup, most characterized by lightly pigmented skin and variability in eye and hair colour [14].

Genetically, the main substructure within European populations is between the Atlantic ("Basque"), the Balkans ("Near East") and the Northern ("Finnic") poles. The main components in the European genomes appear to derive from ancestors whose features were similar to those of modern Basques and Near Easterners. The lowest degree of either Basque or Near Eastern admixture is found in Finland, whereas the highest values are, respectively, 70% ("Basque") in Spain and more than 60% ("Near Eastern") in the Balkans.[8][9]

A 2007 study using samples exclusively from Europe found an unusually high degree of European homogeneity: "there is low apparent diversity in Europe with the entire continent-wide samples only marginally more dispersed than single population samples elsewhere in the world." The main component of genetic differentiation in Europe was found to occur on a line from the north to the south-east (northern Europe to the Balkans), [15] with another east-west axis of differentiation across Europe.[16]

[edit] Haplogroups

There are three major Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups which largely account for most of Europe's present-day population[17][18]. Such haplogroups indicate that individuals share one male ancestor (they do not mean that individuals do not share ancestors with individuals with other haplogroups, only that such ancestry cannot be traced using currently available methods).

Bryan Sykes in The Seven Daughters of Eve discusses seven mitochondrial haplogroups prevalent in Europe, Haplogroup U, Haplogroup X, Haplogroup H, Haplogroup V, Haplogroup T, Haplogroup K and Haplogroup J. Other mitochondrial groups found in Europe include I, M and W[19]. A recent paper re-mapped European haplogroups as H, J, K, N1, T, U4, U5, V, X and W.[20]

[edit] European identity and culture

Main articles: European culture, Western world, Christendom, and Pan-European identity

The culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of West as opposed to East; Christianity as opposed to Islam; many have claimed to identify cultural fault lines across the continent.

European culture also has a broad influence beyond the continent of Europe due to the legacy of colonialism. In this broader sense it is sometimes referred to as Western Civilization. Nearly all of the Americas and all of Africa were ruled by European powers at one time or another, and some parts of the New World, such as French Guiana, still are. The vast majority of the population of the Americas speak European languages, specifically Spanish, English, Portuguese, French and to a much lesser extent Dutch. Additionally the cultures of the European colonial powers (Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium and France) exert a strong influence.

Pan-European identity refers to both the sense of personal identification with Europe, and to the identity possessed by 'Europe' as a whole. 'Europe' is widely used as a synonym for the European Union even though there are millions of people living on the European continent in non-EU states. The prefix pan implies that the identity applies throughout Europe, and especially in an EU context, 'pan-European' is often contrasted with national.

[edit] Religion

Predominant religions in Europe      Roman Catholicism      Orthodox Christianity      Protestantism      Sunni Islam      Shia Islam
Predominant religions in Europe      Roman Catholicism      Orthodox Christianity      Protestantism      Sunni Islam      Shia Islam
Main article: Religion in Europe

Since the High Middle Ages, most of Europe has been dominated by Christianity. There are three major denominations, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox, with Protestantism restricted mostly to Germanic regions, and Orthodoxy to Slavic regions, Greece and Georgia. Catholicism, while centered in the Latin parts, has a significant following also in Germanic, Slavic and Celtic regions.

Islam has some tradition in the Balkans (the European dominions of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th to 19th centuries), in Albania, Former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Turkish East Thrace. European Russia has the largest Muslim community, including the Tatars of the Middle Volga and multiple groups in the Caucasus, including Chechens, Avars, Ingush and others. With 20th century migrations, Muslims in Western Europe have become a noticeable minority.

Judaism has a long history in Europe, but is a small minority religion, with France (1%) the only European country with a Jewish population in excess of 0.5%. The Jewish population of Europe is comprised primarily of two groups, the Ashkenazi and the Sephardi. Ashkenazi Jews migrated to Europe as early as the 8th century, while Sephardi Jews established themselves in Spain and Portugal at least one thousand years before that. Jewish European history was notably affected by the Holocaust and resulting emigration in the 20th century.

In modern times, significant secularization has taken place, notably in laicist France in the 19th century and in Communist Eastern Europe in the 20th century. Currently, distribution of theism in Europe is very heterogeneous, with more than 95% in Poland, and less than 20% in the Czech Republic. On average, the 2005 Eurobarometer poll[21] found that 52% of the citizens of EU member state that they believe in God.

[edit] Immigration

Main article: Immigration to Europe
Further information: Islam in Europe, Muslims in Western Europe, Hinduism in Europe, and Buddhism in Europe

Populations of non-European origin in Europe (approx. 25 - 30+ million, or approx. 3% to 4% [depending on definition of non-European origin], out of a total population of approx. 730 million):

  • Middle East
  • Africa
  • Latin Americans (mainly Mestizos): approx. 2.2 million, with the largest groups in Spain and Italy[24]
    • Plus Latin American Britons number around 1 million and are of European, African, Native South American and many other races
  • South Asians (many ethnicities): approx. 3 million, mostly in the UK
  • East Asia
    • Chinese: approx. 1 million, mostly in France, the UK and the Netherlands
    • Filipinos: approx. 500,000, mostly in the UK, France, Germany and Italy
    • Japanese: ca. 100,000, mostly in the UK

[edit] European diasporas

Further information: History of colonialism and Greater Europe

Nations and regions outside of Europe with significant populations of European ancestry [25]:

Mexico: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA</ref>

National diasporas:

Further information: List of diasporas

[edit] References

  1. ^ Recensement officiel de l'Insee [1]
  2. ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Switzerland
  3. ^ CIA factbook. Turkey is a transcontinentalc country, with 80% of its population Turkish and 20% Kurdish.
  4. ^ CIA factbook Statistics for Germany.
  5. ^ Turkish Statistical Institute
  6. ^ As a transcontinental country, Georgia may be considered to be in Asia and/or Europe. The UN classification of world regions places Georgia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook [2], National Geographic, and Encyclopædia Britannica also place Georgia in Asia. Conversely, numerous sources place Georgia in Europe such as the BBC [3], Oxford Reference Online [4], Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and www.worldatlas.com.
  7. ^ My Jewish Learning - European Origins
  8. ^ see also Definitions and identity of indigenous peoples.
  9. ^ Old World Contacts/Colonists/Canary Islands
  10. ^ Georgian Homo Erectus Published by Angela M.H. Schuster. Archaeology May 2000
  11. ^ The million year old tooth from Atapuerca, Spain, found in June 2007
  12. ^ The Genographic Project, National Geographic
  13. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica, s.v. "Europe : The people".
  14. ^ Europe, Encyclopædia Britannica Online
  15. ^ In 2006, an autosomal analysis comparing samples from various European populations concluded that “there is a consistent and reproducible distinction between ‘northern’ and ‘southern’ European population groups”. [5]
  16. ^ Measuring European Population Stratification using Microarray Genotype Data [6]
  17. ^ DNA Heritage [7]
  18. ^ Semino et al (2000),The Genetic Legacy of Paleolithic Homo sapiens sapiens in Extant Europeans, Science Vol 290. Note: Haplogroup names are different in this article. For ex: Haplogroup I is referred as M170
  19. ^ mtDNA (Mitochondria) Tests Interpretation
  20. ^ description of paper entitled Disuniting Uniformity: A Pied Cladistic Canvas of mtDNA haplogroup H in Eurasia
  21. ^ ReportDGResearchSocialValuesEN2.PDF
  22. ^ Youths bring violence from a war-torn land
  23. ^ France's blacks stand up to be counted
  24. ^ Latin American Immigration to Southern Europe
  25. ^ Ethnic groups by country. Statistics (where available) from CIA Factbook.
  26. ^ South Africa: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  27. ^ Namibia: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  28. ^ Réunion Island
  29. ^ Swaziland: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  30. ^ Tunisia: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  31. ^ Fiona Hill, Russia — Coming In From the Cold?, The Globalist, 23 February 2004
  32. ^ Robert Greenall, Russians left behind in Central Asia, BBC News, 23 November 2005.
  33. ^ Uzbekistan: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  34. ^ Kyrgyzstan: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  35. ^ Turkmenistan: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  36. ^ HK Census. "HK Census." Statistical Table. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
  37. ^ Greenland
  38. ^ North America - Britannica Concise Encyclopedia - The online encyclopedia you can trust!
  39. ^ Mexico :: Ethnic groups - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  40. ^ Bahamas: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  41. ^ Barbados: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  42. ^ Bermuda: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  43. ^ Cayman Islands: People: Ethnic Groups. The World Factbook of CIA
  44. ^ "Cuba; People; Ethnic groups", CIA World Factbook. Retrieved on 2007-11-21. 
  45. ^ [https:http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/CU/people.html#People Cuba: People: Ethnic Groups.] World Factbook of CIA
  46. ^ Dominican Republic: People: Ethnic groups. World Factbook of CIA
  47. ^ El Salvador: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  48. ^ Martinique: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  49. ^ "Nicaragua: People; Ethnic groups", CIA World Factbook. Retrieved on 2007-11-15. 
  50. ^ "Panama; People; Ethnic groups", CIA World Factbook. Retrieved on 2007-11-21. 
  51. ^ Puerto Rico: People: Ethnic Groups World Factbook of CIA
  52. ^ Argentina
  53. ^ Argentina: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  54. ^ Bolivia: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  55. ^ PNAD (Portuguese) Table 1.2 (2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
  56. ^ Elementos de Salud Pública
  57. ^ Colombia: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  58. ^ "Ecuador: People; Ethnic groups", CIA World Factbook. Retrieved on 2007-11-26. 
  59. ^ French Guiana: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  60. ^ Peru: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  61. ^ Venezuela
  62. ^ Uruguay: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  63. ^ French Polynesia: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA
  64. ^ Brazil: People: Ethnic Groups. World Factbook of CIA

[edit] Bibliography

  • Andrews, Peter A. & Benninghaus, Rüdiger (2002), Ethnic Groups in the Republic of Turkey, Reichert, ISBN 3895003255 
  • Marcus Banks, Ethnicity: Anthropological Constructions, Routledge (1996).
  • Cole, J. W., Wolf, E. R., The Hidden Frontier: Ecology and Ethnicity in an Alpine Valley, University of California Press; (1999), ISBN 978-0520216815.
  • Dow, R. R., Bockhorn, O., The Study of European Ethnology in Austria, Progress in European Ethnology, Ashgate Publishing (2004), ISBN 978-0754617471.
  • Eberhardt, Piotr & Owsinski, Jan (2003), Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-century Central Eastern Europe, M.E. Sharpe, ISBN 0765606658 
  • Gresham, D. et al (2001), “Origins and divergence of the Roma (Gypsies)”, American Journal of Human Genetics 69 (6): 1314-1331  Online article
  • Jordan, T. G., The European culture area: A systematic geography (2nd ed.). New York: Harper and Row (1988).
  • Latham, Robert Gordon (1854), The Native Races of the Russian Empire, Hippolyte Baillière (London)  Full text on google books
  • Gross, Manfred (2004), Romansh: Facts & Figures, Lia Rumantscha, ISBN 3039000373  Online version
  • Levinson, David (1998), Ethnic groups worldwide: a ready reference handbook, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 1573560197 
  • E. J. Hobsbawm and David J. Kertzer, "Ethnicity and Nationalism in Europe Today", Anthropology Today, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Feb., 1992), pp. 3-8.
  • Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Lee Brigance & Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1994), An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empire, Greenwood, ISBN 0313274975 
  • Panayi, Panikos (1999), An Ethnic History of Europe Since 1945: Nations, States and Minorities, Longman, ISBN 0582381355 
  • Parman, S. (ed.), Europe in the Anthropological Imagination, Prentice Hall (1998).
  • Stephens (1976), Linguistic Minorities in Western Europe, Gomer Press, ISBN 0608187593 
  • Stone, Gerald (1972), The Smallest Slavonic Nation: The Sorbs of Lusatia, Athlene Press, ISBN 0485111292 

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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