List of ethnic groups in China

Ethnolinguistic map of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Multiple ethnic groups populate China, where "China" is taken to mean areas controlled by either of the two states using "China" in their formal names, the People's Republic of China (China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

The Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group, where some 91.59%^[1] of the population was classified as Han Chinese (~1.2 billion). Besides the majority Han Chinese, 55 other ethnic groups are recognised in mainland China by the PRC government, numbering approximately 105 million people, mostly concentrated in the northwest, north, northeast, south, and southwest but with some in central interior areas.

The major minority ethnic groups 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).

Officially recognized ethnic groups in mainland China

In order of population, this is the list of the 56 ethnic groups in China that are officially recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China. Members of several ethnic groups reside in Hong Kong and Macau, but due to the long separation from China, many of these ethnic groups are generally unknown to the Special administrative regions (of People's Republic of China) of Hong Kong and of Macau.

^AGB 3304－91 "Names of nationalities of China in romanization with codes";^[2]
BThe population only includes China and the Republic of China (Taiwan);
¹Also included are the Chuanqing;
²Also includes Utsuls of Hainan, descended from Cham refugees;
³A subset of which is also known as Hmong;
⁴including Amdowa and Khampa;
⁵Also included are the Sangkong;
⁶This category includes several different Tai-speaking groups historically referred to as Bai-yi;
⁷Also included are the Mosuo;
⁸Also included are the 木佬人 (Qago);
⁹Known as Kachin in Myanmar;
¹⁰Also included are the Then;
¹¹Actually not Tajik people but Pamiri people;
¹²The same group as Vietnamese or Kinh people in Sino-Vietnamese;
¹³The same group as Nanai on the Russian side of the border;
¹⁴A collective name for all Taiwanese aborigine groups in Taiwan.

Taiwanese aborigines

The People's Republic of China government officially refers to all Taiwanese aborigines as Gaoshan, whereas the Republic of China (Taiwan) recognizes 14 groups of Taiwanese aborigines. The term Gaoshan has a different connotation in Taiwan than it does in mainland China. While several thousands of these aborigines have migrated to Fujian province in mainland China, most remain in Taiwan. Due to the contested political status and legal status of Taiwan, the PRC classification of Taiwanese aborigines may be controversial. Also, scientific research conducted by Chen Shun-sheng of the Kaohsiung Hospital’s psychiatric department confirms DNA studies of Taiwan’s people revealed a large percentage of the population has mixed Han Chinese and aboriginal bloodlines.

When Taiwanese Han "blood nationalists" tried to claim Plains Aboriginal ancestry in order to promote Taiwan independence and try to claim an identity different from that of mainland Chinese in spite of the fact that their own ancestry is overwhelmingly that of recent migrants from China and genetic tests show differences between them and plains aborigines, their claims were decidedly rejected by the actual descendants of Taiwanese Plains Aborigines, who seek to preserve their own traditional culture since the abuse of claiming their ancestry by Taiwanese "blood nationalists" to create a unique Taiwanese identity based on blood negates the actual significance of having Plains Aboriginal ancestors.^[3]

"Undistinguished" 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.

• Ayi people
• Äynu people
• Gejia (亻革家人, Gèjiā Rén)
• Bajia (八甲人, Bājiǎ Rén)
• Deng (僜人, Dèng Rén)
• Hoklo or Hokkien (福佬人)
• Hu (户语)
• Khmu (克木人, Kèmù Rén)
• Kucong (Yellow Lahu/Lahu Shi (苦聪人; Traditional: 苦聰人; Kǔcōng Rén)
• Mang (芒人, Máng Rén)
• Sherpas (夏尔巴人; Traditional: 夏爾巴人; Xiàěrbā Rén)
• Tankas (疍家人; Traditional: 蜑家人; Dànjiā Rén) including Fuzhou Tanka
• Tuvans (图瓦人, Túwǎ Rén)
• Waxiang (瓦乡人, Wǎxiāng Rén)
• Yi (羿人, Yìrén)
• Youtai (犹太; Traditional: 猶太; Yóutài) (Jewish people of China and Jewish people in general)
• Yamato Japanese (大和民族) and Ryukyuans (琉球民族) living as permanent residents in Taiwan and North East China
• Macanese (土生葡人, mixed race Catholic Portuguese speakers who lived in Macau since 16th century of various ethnic origins
• Utsuls, descendants of Cham Muslims who fled Vietnamese invasions of Champa

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".^[4] 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. As a result, minority groups such as Europeans (mainly English), and South or South East Asians (mainly Filipinos, Indian, Indonesians, Nepalese and Pakistani) in Hong Kong.

Gallery

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  Zhuang

• 

  Manchu

• 

  Hui

• 

  Miao

• 

  Uyghurs

• 

  Tujia

• 

  Yi

• 

  Mongols

See also

• Affirmative action in China
• Human rights in China
• Han Chinese subgroups
• Ethnic minorities in China
• Undistinguished ethnic groups in China
• List of endangered languages in China
• Tai ethnic groups in China
• Ethnic groups in Taiwan
• Zhonghua Minzu
• Taiwanese aborigines
• Demographics of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan
• Languages of China

References

External links

• "Chinese ethnic odyssey" - Collection of articles from the People's Daily
• Family album of Chinese 56 ethnic groups
• http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/10/world/20090711-xinjiang.html
• Map share of ethnic by county of China