List of ethnic groups in China

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

Ethnolinguistic map of China

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]

English Name	Standard Romanization	Code^A	Mandarin Pinyin	Simplified Chinese	2010 National Shares	2010 Population^B	2000 Population^B	1990 Population^B	Year of recognition^C
Han Chinese^1	Han	HA	Hàn Zú	汉族	91.6474%	1,220,844,520	1,139,773,008	1,042,482,187	1954
Zhuang	Zhuang	ZH	Zhuàng Zú	壮族	1.2700%	16,926,381	16,187,163	15,489,630	1954
Hui^2	Hui	HU	Huí Zú	回族	0.7943%	10,586,087	9,828,126	8,602,978	1954
Manchu	Man	MA	Mǎn Zú	满族	0.7794%	10,387,958	10,708,464	9,821,180	1954
Uyghur	Uygur	UG	Wéiwú'ěr Zú	维吾尔族	0.7555%	10,069,346	8,405,416	7,214,431	1954
Miao (includes Hmong)^3	Miao	MH	Miáo Zú	苗族	0.7072%	9,426,007	8,945,538	7,398,035	1954
Yi	Yi	YI	Yí Zú	彝族	0.6538%	8,714,393	7,765,858	6,572,173	1954
Tujia	Tujia	TJ	Tǔjiā Zú	土家族	0.6268%	8,353,912	8,037,014	5,704,223	1964
Tibetan^4	Zang	ZA	Zàng Zú	藏族	0.4713%	6,282,187	5,422,954	4,593,330	1954
Mongol	Mongol	MG	Měnggǔ Zú	蒙古族	0.4488%	5,981,840	5,827,808	4,806,849	1954
Dong^5	Dong	DO	Dòng Zú	侗族	0.2161%	2,879,974	2,962,911	2,514,014	1954
Bouyei	Bouyei	BY	Bùyī Zú	布依族	0.2153%	2,870,034	2,973,217	2,545,059	1954
Yao	Yao	YA	Yáo Zú	瑶族	0.2098%	2,796,003	2,638,878	2,134,013	1954
Bai	Bai	BA	Bái Zú	白族	0.1451%	1,933,510	1,861,895	1,594,827	1954
Korean	Chosŏn	CS	Cháoxiǎn Zú	朝鲜族	0.1374%	1,830,929	1,929,696	1,920,597	1954
Hani^6	Hani	HN	Hāní Zú	哈尼族	0.1246%	1,660,932	1,440,029	1,253,952	1954
Li	Li	LI	Lí Zú	黎族	0.1098%	1,463,064	1,248,022	1,110,900	1954
Kazakh	Kazak	KZ	Hāsàkè Zú	哈萨克族	0.1097%	1,462,588	1,251,023	1,111,718	1954
Dai^7	Dai	DA	Dǎi Zú	傣族	0.0946%	1,261,311	1,159,231	1,025,128	1954
She	She	SH	Shē Zú	畲族	0.0532%	708,651	710,039	630,378	1964
Lisu	Lisu	LS	Lìsù Zú	傈僳族	0.0527%	702,839	635,101	574,856	1954
Dongxiang	Dongxiang	DX	Dōngxiāng Zú	东乡族	0.0466%	621,500	513,826	373,872	1954
Gelao	Gelao	GL	Gēlǎo Zú	仡佬族	0.0413%	550,746	579,744	437,997	1964
Lahu	Lahu	LH	Lāhù Zú	拉祜族	0.0365%	485,966	453,765	411,476	1954
Wa	Wa	WA	Wǎ Zú	佤族	0.0322%	429,709	396,709	351,974	1954
Sui	Sui	SU	Shuǐ Zú	水族	0.0309%	411,847	407,000	345,993	1954
Nakhi^8	Naxi	NX	Nàxī Zú	纳西族	0.0245%	326,295	309,477	278,009	1954
Qiang	Qiang	QI	Qiāng Zú	羌族	0.0232%	309,576	306,476	198,252	1954
Tu	Tu	TU	Tǔ Zú	土族	0.0217%	289,565	241,593	191,624	1954
Mulao^9	Mulao	ML	Mùlǎo Zú	仫佬族	0.0162%	216,257	207,464	159,328	1964
Xibe	Xibe	XB	Xībó Zú	锡伯族	0.0143%	190,481	189,357	172,847	1954
Kyrgyz	Kirgiz	KG	Kē'ěrkèzī Zú	柯尔克孜族	0.0140%	186,708	160,875	141,549	1954
Jingpo^10	Jingpo	JP	Jǐngpō Zú	景颇族	0.0111%	147,828	132,158	119,209	1954
Daur	Daur	DU	Dáwò'ěr Zú	达斡尔族	0.0099%	131,992	132,747	121,357	1964
Salar	Salar	SL	Sālā Zú	撒拉族	0.0098%	130,607	104,521	87,697	1954
Blang	Blang	BL	Bùlǎng Zú	布朗族	0.0090%	119,639	91,891	82,280	1964
Maonan^11	Maonan	MN	Máonán Zú	毛南族	0.0076%	101,192	107,184	71,968	1964
Tajik^12	Tajik	TA	Tǎjíkè Zú	塔吉克族	0.0038%	51,069	41,056	33,538	1954
Pumi	Pumi	PM	Pǔmǐ Zú	普米族	0.0032%	42,861	33,628	29,657	1964
Achang	Achang	AC	Āchāng Zú	阿昌族	0.0030%	39,555	33,954	27,708	1964
Nu	Nu	NU	Nù Zú	怒族	0.0028%	37,523	28,770	27,123	1964
Evenki	Ewenki	EW	Èwēnkè Zú	鄂温克族	0.0023%	30,875	30,545	26,315	1954
Gin^13	Gin	GI	Jīng Zú	京族	0.0021%	28,199	22,584	18,915	1964
Jino	Jino	JN	Jīnuò Zú	基诺族	0.0017%	23,143	20,899	18,021	1979
De'ang^14	Deang	DE	Dé'áng Zú	德昂族	0.0015%	20,556	17,935	15,462	1964
Bonan	Bonan	BO	Bǎo'ān Zú	保安族	0.0015%	20,074	16,505	12,212	1954
Russian	Russ	RS	Éluósī Zú	俄罗斯族	0.0012%	15,393	15,631	13,504	1954
Yugur	Yugur	YG	Yùgù Zú	裕固族	0.0011%	14,378	13,747	12,297	1954
Uzbek	Uzbek	UZ	Wūzībiékè Zú	乌孜别克族	0.0008%	10,569	12,423	14,502	1954
Monba	Monba	MB	Ménbā Zú	门巴族	0.0008%	10,561	8,928	7,475	1964
Oroqen	Oroqen	OR	Èlúnchūn Zú	鄂伦春族	0.0006%	8,659	8,216	6,965	1954
Derung	Derung	DR	Dúlóng Zú	独龙族	0.0005%	6,930	7,431	5,816	1964
Hezhen^15	Hezhen	HZ	Hèzhé Zú	赫哲族	0.0004%	5,354	4,664	4,245	1964
Gaoshan^16	Gaoshan	GS	Gāoshān Zú	高山族	0.0003%	4,009	4,488	2,909	1954
Lhoba	Lhoba	LB	Luòbā Zú	珞巴族	0.0003%	3,682	2,970	2,312	1965
Tatars	Tatar	TT	Tǎtǎ'ěr Zú	塔塔尔族	0.0003%	3,556	4,895	4,873	1954
Undistinguished	—	none	Wèi Shìbié Mínzú	未识别民族	0.0480%	640,101	734,438	749,341	—
Naturalized Citizen	—	none	Wàiguórén Jiārù Zhōngguójí	外国人加入中国籍	0.0001%	1,448	941	3,421	—

^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.

"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.

• Äynu people (艾努人 Àinǔ rén)
• 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 Turki people (土尔克人 / 土爾克人)
• Sherpas (夏尔巴人 / 夏爾巴人 Xià'ěrbā rén)

Sung or Song Chinese that is Southern Chinese

• Tankas (疍家人 / 蜑家人 Dànjiā rén) including Fuzhou Tanka
• Tebbu people (迭部人 Diébù rén)
• Tuvans (图瓦人 Túwǎ rén)
• Waxiang (瓦乡人 Wǎxiāng rén)
• Jews (犹太人 / 猶太人 Yóutài rén) (Jewish people of China and Jews in general)
• Yamato Japanese (大和民族 Dàhé mínzú) and Ryukyuans (琉球民族 Liúqiú mínzú) living as permanent residents in Taiwan and Northeast China
• 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
• Yakuts (雅库特人 Yǎ kù tè rén)
• Teleuts(铁列乌特人 Tiě liè wū tè rén)
• Kalmyks (卡尔梅克人 Kǎ'ěr méi kè rén)

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".[8] 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

1. "Han Chinese proportion in China's population drops: census data (2011-04-28)". Xinhua News (English). Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
2. "index". www.stats.gov.cn.
3. http://www.beijingrelocation.com/blog/expats-in-china-nationalities-and-in-which-cities-they-settle/
4. 胡鸿保; 张丽梅 (2009). 民族识别原则的变化与民族人口. Southwest University for Nationalities University Press (4).
5. GB 3304－91 Names of nationalities of China in romanization with codes Archived 2009-11-01 at the Wayback Machine.
6. First National Population Census of the People's Republic of China
7. Second National Population Census of the People's Republic of China
8. 第五次人口普查数据(2000年). 表1—6. 省、自治区、直辖市分性别、民族的人口 ( Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (2000). Table 1-6: Population of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities by ethnicity). (in Chinese)

External links

• "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