List of ethnic groups in China

The Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group in mainland China, comprising 91.5% of the population (~1.2 billion) in 2010.[needs update] There are 55 other minority ethnic groups in present-day China, numbering approximately 105 million people (8%), mostly around border regions.

The main ethnic minorities in China are the Zhuang (19.6 million), Hui (11.4 million), Uyghurs (11 million), Miao (11 million), Manchus (10.4 million), Yi (9.8 million), Tujia (9.6 million), Tibetans (7 million), Mongols (6.3 million), Buyei (3.5 million), Dong (3.5 million), Yao (3.3 million), Bai (2 million), Koreans (1.7 million), Hani (1.7 million), Li (1.6 million), Kazakhs (1.5 million), and Dai (1.2 million). In addition, there are a number of unrecognized ethnic groups which together comprise over 730,000 people. Collectively, the ethnic groups of China are referred to as the Zhonghua minzu (Chinese: 中华民族; pinyin: Zhōnghuá mínzú; lit. 'Chinese ethnicity').

Hong Kong and Macau are special administrative regions within China, and as such, do not use the ethnic classification system used on the Mainland. Hong Kong and Macau are both majority Han Chinese with ethnic minorities of Western European (mainly English and Portuguese), Southeast Asian (mainly Filipinos, Indonesians, and Vietnamese), and South Asian (in the case of Hong Kong) origin.

Officially recognized groups

Officially recognized ethnic groups receive or have received certain benefits over Han Chinese under the regional ethnic autonomy system, including affirmative action, exemptions from the one-child policy, designated seats in political organs and government support to preserve their culture. Ethnic minority autonomous areas receive additional state subsidies. Languages of officially recognized minorities are used in official government documents.[non-primary source needed]

Soon after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, 39 ethnic groups were recognized by the first national census in 1954. This further increased to 54 by the second national census in 1964, with the Lhoba people added in 1965. The last change was the addition of the Jino people in 1979, bringing the number of recognized ethnic groups to the current 56. The following are the 56 ethnic groups (listed by population) officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.

Unlisted ethnic groups

The following ethnic groups living in China are not recognized by the Chinese government:

• Äynu people – classified as Uyghurs
• Altai people – classified as Mongols
• Bajia (八甲人; Bājiǎrén)
• Chuanqing people – classified as Han
• Deng people
• Fuyu Kyrgyz people – classified as Kyrgyz
• Gejia people – classified as Miao
• Hu people – classified as Bulang
• Ili Turk people – classified as Uzbek
• Jewish people – classified as Han
• Khmu people – classified as Bulang
• Kucong
• Macanese people, mixed race Catholic Portuguese speakers who lived in Macau since 16th century of various ethnic origins
• Mảng people
• Mosuo – classified as Naxi
• Qago people[zh] (木佬人) – classified as Mulao
• Sangkong people – classified as Hani
• Sherpa people – classified as Tibetan
• Tanka people, including Fuzhou Tanka – classified as Han
• Tebbu people
• Then people – classified as Maonan
• Tuvans – classified as Mongols
• Utsuls – classified as Hui
• Waxiang people
• Yamato people and Ryukyuan people, primarily Japanese settlers that remained in China after the Second Sino-Japanese War, which mostly were women and orphaned children

During the Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China held in 2000, 734,438 people on the mainland were recorded as belonging to "undistinguished ethnic groups"—of these, 97% resided in Guizhou.[needs update]

Gallery

• Zhuang
• Manchu
• Hui
• Miao
• Uyghur
• Tujia
• Yi
• Mongol

See also

• 56 Flowers
• Affirmative action in China
• Demographics of China
• Demographics of Taiwan
• Local ethnic nationalism
• Taiwanese people
• Ethnic minorities in China
• Han Chinese subgroups
• Hua–Yi distinction
• Languages of China
• List of endangered languages in China
• Kra–Dai ethnic groups in China
• Taiwanese indigenous peoples
• Unrecognized ethnic groups in China
• Minzu (anthropology) Zhonghua minzu

Further reading

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

External links

• Media related to Ethnic groups in China at Wikimedia Commons