Ethnic groups in India
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South Asian ethnic groups are an
ethnolinguistic Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language and the nonlinguistic cultural behavior of the people who speak that language. __NOTOC__ Examples ...
grouping of the diverse populations of
South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...
, including the nations of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
,
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
,
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
, the
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
, and
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. While
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...
is variously considered to be part of both
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
and South Asia,
Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry ...
are generally not included among South Asians. The majority of the population fall within three large linguistic groups: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, and Iranic. The Indian, Nepalese, and Sri Lankan societies are traditionally divided into
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...
s or
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, mea ...
s, which are based primarily on labour divisions; these categories have had no official status in India since independence in 1947, except for the scheduled castes and tribes, which remain registered for the purpose of affirmative action. In today's
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
, the population is categorised in terms of the 1,652 mother tongues spoken. These groups are also further subdivided into numerous sub-groups, castes and tribes. Indo-Aryans form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in India (
North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Cen ...
,
East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magad ...
, West India, and
Central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in al ...
), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Dravidians form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in
southern India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...
, the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka and a small pocket of Pakistan. The
Iranic peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...
also have a significant presence in South Asia, the large majority of whom are located in Pakistan. Minority groups not falling within either large group mostly speak languages belonging to the
Austroasiatic The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...
and Tibeto-Burman language families, and largely live around
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...
and
Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...
, Nepal, Bhutan, and the
Chittagong Hill Tracts The Chittagong Hill Tracts ( bn, পার্বত্য চট্টগ্রাম, Parbotto Chottogram), often shortened to simply the Hill Tracts and abbreviated to CHT, are group of districts within the Chittagong Division in southeast ...
of Bangladesh. The
Andamanese The Andamanese are the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, part of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia. The Andamanese peoples are among the various grou ...
(Sentinel, Onge, Jarawa, and Great Andamanese) live in some of the Andaman Islands and speak a language isolate, as do the Kusunda in central Nepal, the Vedda in Sri Lanka, and the Nihali of Central India, who number about 5,000 people. The people of the Hunza Valley in Pakistan are another distinct population; they speak
Burushaski Burushaski (; ) is a language isolate spoken by Burusho people, who reside almost entirely in northern Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, with a few hundred speakers in northern Jammu and Kashmir, India. In Pakistan, Burushaski is spoken by people ...
, a language isolate. The traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged, influenced by external cultures, especially in the northwestern parts of South Asia and also in the border regions and busy ports, where there are greater levels of contact with external cultures. There is also a lot of genetic diversity within the region. For example, most of the ethnic groups of the northeastern parts of South Asia are genetically related to peoples of
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
or
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
. There are also genetically isolated groups who have not been genetically influenced by other groups, such as the Jarawa people of the
Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between t ...
. The largest ethnolinguistic group in South Asia are the Indo-Aryans, numbering around 1 billion, and the largest sub-group are the native speakers of Hindi languages, numbering more than 470 million. These groups are based solely on a linguistic basis and not on a genetic basis.


List of ethnic groups on the basis of language


Andamanese and Nicobarese groups

* Great Andamanese of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
*
Jangil The Jangil (also Rutland Jarawa) were one of the Andamanese indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal. They were distributed through the interior of Rutland Island, and were given the name Rutland Jarawa because i ...
of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
* Jarawa of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
* Onge of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
*
Sentinelese The Sentinelese, also known as the Sentineli and the North Sentinel Islanders, are an indigenous people who inhabit North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal in the northeastern Indian Ocean. Designated a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Gro ...
of the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...


Austroasiatic people

*
Khasi people The Khasi people are an ethnic group of Meghalaya in north-eastern India with a significant population in the bordering state of Assam, and in certain parts of Bangladesh. Khasi people form the majority of the population of the eastern part of M ...
** Pnar/Jaintia *
Munda peoples The Munda peoples of eastern and central parts of the Indian subcontinent are any of several tribal groups who natively speak Munda languages of Austro-asiatic language family, formerly also known as Kolarian, and spoken by about nine million ...
**
Bhumij people Bhumij is a Munda ethnic group of India. They primarily live in the Indian states of West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand, mostly in the old Singhbhum district. Also in states like Bihar and Assam. There is also a sizeable population found in ...
**
Bonda people Bonda (also known as the Bondo, Bondo Poraja, Bhonda, or Remo) are a Munda ethnic group approximately 12,000 (2011 census) who live in the isolated hill regions of the Malkangiri district of southwestern Odisha, India, near the junction of the ...
**
Ho people The Ho or Kolha people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They call themselves the ''Ho'', ''Hodoko'' and ''Horo,'' which mean 'human' in their own language. Officially, however, they are mentioned in different subgroups like K ...
** Juang people ** Kharia people ** Korku people **
Mahle people The Mahali is a small ethnic group living in the northern districts of Rajshahi, Joypurhat, Dinajpur, Rangpur and Sylhet of Bangladesh. The total community size is 30,000 (approximately) as of mid-2009. They are spread over these 5 districts ...
**
Munda people The Munda people are an Austroasiatic speaking ethnic group of India. They predominantly speak the Mundari language as their native language, which belongs to the Munda subgroup of Austroasiatic languages. The Munda are found mainly concent ...
**
Santali people The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...
**
Sora people The Sora (alternative names and spellings include Saora, Saura, Savara and Sabara) are a Munda ethnic group from eastern India. They live in southern Odisha and north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The Soras mainly live in Gajapati, Rayagada and ...
*
Nicobarese people The Nicobarese people are an Austroasiatic-speaking people of the Nicobar Islands, a chain of islands in the Bay of Bengal north of Sumatra, forming part of the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Only 12 of the 19 islands a ...
* Shompen people


Austronesian people

*
Sri Lankan Malays Sri Lankan Malays ( ''Shri Lanka Mæle Janathava'' (Standard); ''Mæle Minissu / Ja Minissu'' (Colloquially); are Sri Lankans with full or partial ancestry from the Indonesian Archipelago, Malaysia, or Singapore. In addition, people from Brun ...
* Urak Lawoi *
Moken The Moken (also ''Mawken or'' ''Morgan''; ; th, ชาวเล, lit=sea people, translit=chao le) are an Austronesian people of the Mergui Archipelago, a group of approximately 800 islands claimed by both Myanmar and Thailand. Most of the 2,0 ...


Dravidian people

*
Badagas The Badagas are an ethno-linguistic community living in the Nilgiri district in Tamil Nadu, India. Throughout the district the Badugas live in nearly 400 villages, called Hattis. The Badagas speak a language called Badaga. History The name ...
*
Brahui people The Brahui ( brh, ), Brahvi or Brohi, are an ethnic group of pastoralists principally found in Balochistan, Pakistan. A minority speaks the Brahui language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family, while the rest speaks Balochi and tend ...
* Dongria Kondha * Gondi people * Irulas * Kannadigas *
Khonds Khonds (also spelt Kondha, Kandha etc.) are an indigenous Adivasi tribal community in India. Traditionally hunter-gatherers, they are divided into the hill-dwelling Khonds and plain-dwelling Khonds for census purposes; All the Khonds identif ...
* Kodava * Kurukh/Oraon *
Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomin ...
* Malto people *
Sauria Paharia people The Sauria Paharia people (also known as Maler Paharia) are a Dravidian ethnic people of Bangladesh and the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Bihar. They are found mostly in Santhal Parganas region in the Rajmahal Hills. Origins A ...
*
Tamil people The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...
** Indian Tamils ***
Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They are partly descended from workers sent from South India to S ...
**
Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern P ...
*
Telugu people Telugu people ( te, తెలుగువారు, Teluguvāru), or Telugus, or Telugu vaaru, are the largest of the four major Dravidian ethnolinguistic groups in terms of population. Telugus are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh ...
*
Toda people Toda people are a Dravidian ethnic group who live in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu. Before the 18th century and British colonisation, the Toda coexisted locally with other ethnic communities, including the Kota, Badaga and Kurumba, in a ...
* Tuluvas


Indo-Aryan people

*
Assamese people The Assamese people are a socio- ethnic linguistic identity that has been described at various times as nationalistic or micro-nationalistic. This group is often associated with the Assamese language, the easternmost Indo-Aryan language, ...
* Awadhi people * Banjara people *
Bhojpuri people The Bhojpuri people or Bhojpuriyas are a group from the Indian subcontinent who speak the Bhojpuri-language and inhabit the Bhojpuri-Purvanchal region. This area is now divided between the western part of the Indian state of Bihar, the eastern pa ...
*
Bengali people Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of S ...
*
Bhil people Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of ...
*
Chakma Chakma may refer to: *Chakma people, a Tibeto-Burman people of Bangladesh and Northeast India *Chakma language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them **Chakma script The Chakma Script (''Ajhā pāṭh''), also called Ajhā pāṭh, Ojhapath, O ...
* Chitrali people *
Deccani people The Deccanis ( ur, ) or Deccani People are an ethnoreligious community of Urdu-speaking Muslims who inhabit, or trace their ancestry from, the Deccan region of Southern and Central India, and speak the Deccani dialect. The community traces its ...
*
Dhivehi people Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, may refer to: * Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands. * Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Republic of Maldive ...
* Dogra people * Garhwali people *
Gujarati people The Gujarati people or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They primarily speak Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language. While ...
* Haryanvi people *
Kalash people The Kalasha (Kalasha: کالؕاشؕا, romanised: ''Kaḷaṣa)'', or Kalash, are an Indo-Aryan indigenous people residing in the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The Kalash population in Pakistan numbers only i ...
*
Kamrupi people The Kamrupi people are a linguistic group that speak the Kamrupi dialects of Assamese and are found in the colonial Kamrup district region of Assam, India. Festivals Bihu, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Diwali, Holi, Janmastami, Shivratri to name a ...
*
Kashmiri people Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language, living mostly, but not exclusively, in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir, India.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern ...
*
Khas people Khas people (; ne, खस) popularly known as Khas Arya are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Himalayan region of South Asia, what is now present-day Nepal, Indian states of Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Sikkim. Histor ...
*
Konkani people The Konkan people ( Konkani) Konkanis : are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Konkan region of the Indian subcontinent who speak various dialects of the Konkani language. Konkani is the state language of Goa and also spoken ...
*
Kumaoni people Kumaonis, also known as Kumaiye and Kumain (in Nepal), are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who speak Kumaoni language as their first-language and live mostly in Kumaon region in the Indian Himalayas . Kumaoni is also used as an ad ...
*
Kutchi people The Kutchi people ( Kutchi and Gujarati: ڪڇّی; કચ્છી) traditionally hail from the Kutch district of the western Indian state of Gujarat and the Sindh region of Pakistan. History Some of the Kutchi people of India converted f ...
*
Maithili people Maithils (Tirhuta: মৈথিল, Devanagari: मैथिल), also known as Maithili people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group from the Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili language as their native language. They inhabit th ...
* Maldivian people *
Marathi people The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...
*
Magahi people The culture of Magadh is rich with its distinct language, folk songs and festivals. In ancient period it was known as Magadha mahajanpada. The present-day Magadh region split between the states of Bihar and Jharkhand, India. The major language of ...
* Meena people * Muhajir people * Nagpuria people *
Odia people The Odia (), formerly spelled Oriya, is an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the Indian state of Odisha who speak Odia language. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state, with significant minority populations in neighboring An ...
* Pahari people *
Punjabi people The Punjabis (Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. They ...
*
Rajasthani people Rajasthani people or Rajasthanis are a group of Indo-Aryan peoples native to Rajasthan ("the land of kingdoms"), a state in Northern India. Their language, Rajasthani, is a part of the western group of Indo-Aryan languages. History ...
**
Marwaris The Marwari or Marwadi (Hindi: मारवाड़ी, Urdu: مارواڑی) are an Indian ethnic group that originate from the Rajasthan region of India. Their language, also called Marwari, comes under the umbrella of Rajasthani languages ...
*
Rohingya people The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
*
Sindhi people Sindhis ( sd, سنڌي Perso-Arabic: सिन्धी Devanagari; ) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the province of Sindh in Pakistan. After the partition of British Indian empire in 1947, m ...
** Memons * Saraiki people *
Saurashtra people The Saurashtra people, or Saurashtrians, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic Hindu Brahmin community of South India who speak the Saurashtra language, an Indo-Aryan language, and predominantly reside in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kera ...
*
Sinhalese people Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people ( si, හෙළ). They constitute about 75% of ...
* Shina people * Sylheti people *
Tanchangya people The Tanchangya people or Tanchangyas () are an indigenous ethnic group living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram, and Rakhine state of Myanmar. The beginning of the Tanchangya nation No histo ...
* Tharu *
Urdu-speaking people Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccani people of the Deccan plateau in south-central India (who speak Deccani Urdu) and th ...


Iranic people

*
Baloch people The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There a ...
*
Hazara people The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scat ...
* Irani people *
Tajik people Tajik, Tadjik, Tadzhik or Tajikistani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Tajikistan * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan * Tajik (surname) * Tajik c ...
*
Pashtun people Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
** Rohilla people


Nuristani people

* Nuristani people ** Kata people ** Kom people ** Mumo people


Semitic people

*
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
or mixed Arab and Indo-Aryan or Dravidian ** Arabs in Gujarat **
Sri Lankan Moors Sri Lankan Moors ( ta, இலங்கைச் சோனகர், translit=Ilaṅkaic Cōṉakar; si, ලංකා යෝනක, translit=Lanka Yonaka; formerly Ceylon Moors; colloquially referred to as Sri Lankan Muslims) are an ethnic minorit ...
(trace ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka) **
Iraqi biradri Iraqi Biradri is a Sunni Muslim caste found chiefly in Ghazipur, Azamgarh, Ballia, Deoria and Gorakhpur districts of the eastern Uttar Pradesh in India. Iraqi Biradri is also referred to as Iraqi Shaikh. History and origin Iraqi biradri is a des ...
- a community of Muslims in north India (trace ancestry from Arab tribe of Bani Tamim) **
Labbay Labbay (Labbai, Labba, Labbabeen, Lebbay, Lebbai), is a Muslim trading community in southern India found throughout the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Etymology ''Labbay'' means "Here I am", and is used as a title ...
Arab traders who settled in South India ** Konkani Muslims trace their ancestry to Arab traders. **
Mappila Muslims Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same n ...
trace their ancestry to Arab traders. **Boras trace ancestors to Arab traders and merchants. **
Chaush The Chaush or Chaus are MuslimMediaeval Deccan History, eds Kulkarni, M A Naeem and de Souza, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1996, pg 63, https://books.google.com/books?id=O_WNqSH4ByQC&lpg=PA52&pg=PA63#v=onepage&q&f=false community of Hadhrami Arab ...
trace ancestors to traders from
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and ...
. ** Syrian Malabar Nasranis are descendants of both Brahmin, Nair and Jewish converts to Christianity. (Some mixed later with Persians and Europeans later on) ** Knanaya Syriac Christians who trace their origins to Mesopotamia * Indian Jews **
Cochin Jews Cochin Jews (also known as Malabar Jews or Kochinim, from ) are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now ...
(Malayali Jews) ** Bene Israel (Marathi Jews) **
Baghdadi Jews The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...
(
Arab Jews Arab Jews ( ar, اليهود العرب '; he, יהודים ערבים ') is a term for Jews living in or originating from the Arab world. The term is politically contested, often by Zionists or by Jews with roots in the Arab world who prefer ...
in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
) ** Bnei Menashe (
Mizo Mizo may refer to: *Mizo people, an ethnic group native to north-eastern India, western Myanmar (Burma) and eastern Bangladesh * Mizo language, a language spoken by the Mizo people *Mizoram, a state in Northeast India *Lusei people, an ethnic group ...
and Kuki Jews) ** Bene Ephraim (Telugu Jews) **
Paradesi Jews Paradesi Jews were Jewish people who immigrated to the Indian subcontinent during the 15th and 16th centuries following the expulsion of Jews from Spain. ''Paradesi'' refers to the Malayalam word that means ''foreign'' as they were newcomers ...
( European Jews in India)


Tai people

*
Ahom people The Ahom (Pron: ), or Tai-Ahom is an ethnic group from the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The members of this group are admixed descendants of the Tai people who reached the Brahmaputra valley of Assam in 1228 and the local ind ...
* Tai Aiton * Tai Phake or Tai Phakial


Tibeto-Burman people

*
Bodo–Kachari people Bodo–Kacharis (also Kacharis or Bodos) is a name used by anthropologist and linguists to define a collection of ethnic groups living predominantly in the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya. These peoples are speakers of ...
**
Bodo Bodo may refer to: Ethnicity * Boro people, an ethno-linguistic group mainly from Northwest Assam, India * Bodo-Kachari people, an umbrella group from Nepal, India and Bangladesh that includes the Bodo people Culture and language * Boro cu ...
** Dimasa ** Garo ** Hajong ** Sonowal ** Sutiya * Chepang *
Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Go ...
* Khowa * Kirati people ** Rai ** Limbu ** Yakkha, Sunuwar *
Lepcha people The Lepcha (; also called Rongkup ( Lepcha: , ''Mútuncí Róngkup Rumkup'', "beloved children of the Róng and of God") and Rongpa ( Sikkimese: )) are among the indigenous peoples of the Indian state of Sikkim and Nepal, and number around 80,0 ...
*
Magar people The Magar, also spelled as Mangar, and Mongar, are the third largest ethnolinguistic groups of Nepal, indigenous to Western Nepal and representing 7.1% of Nepal's total population according to the 2011 Nepal census. The original home of the Magar ...
* Memba *
Meitei people The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...
(
Manipuri people The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...
) *
Naga people Nagas are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur and Naga Self-Administer ...
** Anāl people **
Angami Naga The Angamis are a major Naga ethnic group native to the Northeast Indian state of Nagaland. The Angami Nagas are predominantly settled in Kohima District, Chümoukedima District and Dimapur District of Nagaland and are also recognized as one o ...
***
Southern Angami Southern Angami or ''Japfüphiki'' is a geo-cultural region located in the southern part of Kohima District in the state of Nagaland in India with a portion of its territory also lying across the inter-state border in the Senapati District of Ma ...
** Ao Naga **
Chakhesang Naga The Chakhesangs are a major Naga ethnic group found in the Indian state of Nagaland. Chakhesangs were previously known as the former Eastern Angamis, now recognized as a separate ethnic group. The Chakhesangs are divided into two groups known ...
** Chang Naga ** Chiru Naga **
Chothe people The Chothe tribe is one of the oldest tribes found in the state of Manipur, India. Some historians and anthropologists have erroneously recorded the Chothe as the Purum of India. Some Chothe are called Chawhte in Mizoram and they are part of M ...
** Khiamniungan Naga **
Konyak Naga The Konyaks are one of the major Naga ethnic groups. In Nagaland, they inhabit the Mon District, which is also known as ''The Land of the Anghs''. The ''Anghs''/''Wangs'' are their traditional chiefs whom they hold in high esteem. Facial tattoo ...
**
Lainong Naga The Lainong tribe (also known as Htang Ngan, Leinong) is one of the Naga tribes that mostly resides in Naga Self-Administered Zone in Myanmar . They are one of the major Naga tribes of Myanmar and mostly inhabits around Lahe Township Lahe Tow ...
** Lamkang people **
Lotha Naga The Lotha Nagas, also known as Kyong, are a major Naga ethnic group native to Wokha District in the Indian state of Nagaland. Origins Scholars have presented several theories about the migration of the Lothas and the other Naga tribes, based ...
**
Mao people The Mao languages are a branch of the Omotic languages spoken in Ethiopia. The group had the following categories: * Bambasi, spoken in the Bambasi woreda of Benishangul-Gumuz Region, * Hozo and Seze (often described together as 'Begi Mao'), sp ...
** Maram people **
Maring people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Maring , image = NorthE Guide Warshimmi Maring.png , caption = A Maring traditional dress , population = 80,000 Approx , languages = Maring, English , religions ...
**
Monsang people Monsang people are one among the indigenous tribes of North-East India, inhabiting the south-east part of Manipur state border to Myanmar particularly in Chandel district. Monsangs have their own distinct culture and tradition and are traditiona ...
** Moyon Naga ** Nocte Naga **
Para Naga The Para people, also known as the Para Naga, are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group inhabiting mostly in the Naga Self-Administered Zone in Myanmar. They are one of the major Naga peoples of Myanmar and mostly inhabit the area around Lay Shi Towns ...
** Poumai people **
Phom Naga Phom is a Naga tribe from Nagaland, India. Their traditional territory lies between the territories of Konyak in the north-east, the Ao in the west and the Chang in the south. Yongnyah is the largest Phom village. Economy Agriculture is ...
**
Pochury Naga Pochury is a Naga tribe of Nagaland, India. The tribe's native territory is located in the eastern part of the Phek district, centered at Meluri town (160 km from the state capital Kohima). History The Pochury identity is of relatively ...
** Rengma Naga ** Sangtam Naga ** Sümi Naga **
Tangkhul people The Tangkhuls are a major Naga ethnic group living in the Indo–Burma border area, occupying the Ukhrul district and Kamjong district in Manipur, India and the Somra tract hills, Layshi township, Homalin township and Tamu Township in Burma. ...
**
Tangsa Naga The Tangsa or Tangshang in India and Myanmar (Burma) respectively, is a tribe native to Changlang District of Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Tinsukia District of Assam, in north-eastern India, and across the border in Sagaing Region, parts of Ka ...
** Tarao people ** Thangal people ** Tikhir Naga **
Tutsa Naga The Tutsa are a Naga tribe living in the western parts of Changlang and Khimiyong circles and the eastern part of Tirap districts of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Ethnically, the Tutsa are closely related to the Tangsa and were class ...
**
Wancho Naga The Wancho are Naga indigenous people inhabiting the Patkai hills of Longding district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Culturally Naga, they are ethnically related to the Nocte of Arunachal Pradesh and Konyak of Nagaland The Wanch ...
**
Yimkhiung Naga Yimkhiung (formerly formally misspelled as Yimchunger) is a Naga ethnic group whose traditional territory includes Shamator and Kiphire District in the Indian state of Nagaland and western areas of Burma. Etymology The word Yimkhiung means "t ...
***
Chirr Naga Chirr is a Naga ethnic group that are mostly native to Nagaland, India. They are listed as a Scheduled Tribe The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantage ...
***
Makury Naga The Makury tribe (sometimes spelt Makuri, Makware) is one of the Naga tribes that mostly resides in Naga Self-Administered Zone in Myanmar and some in Nagaland, India. They are one of the major Naga tribes of Myanmar and mostly inhabits around ...
**
Zeliangrong Zeliangrong people are one of the major indigenous Naga communities living in the tri-junction of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in India. They are the descendants of Nguiba. The term "Zeliangrong" refers to the Zeme, Liangmai and Rongmei Na ...
***
Inpui people The Inpui tribe are one of the indigenous Naga tribes of Manipur, India. The majority of the Inpuis are settled in the Haochong subdivision in Noney District, and in Tamenglong district, Manipur. Inpuis are also settled in Makuilongdi, Senapati h ...
*** Liangmai people ***
Rongmei people The Rongmei (also known as ''Kabui'') are one of the major indigenous communities a part of the Naga tribes of North-East India. The Rongmei Naga are a scheduled tribe under the Constitution of India. The Rongmei have a rich culture, custom ...
*** Zeme Naga *
Newar people Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisati ...
* Nishi * Tamang * Thakali *
Tibetans The Tibetan people (; ) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans liv ...
and Tibetan-speaking peoples ** Tibetan Ladakhis ** Uttarakhandi Bhotiya ** Sikkimese people *** Bhutias **
Monpa The Monpa or Mönpa () is a major tribe of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India. The Tawang Monpas have a migration history from Changrelung. The Monpa are believed to be the only nomadic tribe in Northeast India – they are totally dependen ...
*** Takpa *** Tshangla **
Sherpas The Sherpa are one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal, Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Himalayas. The term ''sherpa'' or ''sherwa'' derives from the Sherpa language words ("east") ...
** Bhotiyas **
Sherdukpen The Sherdukpen are an ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh state of India. Their population of 9,663 is centered in West Kameng district in the villages of Rupa, Jigaon, Thongri, Shergaon, to the south of Bomdila. All of these are at elevations ...
**
Aka Aka, AKA or a.k.a. may refer to: * "Also known as", used to introduce an alternative name Languages * Aka language (Sudan) * Aka language, in the Central African Republic * Hruso language, in India, also referred to as Aka * a prefix in the n ...
** Miji ** Tibetan Muslim ***
Burig Purgi, Purigi or Puriki (Tibetan script: , Nastaʿlīq script: ) is a Tibetic language closely related to the Balti language. Purgi is natively spoken by the Purigpa people in Ladakh region of India and Baltistan region of Pakistan. Most of ...
*** Baltis * Tripuri * Karbi people or Mikir *
Thami The Thangmi (in Nepali थामी) are an indigenous tribe of the hills east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. They mainly live in Suspa, Kshamawati, Khopachagu, Alampu, Bigu, Kalinchok, Lapilang and Lakuri Danda villages of Dolakha district i ...
*
Zo people The Zomi are an ethnic group which can be found in India, Myanmar and in Chittagong hill tracks of Bangladesh. The word Zomi is used to describe an ethnic group, which is also known as the Chin, the Mizo, the Kuki, or a number of other nam ...
** Bawm people **
Chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible ( mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a well-developed chin is considered to be one ...
** Kuki *** Halam *** Hrangkhol **
Mizo Mizo may refer to: *Mizo people, an ethnic group native to north-eastern India, western Myanmar (Burma) and eastern Bangladesh * Mizo language, a language spoken by the Mizo people *Mizoram, a state in Northeast India *Lusei people, an ethnic group ...


Turkic peoples

* Turkish Indian * Rowther are alleged descendants of
Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...
in Turko-Persian tradition. They have since become the tradition of Turko-Indian in 12th Century. * Mughal (Moghul) (A
Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...
Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...
dynasty of Asia which originated in Central Asia) **
Chughtai The Chughtai Moghols or Chughtai Mughals ( chg, Çağatay Moghul, ur, ) are descendants and followers of Chaghtai Khan (the second son of Genghis Khan and the founder of Chaghtai Khanate) in South Asia (modern-day Pakistan). They migrated to th ...
Tartars (Those people who originated in
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
and fought for
Chagatai Khan Chagatai Khan ( Mongolian: ''; Čaɣatay''; mn, Цагадай, translit=Tsagadai; chg, , ''Čaġatāy''; ug, چاغاتاي خان, ''Chaghatay-Xan''; zh, 察合台, ''Chágětái''; fa, , ''Joghatây''; 22 December 1183 – 1 July 1242) ...
who was son of
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
). **
Barlas The Barlas ( mn, Barulās, script=Latn;Grupper, S. M. ‘A Barulas Family Narrative in the Yuan Shih: Some Neglected Prosopographical and Institutional Sources on Timurid Origins.’ Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 8 (1992–94): 11–97 Chagatay/ ...
(A
Turkified Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...
Mongol tribe to which
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through hi ...
belonged) ** Changezi (Those who were in army of
Hulagu Khan Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of We ...
)


Afro-Asian groups

*
Chaush The Chaush or Chaus are MuslimMediaeval Deccan History, eds Kulkarni, M A Naeem and de Souza, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1996, pg 63, https://books.google.com/books?id=O_WNqSH4ByQC&lpg=PA52&pg=PA63#v=onepage&q&f=false community of Hadhrami Arab ...
* Sheedis/Siddis, an ethnic community of
Black African Black is a Racialization, racialized classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have ...
descent, found primarily in Pakistan, Gujarat, and Karnataka. * Sri Lanka Kaffirs


European and Eurasian people

*
Anglo-Burmese The Anglo-Burmese people, also known as the Anglo-Burmans, are a community of Eurasians of Burmese and European descent, who emerged as a distinct community through mixed relationships (sometimes permanent, sometimes temporary) between the Brit ...
* Anglo-Indian * Bangladeshi-Armenians ** Dhakaiya Armenians *
Burgher people Burgher people, also known simply as Burghers, are a small Eurasian ethnic group in Sri Lanka descended from Portuguese, Dutch, British and other European men who settled in Ceylon and developed relationships with native Sri Lankan women. The ...
* French-Indian *
Luso-Indian Luso-Indians or Portuguese-Indian, is a subgroup of the larger multiracial ethnic creole people of Luso-Asians. Luso-Indians are people who have mixed varied Indian subcontinent and European Portuguese ancestry or people of Portuguese descent ...
*
Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...
*
Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipela ...
s


East Asian people


Chinese

* Bangladeshi Chinese * Indian Chinese * Sri Lankan Chinese


Linguistically isolate groups

* Hunza people * Kusunda * Nahali * Vedda


Diaspora

Many South Asian ethnic groups and nationalities have substantial diasporas outside of South Asia. * South Asian American ** Bangladeshi American **
Bengali American Bengali Americans ( bn, মার্কিন বাঙ্গালী) are Americans of Bengali ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage and identity. They trace their ancestry to the historic ethnolinguistic region of Bengal in South Asia ( ...
** Gujarati American **
Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...
**
Nepalese American Nepalese Americans are Americans or Permanent Residents of Nepalese ancestry. Immigration from Nepal to the United States began in the 20th century, and many have been able to establish themselves as American nationals. The history of immigratio ...
**
Pakistani American Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...
** Punjabi American **
Sri Lankan American Sri Lankan Americans ( si, script=latn, Sri Lankika Amerikanu, ta, script=latn, Ilangkaī Amerikan) are Americans of full or partial Sri Lankan ancestry. Sri Lankan Americans are persons of Sri Lankan origin from various Sri Lankan ethnic backg ...
** Tamil American ** Telugu American *
South Asian Canadian South Asian Canadians are Canadians who were either born in or can trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent, which includes the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The term South Asian Ca ...
** Bangladeshi Canadian **
Indo-Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The terms ''Indo-Canadian'' or ''East Indian'' are sometimes used to avoid confusion with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of S ...
**
Nepalese Canadian Nepalese Canadians or Nepali Canadians are Canadians with roots in Nepal. Migration history Nepalese are recent immigrants in Canada and their numbers are relatively small. According to the 1991 report on immigration and citizenship, only 125 p ...
**
Pakistani Canadian , image = , pop = ''303,260'' (0.81%) , popplace = , region1 = , pop1 = 212,650 , region2 = , pop2 = 39,535 , region3 = , pop3 = 16,645 ...
** Sri Lankan Canadian **
Tamil Canadian Tamil Canadians, or Canadian Tamils, are Canadians of Tamil ethno-linguistic origin. Much of Canada's Tamil diaspora from India and Sri Lanka then majority consist of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who sought to flee the ethnic tensions during the S ...
*
British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
**
British Bangladeshi British Bangladeshis ( bn, বিলাতী বাংলাদেশী, Bilatī Bangladeshī) are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term c ...
**
British Indian British Indians are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) whose ancestral roots are from India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian origin as well as Indians who have migrated to the UK. Today, Indians comprise about 1.4 mil ...
**
British Nepalese Nepalese in the United Kingdom (also British Nepalese, Nepalese British, British Nepali) are British citizens or full-time residents of the United Kingdom whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in Nepal. According to ONS estimates in 2019 ...
** British Pakistani **
British Tamil British Tamils ( ta, பிரித்தானியத் தமிழர், irittāṉiyat tamiḻar are British people of Tamil origin. However, "Tamil" is not one of the predefined tick-box answers for the ethnicity question on the UK C ...
**
Sri Lankans in the United Kingdom Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese ...
**
British Indo-Caribbean community British Indo-Caribbean people are residents of the United Kingdom who were born in the Caribbean and whose ancestors are indigenous to India. The UK has a large population of Indo-Caribbean people. Background Indian people were first introduced ...
**
Mauritians in the United Kingdom Mauritian diaspora in the United Kingdom are British people with Mauritian descent, or who were born in Mauritius. The 2001 UK Census recorded 27,078 Mauritian-born people living in the UK. The 2011 UK Census recorded 40,890 Mauritian-born resi ...
**
Asian-Scots Scottish Asian (Asian-Scottish or Asian-Scots) is a term defined within the 2011 Scottish census as including people of Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani or other Asian ancestry resident in Scotland. Their parents or grandparents are normal ...
* South Asian Australian **
Bangladeshi Australian Bangladeshi Australians ( bn, অস্ট্রেলীয় বাংলাদেশী) refers to Australian citizens or residents who have full or partial Bangladeshi heritage or people who emigrated from Bangladesh and reside in Australia ...
** Indian Australian **
Nepalese Australian Nepalese Australians or Nepali Australians are the Citizens/Permanent Residents in Australia whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in Nepal. Nepalese started to settle in Australia from the 1960s. Lhotshampa refugees About 5,000 Lhotshamp ...
**
Pakistani Australian Pakistani Australians are Australians who are of Pakistani descent or heritage. Most Pakistani Australians are Muslims by religion, although there are also sizeable Christian, Hindu and other minorities. History in Australia An anthropological ...
**
Sri Lankan Australian Sri Lankan Australians ( si, ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානුවන්, ta, இலங்கை ஆஸ்திரேலியர்கள்) are people of Sri Lankan heritage living in Australia; t ...
* Indo Kiwi * Indians in Singapore *
Malaysian Indian Malaysian Indians or Indian Malaysians are Malaysian citizens of Indian or South Asian ancestry. Today, they form the third-largest group in Malaysia after the Malays and the Chinese. Most are descendants of those who migrated from India duri ...
*
Nepalis in Singapore There is a large community of Nepalese in Singapore, consisting mostly of Gurkhas recruited from Nepal and their families. Overview Gurkhas The Gurkha Contingent was formed in Singapore on 9 April 1949 in the wake of Indian independence from th ...
**
Tamil Malaysians Tamil Malaysians, also known as Malaysian Tamilar, are people of full or partial Tamil descent who were born in or immigrated to Malaysia from Tamil Nadu, India and the Tamil regions of north-east Sri Lanka. The majority of 1.8–2 million pe ...
** Chitty *
Nepalese people in Malaysia There is a large community of Nepalese people in Malaysia, recruited from Nepal, foreign workers and their families. In 2020, there were over 382,000 documented Nepali workers in Malaysia - the majority of which were working in the manufactu ...
*
Indian Indonesian Indian Indonesians ( id, Orang India Indonesia; ta, இந்திய இந்தோனேசியர்) are Indonesians whose ancestors whose ancestors originally came from the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, this term can be regarded a ...
* Indo-Mauritian **
Bihari Mauritian Bihari Mauritians are the descendants of mainly Bhojpuri and some Awadhi speaking migrants to Mauritius. A majority of Indo-Mauritians are of Bihari descent, and the majority of Mauritians are Indo-Mauritian (the Hindus: Bhumihar, Vaishya, Brahmi ...
*
Indo-Caribbean Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin, Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Girmityas, Jahaji Indian indenture system, Indian indentured laborers brought by the United Kingdom ...
**
Indians in Barbados Indo-Barbadian or Indo-Bajan, refers to Barbadians of Indian ancestry, including from present-day Bangladesh and Pakistan. Currently, there is a 3,000-strong Indian community in Barbados. History Research has shown that the first known Musli ...
** Indians in Belize **
Indians in the Dominican Republic Indians in the Dominican Republic consist of a number of expatriates and immigrants from India and their locally born descendants. As of 2012, there are about 200 people of Indian ancestry living the country. In recent years, Indian students hav ...
** Indians in French Guiana ** Indo-Grenadians ** Indians in Guadeloupe **
Indo-Guyanese Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are people of Indian origin who are Guyanese nationals tracing their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginnin ...
** Indo-Haitians ** Indo-Jamaican ** Indo-Martiniquais ** Indo-Saint Lucian ** Indo-Surinamese **
Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians, are people of Indian origin who are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845. Indo-Trinidadians and ...
**
Indo-Vincentian Indo-Vincentians are an ethnic group in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who are mainly descendants of indentured laborers who came in the late 19th century to the early 20th century and entrepreneurs who began immigrating in the mid-20th century ...
*Indians in South America ** Indians in Argentina **
Indians in Brazil There is a small community of Indians in Brazil who are mainly immigrants and expatriates from India. There are currently about 9,200 people of Indian origin living in the country and a majority of them live in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Ther ...
**
Indians in Panama There are an estimated 8,000 people of Indian origin in Panama. They are employed in the shipping industry while others are mainly engaged in commerce. A majority are Hindu with a substantial Muslim and Sikh minority and they maintain Hindu templ ...
** Indians in Venezuela *
Burmese Indians Burmese Indians are a group of people of Indian origin who live in Myanmar (Burma). The term 'Burmese Indian' refers to a broad range of people from South Asia, most notably from present-day countries such as India, Bangladesh and also Pakis ...
*
South Asians in Hong Kong South Asians are part of the Hong Kong society. As of the 2016 by-census, there were at least 44,744 persons of South Asian descent in Hong Kong. Many trace their roots in Hong Kong as far back as when India was still under British colonial rule ...
*
South Asians in the Philippines Indian Filipinos are Filipinos of Indian descent who have historical connections with and have established themselves in what is now the Philippines. The term refers to Filipino citizens of either pure or mixed Indian descent currently residing ...
*
Indians in Germany The community of Germans with Indian background includes Indian expatriates in Germany, as well as German citizens of Indian origin or descent. In 2009, the German government estimated that the number of people of Indian descent residing in Ge ...
* Nepalis in Germany *
Indian South Africans Indian South Africans are South Africans who descend from indentured labourers and free migrants who arrived from British India during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The majority live in and around the city of Durban, making it one of the ...
**
Tamil South Africans Tamil South Africans are Indian South Africans of Tamil descent. Tamil people form the majority of Indian immigrants who came from India to Natal, South Africa, from 1860 onwards. After the expiry of their indentures most of these Indians moved ...
*
Indians in Botswana Indians in Botswana do not form a very large population. As of 2016, an estimated 7,000-8,000 residents of Botswana are of Indian origin, of which 3,000-4,000 are citizens of Botswana. Most Indians are employed in the retail, manufacturing, teach ...
* Indians in Kenya *
Indians in Madagascar Indians in Madagascar form a community of roughly 25,000 individuals according to the statistics of India's Ministry of External Affairs; other estimates of their population range from 15,000 to 30,000. Among them are 867 non-resident Indians, wi ...
* Indo-Mauritian **
Bihari Mauritian Bihari Mauritians are the descendants of mainly Bhojpuri and some Awadhi speaking migrants to Mauritius. A majority of Indo-Mauritians are of Bihari descent, and the majority of Mauritians are Indo-Mauritian (the Hindus: Bhumihar, Vaishya, Brahmi ...
*
Indians in Mozambique Indian Mozambicans form the sixth-largest Indian diaspora community in Africa, according to the statistics of India's Ministry of External Affairs. Roughly 70,000 people of Indian descent reside in Mozambique, as well as 870 Indian expatriates. ...
* Indo-Réunionnaise * Indo-Seychellois *
Indians in Tanzania There are currently over 60,000 people of Indian origin in Tanzania. Many of them are traders and they control a sizeable portion of the Tanzanian economy. Indians have a long history in Tanzania starting with the arrival of Gujarati traders. ...
*
Indians in Uganda There is a sizable community of people of Indian origin living in Uganda. In 2003, there were an estimated 15,000 people of Asian descent (majority of Indians and Pakistanis) living in Uganda, compared to approximately 80,000 before they were e ...
*
Indians in Zambia There is a small but recognisable community of Indians in Zambia. Unlike the better-known Indian communities of South East Africa, they were little-studied by historians until the 2000s. Migration history Indians from Gujarat arrived in what w ...
*
Indians in Zimbabwe The Indian presence in what is now Zimbabwe dates back to 1890 or earlier. Some scholars have suggested the similarities of the gold mining techniques carried out in southern Zimbabwe during ancient periods with the Indian ones, a brass cup of Hin ...
*
Indians in Iran Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many wealthy Parsis, began to travel to Iran from Bombay and Gujarat, to revive the Zoroastrian faith and traditions among the stagnating Zoroastrian community in Iran at the time, with prominent per ...
* Indians in Thailand *
Indians in the United Arab Emirates Indians in the United Arab Emirates ar, الهنود في الإمارات العربية المتحدة, al-Hunūd fī al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) constitute the largest part of the population of the country. Over 3,420,0 ...
* Indians in Vietnam *
Indians in Panama There are an estimated 8,000 people of Indian origin in Panama. They are employed in the shipping industry while others are mainly engaged in commerce. A majority are Hindu with a substantial Muslim and Sikh minority and they maintain Hindu templ ...
* Indian diaspora in France * Indians in Israel *
Indians in Italy Although Italy and India have maintained important relations since ancient times, significant Indian migration to Italy is a recent phenomenon. Many Indians began immigrating to Italy in the early 1990s, when the Italian government initiated pro ...
* Indians in Portugal * Indian community in Spain * Indo-Fijian ** South Indians in Fiji *
Indians in New Caledonia There are about 500 New Caledonians of Indian descent. They were known as Malabars and orinignally arrived in the 19th century from other French Territories, namely Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; ...
See also Bangladeshi diaspora,
Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of Indi ...
, Nepalese diaspora, Pakistani diaspora, Punjabi diaspora, Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora,
Tamil diaspora The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, ...
. Two (or possibly three) other people groups have ethnic and linguistic ties with the region: * Dom people *
Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic Itinerant groups in Europe, itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have Ro ...
*
Lom people The Lom people or tr, Lomlar, also known in tr, Poşa as (Bosha or Posha) by non-Loms ( hy, Բոշա, ka, ბოშა, tr; russian: Боша) or Romani (russian: армянские цыгане; hy, հայ գնչուներ) or Caucasian Ro ...
(who speak a language both related to Indo-Aryan and Armenian)


See also

* Languages of South Asia *
Languages of Bangladesh The national language and official language of Bangladesh is Bengali according to the third article of the Constitution of Bangladesh. The second most spoken language in Bangladesh is claimed to be Burmese which is spoken by the Marma tri ...
* Languages of Bhutan *
Languages of India Languages spoken in India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages spoken by 78.05% of Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 19.64% of Indians, both families together are sometimes know ...
* Languages of Maldives *
Languages of Nepal Languages of Nepal constitutionally called Nepalese languages are the languages having at least an ancient history or origin inside the sovereign territory of Nepal spoken by Nepalis. The 2011 National census lists 123 languages spoken as a mot ...
* Languages of Pakistan * Languages of Sri Lanka *
List of ethnolinguistic regions of South Asia The following list is a list of ethnolinguistic regions of South Asia. An ethnolinguistic region indicates a region of people that are united by a common language and ethnicity. South Asia is the southern region of the Asian continent, consistin ...
* List of indigenous peoples of South Asia *
List of Scheduled Tribes in India This is a list of Scheduled Tribes in India. The term "Scheduled Tribes" refers to specific tribes whose status is acknowledged to some formal degree by national legislation. Andaman and Nicobar Islands In accordance with The Scheduled Castes ...
*
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
*
Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin Overseas Indians ( IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of In ...
* Non Resident Nepali * Overseas Pakistani *
Desi DESI may refer to * Desorption electrospray ionization * Drug Efficacy Study Implementation Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) was a program begun by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the 1960s after the requirement (in the Kefauve ...
* Ethnic groups in Pakistan *
Ethnic groups in Nepal Ethnic groups in Nepal are delineated using language, ethnic identity or the caste system in Nepal. They are categorized by common culture and endogamy. Endogamy carves out ethnic groups in Nepal. Linguistic groups Nepal's diverse linguistic h ...
* Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia *
Y-DNA haplogroups in populations of South Asia Y-DNA haplogroups in populations of South Asia are haplogroups of the male Y-chromosome found in South Asian populations. Major Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in South Asia South Asia, located on the crossroads of Western Eurasia and Eastern Eura ...
National demographics: * Demographics of Bangladesh *
Demographics of Bhutan This is a demography of the population of Bhutan including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The Royal Government of Bhutan liste ...
* Demographics of India *
Demographics of the Maldives This is a demography of the population of Maldives, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Vital statistics UN estimates ...
* Demographics of Nepal * Demographics of Pakistan *
Demographics of Sri Lanka This is a demography of the population of Sri Lanka including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Sri Lanka is an island in the ...


References

16. Vij SB, Webb ML. Culturally competent occupational therapy practice for South Asians in the United States of America: A narrative review. Indian J Occup Ther 2022;54:4-9.


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Asian Ethnic Groups Ethnic groups in Pakistan