The Han people are the largest ethnic group in

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

. In 2010, 91.51% of the population were classified as Han (~1.2 billion). Besides the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

majority, 55 other ethnic (minority) groups are categorized in present-day 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 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 Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

(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). At least 126,000 people from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

are living in mainland China. 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'' (). However, being part of the ''Zhonghua minzu'' (i.e. being part of one of the 56 ethnic groups) does not necessarily mean one must have Chinese nationality () or be loyal to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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. Soon after the establishment of the

, 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

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 * Fuyu Kyrgyz people – classified as Kyrgyz * Gejia people – classified as Miao * Bajia () * Deng people * Hu people – classified as Bulang * Khmu people – classified as Bulang * Kucong * Mảng people * Ili Turk people – classified as Uzbek * Sherpa people – classified as Tibetan * Tanka people, including Fuzhou Tanka * Tebbu people * Tuvans – classified as Mongols * Waxiang people * Jewish people * Macanese people, mixed race Catholic Portuguese speakers who lived in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

since 16th century of various ethnic origins * Utsuls – classified as Hui * 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.

Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

are special administrative regions within

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. 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 Western Europeans (mainly English and Portuguese), and Southern or Southeastern Asians (mainly Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Nepalese, and Pakistanis) live in Hong Kong. Macau's main ethnic groups are of Chinese and Portuguese descent, but other ethnicities also live in the territory.

Gallery

File:Ethnic Zhuang Costumes Guangnan Yunnan China.jpg, Zhuang File:A Manchu young man dressed in traditional clothes.jpg, Manchu File:Hui man.jpg, Hui File:Miao zu-Miao minority young man.jpg, Miao File:Khotan-melikawat-chicas-d03.jpg, Uyghur File:Tujia women.jpg, Tujia File:Yi woman in traditional dressing.jpg, Yi File:Morin Khuur, South Mongolian Style.jpg, Mongol

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ethnic