# List of ethnic groups in 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). Besides the Han Chinese 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 (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, the United States and Europe are living in mainland China. In addition, there are a number of unrecognized ethnic groups which together comprise over 730,000 people.

## 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 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.
| English Name | Standard Romanization | Code | Simplified Chinese | Mandarin Pinyin | 2020 National Shares | 2020 Population | 2010 Population | 2000 Population | 1990 Population | Year of recognition |
| Han Chinese | Han | HA | 汉族 | Hànzú | 91.1098% | 1,284,446,389 | 1,220,844,520 | 1,139,773,008 | 1,042,482,187 | 1954 |
| Zhuang | Zhuang | ZH | 壮族 | Zhuàngzú | 1.3801% | 19,568,546 | 16,926,381 | 16,187,163 | 15,489,630 | 1954 |
| Uyghur | Uygur | UG | 维吾尔族 | Wéiwú'ěrzú | 0.8352% | 11,774,538 | 10,069,346 | 8,405,416 | 7,214,431 | 1954 |
| Hui | Hui | HU | 回族 | Huízú | 0.8070% | 11,377,914 | 10,586,087 | 9,828,126 | 8,602,978 | 1954 |
| Miao | Miao | MH | 苗族 | Miáozú | 0.7851% | 11,067,929 | 9,426,007 | 8,945,538 | 7,398,035 | 1954 |
| Manchu | Man | MA | 满族 | Mǎnzú | 0.7394% | 10,423,303 | 10,387,958 | 10,708,464 | 9,821,180 | 1954 |
| Yi | Yi | YI | 彝族 | Yízú | 0.6973% | 9,830,327 | 8,714,393 | 7,765,858 | 6,572,173 | 1954 |
| Tujia | Tujia | TJ | 土家族 | Tǔjiāzú | 0.6801% | 9,587,732 | 8,353,912 | 8,037,014 | 5,704,223 | 1964 |
| Tibetan | Zang | ZA | 藏族 | Zàngzú | 0.5008% | 7,060,731 | 6,282,187 | 5,422,954 | 4,593,330 | 1954 |
| Mongol | Mongol | MG | 蒙古族 | Měnggǔzú | 0.4461% | 6,290,204 | 5,981,840 | 5,827,808 | 4,806,849 | 1954 |
| Bouyei | Bouyei | BY | 布依族 | Bùyīzú | 0.2537% | 3,576,752 | 2,870,034 | 2,973,217 | 2,545,059 | 1954 |
| Dong | Dong | DO | 侗族 | Dòngzú | 0.2480% | 3,495,993 | 2,879,974 | 2,962,911 | 2,514,014 | 1954 |
| Yao | Yao | YA | 瑶族 | Yáozú | 0.2347% | 3,309,341 | 2,796,003 | 2,638,878 | 2,134,013 | 1954 |
| Bai | Bai | BA | 白族 | Báizú | 0.1484% | 2,091,543 | 1,933,510 | 1,861,895 | 1,594,827 | 1954 |
| Hani | Hani | HN | 哈尼族 | Hānízú | 0.1229% | 1,733,166 | 1,660,932 | 1,440,029 | 1,253,952 | 1954 |
| Korean | Chosŏn | CS | 朝鲜族 | Cháoxiǎnzú | 0.1207% | 1,702,479 | 1,830,929 | 1,929,696 | 1,920,597 | 1954 |
| Li | Li | LI | 黎族 | Lízú | 0.1136% | 1,602,104 | 1,463,064 | 1,248,022 | 1,110,900 | 1954 |
| Kazakh | Kazak | KZ | 哈萨克族 | Hāsàkèzú | 0.1108% | 1,562,518 | 1,462,588 | 1,248,022 | 1,110,900 | 1954 |
| Dai | Dai | DA | 傣族 | Dǎizú | 0.0943% | 1,329,985 | 1,261,311 | 1,159,231 | 1,025,128 | 1954 |
| Lisu | Lisu | LS | 傈僳族 | Lìsùzú | 0.0541% | 762,296 | 702,839 | 635,101 | 574,856 | 1954 |
| She | She | SH | 畲族 | Shēzú | 0.0529% | 746,385 | 708,651 | 710,039 | 630,378 | 1964 |
| Dongxiang | Dongxiang | DX | 东乡族 | Dōngxiāngzú | 0.0550% | 774,947 | 621,500 | 513,826 | 373,872 | 1954 |
| Gelao | Gelao | GL | 仡佬族 | Gēlǎozú | 0.0481% | 677,521 | 550,746 | 579,744 | 437,997 | 1964 |
| Lahu | Lahu | LH | 拉祜族 | Lāhùzú | 0.0354% | 499,167 | 485,966 | 453,765 | 411,476 | 1954 |
| Sui | Sui | SU | 水族 | Shuǐzú | 0.0352% | 495,928 | 411,847 | 407,000 | 345,993 | 1954 |
| Wa | Wa | WA | 佤族 | Wǎzú | 0.0306% | 430,997 | 429,709 | 396,709 | 351,974 | 1954 |
| Nakhi | Naxi | NX | 纳西族 | Nàxīzú | 0.0230% | 323,767 | 326,295 | 309,477 | 278,009 | 1954 |
| Qiang | Qiang | QI | 羌族 | Qiāngzú | 0.0222% | 312,981 | 309,576 | 306,476 | 198,252 | 1954 |
| Tu | Tu | TU | 土族 | Tǔzú | 0.0200% | 281,928 | 289,565 | 241,593 | 191,624 | 1954 |
| Mulao | Mulao | ML | 仫佬族 | Mùlǎozú | 0.0197% | 277,233 | 216,257 | 207,464 | 159,328 | 1964 |
| Kyrgyz | Kirgiz | KG | 柯尔克孜族 | Kē'ěrkèzīzú | 0.0145% | 204,402 | 186,708 | 160,875 | 141,549 | 1954 |
| Xibe | Xibe | XB | 锡伯族 | Xībózú | 0.0136% | 191,911 | 190,481 | 189,357 | 172,847 | 1954 |
| Salar | Salar | SL | 撒拉族 | Sālāzú | 0.0117% | 165,159 | 130,607 | 104,521 | 87,697 | 1954 |
| Jingpo | Jingpo | JP | 景颇族 | Jǐngpōzú | 0.0114% | 160,471 | 147,828 | 132,158 | 119,209 | 1954 |
| Daur | Daur | DU | 达斡尔族 | Dáwò'ěrzú | 0.0094% | 132,299 | 131,992 | 132,747 | 121,357 | 1964 |
| Blang | Blang | BL | 布朗族 | Bùlǎngzú | 0.0090% | 127,345 | 119,639 | 91,891 | 82,280 | 1964 |
| Maonan | Maonan | MN | 毛南族 | Máonánzú | 0.0088% | 124,092 | 101,192 | 107,184 | 71,968 | 1964 |
| Tajik | Tajik | TA | 塔吉克族 | Tǎjíkèzú | 0.0036% | 50,896 | 51,069 | 41,056 | 33,538 | 1954 |
| Pumi | Pumi | PM | 普米族 | Pǔmǐzú | 0.0032% | 45,012 | 42,861 | 33,628 | 29,657 | 1964 |
| Achang | Achang | AC | 阿昌族 | Āchāngzú | 0.0031% | 43,775 | 39,555 | 33,954 | 27,708 | 1964 |
| Nu | Nu | NU | 怒族 | Nùzú | 0.0026% | 36,575 | 37,523 | 28,770 | 27,123 | 1964 |
| Evenki | Ewenki | EW | 鄂温克族 | Èwēnkèzú | 0.0025% | 34,617 | 30,875 | 30,545 | 26,315 | 1954 |
| Vietnamese | Gin | GI | 京族 | Jīngzú | 0.0024% | 33,112 | 28,199 | 22,584 | 18,915 | 1964 |
| Jino | Jino | JN | 基诺族 | Jīnuòzú | 0.0018% | 26,025 | 23,143 | 20,899 | 18,021 | 1979 |
| Bonan | Bonan | BO | 保安族 | Bǎo'ānzú | 0.0017% | 24,434 | 20,074 | 16,505 | 12,212 | 1954 |
| De'ang | Deang | DE | 德昂族 | Dé'ángzú | 0.0016% | 22,354 | 20,556 | 17,935 | 15,462 | 1964 |
| Russian | Russ | RS | 俄罗斯族 | Éluósīzú | 0.0011% | 16,136 | 15,393 | 15,631 | 13,504 | 1954 |
| Yugur | Yugur | YG | 裕固族 | Yùgùzú | 0.0010% | 14,706 | 14,378 | 13,747 | 12,297 | 1954 |
| Uzbek | Uzbek | UZ | 乌孜别克族 | Wūzībiékèzú | 0.0009% | 12,742 | 10,569 | 12,423 | 14,502 | 1954 |
| Monba | Monba | MB | 门巴族 | Ménbāzú | 0.0008% | 11,143 | 10,561 | 8,928 | 7,475 | 1964 |
| Oroqen | Oroqen | OR | 鄂伦春族 | Èlúnchūnzú | 0.0007% | 9,168 | 8,659 | 8,216 | 6,965 | 1954 |
| Derung | Derung | DR | 独龙族 | Dúlóngzú | 0.0005% | 7,310 | 6,930 | 7,431 | 5,816 | 1964 |
| Nanai | Hezhen | HZ | 赫哲族 | Hèzhézú | 0.0004% | 5,373 | 5,354 | 4,664 | 4,245 | 1964 |
| Lhoba | Lhoba | LB | 珞巴族 | Luòbāzú | 0.0003% | 4,237 | 3,682 | 2,970 | 2,312 | 1965 |
| Tatars | Tatar | TT | 塔塔尔族 | Tǎtǎ'ěrzú | 0.0003% | 3,544 | 3,556 | 4,895 | 4,873 | 1954 |
| Gaoshan | Gaoshan | GS | 高山族 | Gāoshānzú | 0.0002% | 3,479 | 4,009 | 4,488 | 2,909 | 1954 |
| Undistinguished | — | none | 未识别民族 | Wèi Shìbié Mínzú | 0.0593% | 836,488 | 640,101 | 734,438 | 749,341 | — |
| Naturalized Citizen | — | none | 外国人加入中国籍 | Wàiguórén Jiārù Zhōngguójí | 0.0012% | 16,595 | 1,448 | 941 | 3,421 | — |
* ↑ GB 3304－91 "Names of ethnicities of China in romanization with codes".
* 1 2 3 4 The population only includes mainland China.
* ↑ For ethnic groups officially recognised in 1964 or earlier, this is the year of first inclusion in the national census, which were in 1954 and 1964.
* ↑ Also included are the Chuanqing.
* ↑ Also includes Utsuls of Hainan, descended from Cham refugees.
* ↑ One subset of which is also known as Hmong and other include Hmu, Xong and A-Hmao. Some of the related languages and groups of peoples are not necessarily classified under the Miao umbrella, which makes this term somewhat vague.
* ↑ Including Amdowa and Khampa, as well as roughly half of Pumi speakers, the remainder of whom are classified as a separate Pumi ethnicity.
* ↑ Also known as Kam.
* ↑ Also included are the Sangkong.
* ↑ This category includes several different Tai-speaking groups historically referred to as Bai-yi. In fact, the Dai nationality consists of speakers of varieties of Shan languages. For instance, the Tai Lue and Tai Nuea peoples are actually subgroups of the Shan people. Despite this, speakers of Bumang are also included in the Dai nationality.
* ↑ Also included are the Mosuo.
* ↑ Also included are the Qago (木佬人).
* ↑ Known as Kachin in Myanmar.
* ↑ Also included are the Then.
* ↑ They are not Tajik people but Pamiri people.
* ↑ The same group as Vietnamese or Kinh people in Sino-Vietnamese.
* ↑ Known as Palaung in Myanmar.
* ↑ The same group as Nanai on the Russian side of the border.
* ↑ A 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.

## 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 (八甲人; Bājiǎrén)
* 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 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 and Macau are special administrative regions within 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 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

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