The Tzeltal-speaking population numbered approximately 50,000 around 1950. This population is distributed through 12 municipios, with 13 main communities. Some demographic and cultural variations coordinate with these zones. More fundamentally, however, each Tzeltal community constitutes a distinct social and cultural unit. Strong intracommunity solidarity contrasts with the lack of any social or political solidarity at the ethnic group level.
Agriculture is the basic economic activity of the Tzeltal peasants.
Regional variations in ecological conditions lead to concomitant differentiation in agriculture. Domestic animals include poultry, pigs, burros, and cattle, but these animals are seldom eaten. Tzeltal villages are noted for craft specialties. Surplus produce and craft products are traded throughout the region by a system of regional periodic markets, and these markets link the Tzeltal to the wider Mexican economic system. Finally, many Tzeltal are dependent to some extent on wage labor in order to provision their households.