List of contemporary ethnic groups

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The following is a list of contemporary ethnic groups.

There has been constant debate over the classification of ethnic groups. Membership of an ethnic group tends to be associated with shared cultural heritage, ancestry, history, homeland, language or dialect, the term culture specifically including aspects such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing style, etc. By the nature of the concept, ethnic groups tend to be divided into ethnic subgroups, which may themselves be or not be identified as independent ethnic groups depending on the source consulted.

Ethnic groups[edit]

See also: List of languages by number of native speakers

The groups commonly identified as "ethnic groups" (as opposed to ethno-linguistic phyla, national groups, racial groups or similar). Smaller groups are often indigenous peoples.

Name Native Language (Primary Language) Primary Homeland Population (estimate) Subgroups Majority (Plurality) Religion & Sect
Albanians Indo-European → Albanian Albania, Kosovo 6.8 – 8 million Ghegs, Tosks, Arbëreshë Christianity, Sunni Islam
Arabs Afroasiatic → Semitic → Arabic Arab world 430 – 450 million[1] Bedouins Islam → Sunni Islam (93%)
Christianity (7%)
Armenians Indo-European → Armenian Armenia 8 million Hemshin peoples Christianity → Oriental Orthodoxy
Assyrians Afroasiatic → Semitic → Assyrian Neo-Aramaic Assyria 2 – 3.3 million Christianity → Syriac Christianity
Azerbaijanis Turkic → Oghuz → Azerbaijani Azerbaijan 28 – 35 million Karapapaks, Afshar, Bayat, Baharlu, Shahsevan, Qaradaghis, Ayrums, Qizilbash Islam → Shia Islam
Balochis Indo-European → Iranian → Balochi Balochistan
(Pakistan, Iran)		 8.8 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Bamars Sino-Tibetan → Lolo-Burmese → Burmish → Burmese Myanmar (Burma) 30 million Buddhism → Theravada Buddhism
Basques Basque Basque Country 2.4 million Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Bengali Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Eastern → Bengali Bengal
(Bangladesh, India)		 300 million[2] Islam → Sunni Islam (53.4%)[citation needed]
Hinduism (44.5%)[citation needed]
Buddhism (0.5%)
Christianity (1.5%)
Berbers Afroasiatic → Berber North Africa 30 million[3] Maghrebis Islam → Sunni Islam
Bihari Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Eastern → Bihari languages India, Pakistan 103 million[citation needed] Hinduism, Islam
Bosniaks Indo-European → Slavic → South Slavic → Bosnian Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 – 4.5 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Brahui Dravidian → Northern → Brahui Balochistan (Pakistan) 2.4 million[4] Hinduism, Islam
Bulgarians Indo-European → Slavic → South Slavic → Bulgarian Bulgaria 7 – 8 million Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Catalans Indo-European → Romance → Catalan Catalan Countries 8 – 10 million[5] Valencians, Balearics Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Chuvash Turkic → Oghur → Chuvash Chuvashia 2 million Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Circassians Northwest Caucasian → Circassian Circassia 4 – 8 million Adyghe, Cherkess, Kabarday, Shapsugs Islam → Sunni Islam
Congolese Niger–Congo → Kongo languages → Kongo Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo 10 million Christianity
Croats Indo-European → Slavic → South Slavic → Croatian Croatia 7.5 – 8.5 million Italian Croats (Molise Croats) Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Czechs Indo-European → Slavic → West Slavic → Czech Czech Republic 10 – 12 million (Christianity → Roman Catholicism)
Danes Indo-European → Germanic → North Germanic → Danish Denmark 6.9 million Christianity → Lutheranism
Dutch Indo-European → Germanic → West Germanic → Dutch Netherlands 29 million[6] (Christianity → Calvinism)
English Indo-European → Germanic → West Germanic → English England 100 million[7] Christianity → Anglicanism
Estonians Uralic → Finnic → Estonian Estonia 1 million (Christianity → Lutheranism)
Faroese Indo-European → Germanic → North Germanic → Faroese Faroe Islands 0.08 – 0.09 million Christianity → Lutheranism
Finns Uralic → Finnic → Finnish Finland 6.5 million Christianity → Lutheranism
French Indo-European → Romance → French France 106 million[8] Occitans, Walloons Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Gagauz Turkic → Oghuz → Gagauz Gagauzia 0.2 million Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Galician Indo-European → Romance → Galician Galicia 3 million Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Germans Indo-European → Germanic → West Germanic → German Germany 100 – 150 million[9] Austrians, Bavarians, Franconians, Saxons, Swabians, Thuringians Christianity → Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism
Greeks Indo-European → Greek Greece,

Cyprus

 14 – 17 million Griko people Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Georgians Kartvelian → Georgian Georgia 5 – 7 million Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Gujarati Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Western → Gujarati Gujarat 50 – 60 million[10] Hinduism, Islam
Han Chinese Sino-Tibetan → Sinitic → Chinese Greater China 1,300 million[11] Mandarin, Cantonese, Min, Gan, Hakka, Xiang, Wu, Jin Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism
Hindustani Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Hindi India 258 – 422 million[12][13] Hinduism, Islam
Hui Sino-Tibetan → Sinitic → Chinese China 10 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Hungarians Uralic → Ugric → Hungarian Hungary 13.1 – 14.7 million Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Icelanders Indo-European → Germanic → North Germanic → Icelandic Iceland 0.45 million Christianity → Lutheranism
Irish Indo-European → Celtic → Irish
(Indo-European → Germanic → West Germanic → Hiberno-English)[14]		 Ireland 70 – 80 million[15] Irish Travellers Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Italians Indo-European → Romance → Italian Italy[16] 130 million[17] Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Japanese Japonic → Japanese Japan 130 million[18] Buddhism, Shinto
Javanese Austronesian → Malayo-Polynesian → Javanese Java 105 million[19] Cirebonese, Osing, Tenggerese, Boyanese, Samin, Banyumasan Islam → Sunni Islam , Hinduism
Jews Afroasiatic → Semitic → Northwest Semitic → Canaanite → Hebrew Israel 14 – 14.5 million Ashkenazim, Mizrahim, Sephardim, Teimanim, Kochinim, Etiopim, and more. Judaism
Lebanese Afroasiatic → Semitic → Lebanese Arabic Lebanon 11 – 15 million Maronites, Druze, Sunni Islam and other Lebanese religions.
Macedonians Indo-European → Slavic → South Slavic → Macedonian Macedonia 2.5 - 5 million Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Malayali Dravidian → Southern → Malayalam India 40 - 60 million Hinduism, Islam
Kannada Dravidian → Southern → Kannada India 37 – 55 million Hinduism
Kazakhs Turkic → Kipchak → Kazakh Kazakhstan 14 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Koreans Koreanic → Korean Korea 82.5 million[20] Buddhism, Christianity
Kurds Indo-European → Iranian → Kurdish Kurdistan 30 – 38 million Kurmanjis
Sorans
Zazas
Gorans
Southern Kurds		 Islam → Sunni Islam
Kyrgyz Turkic → Kipchak → Kyrgyz Kyrgyzstan 4.5 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Malays Austronesian → Malayo-Polynesian → Malay Malay world 30 million Bruneians, Kedahans, Pattani, Berau Islam → Sunni Islam
Marathi Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Southern → Marathi India 87 million[21] Hinduism
Norwegians Indo-European → Germanic → North Germanic → Norwegian Norway 12 million Christianity → Lutheranism
Laz Kartvelian → Laz Lazistan 0.2 – 1 million Islam → Sunni Islam, Christianity
Manchu Altaic → Tungusic → Manchu (Sino-Tibetan → Sinitic → Chinese) China 10.4 million Manchu shamanism → Buddhism
Mongols Altaic → Mongolian Mongolia, Inner Mongolia (China) 10 million Buddhism → Tibetan Buddhism
Nepali Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Northern → Nepali Nepal, India 15 million[22][23] Hinduism
Buddhism
Pashtuns Indo-European → Iranian → Pashto Pakistan, Afghanistan 40 – 60 million[24] Islam → Sunni Islam
Oromo Afroasiatic → Cushitic → Oromo Ethiopia, Kenya 35 – 45 million[25] Waqafenna→ Traditional Oromo religion Islam → Sunni Islam Christian → Coptic Orthodox and Protestant
Persians Indo-European → Iranian → Persian Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan 60 – 70 million[26] Tajiks Islam → Shia Islam
Poles Indo-European → Slavic → West Slavic → Polish Poland 58 – 60 million[27][28] Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Portuguese Indo-European → Romance → Portuguese Portugal 42 million[29] Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Punjabi Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Northwestern → Punjabi Punjab
(Pakistan, India)		 125 million
[30][31][32][12]		 Bilaspuris, Doabis, Hindkowans, Majhis, Pothoharis, Saraikis Islam → Sunni Islam in Pakistan,
Hinduism and Sikhism in India
Romanians Indo-European → Romance → Romanian Romania 24 million[33] Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Romani Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Romani India, Europe, The Middle East 12 million Dom people, Lom people Christianity
Russians Indo-European → Slavic → East Slavic → Russian Russia 130 – 150 million[34] Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Scottish Indo-European → Germanic → West Germanic → Scots

Indo-European → Celtic → Scottish Gaelic

Indo-European → Germanic → West Germanic → Scottish English

 Scotland 28 – 40 million[35] Christianity → Church of Scotland
Serbs Indo-European → Slavic → South Slavic → Serbian Serbia 10 – 12 million Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Sindhis Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Northwestern → Sindhi Sindh (Pakistan),
India		 80 million[36] Islam → Sunni Islam (66%)
Hinduism (32%)
Buddhism (1%)
Christianity (0.1%)
Sinhalese Indo-European → Indo-Aryan → Southern → Sinhalese Sri Lanka 16 million[37] Buddhism → Theravada
Slovaks Indo-European → Slavic → West Slavic → Slovak Slovakia 6 million Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Slovenes Indo-European → Slavic → South Slavic → Slovene Slovenia 2.5 million Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Spaniards Indo-European → Romance → Spanish Spain 47 million[38] Andalusians, Aragoneses, Asturians, Castillians, Leonese Christianity → Roman Catholicism
Sundanese Austronesian → Malayo-Polynesian → Sundanese Java 40 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Swedes Indo-European → Germanic → North Germanic → Swedish Sweden 13.2 million Christianity → Lutheranism
Tamils Dravidian → Southern → Tamil India, Sri Lanka 78 million[39] Hinduism
Telugu Dravidian → South-Central → Telugu India 90 million[40] Hinduism
Thais Tai–Kadai → Thai Thailand 50 million Central Thai, Southern (Siamese, Tai Siam), Northern (Lanna), Isan people Buddhism
Tibetan Sino–Tibetan → Tibeto-Kanauri → Bodish → Tibetan Tibet (China) 6.2 million Buddhism→ Tibetan Buddhism
Tuaregs Afroasiatic → Berber → Tuareg Sahara 1.2 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Turks Turkic → Oghuz → Turkish Turkey 66 – 83 million Manavs, Yörüks Islam → Sunni Islam
Turkmens Turkic → Oghuz → Turkmen Turkmenistan 8 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Ukrainians Indo-European → Slavic → East Slavic → Ukrainian Ukraine 38 – 40 million[41] Christianity → Eastern Orthodoxy
Uyghur Turkic → Karluk → Uyghur Xinjiang (China) 10 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Vietnamese Austroasiatic → Vietic → Vietnamese Vietnam 84 million[42] Buddhism → Mahayana
Volga Tatars Turkic → Kipchak → Tatar Tatarstan 6.8 million Islam → Sunni Islam
Welsh Indo-European → Celtic → Welsh

Indo-European → Germanic → West Germanic → Welsh English

 Wales 6-16.3 million Christianity → Church in Wales, Presbyterian Church of Wales
Zhuang Tai Kadai → Tai → Zhuang Guangxi (China) 16.9 million Moism

Lists of ethnic groups[edit]

by status

regional lists

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Margaret Kleffner Nydell Understanding Arabs: A Guide For Modern Times, Intercultural Press, 2005, ISBN 1931930252, page xxiii, 14
  2. ^ roughly 170 million in Bangladesh and 130 million in the Republic of India (CIA Factbook 2014 estimates, numbers subject to rapid population growth); about 10 million Bangladeshis in the Middle East, 1 million Bengalis in Pakistan, 5 million British Bangladeshi.
  3. ^ "Berberism & Berber Political Movements". 
  4. ^ https://www.ethnologue.com/language/BRH
  5. ^ Including all population with Catalan heritage, language, culture.
  6. ^ 37.6 million in the UK, between 25 and 49 million reporting "English ancestry" in the United States, 6.6 million reporting English "ethnic origin" in Canada, and between 7 million in Australia.
  7. ^ Estimates range from anywhere between 66 to 106 million. The French language has an estimated 75 million native speakers. The CIA Factbook does not report any French ethnicity (considering it a nationality), giving the ethnic composition of France as "Celtic and Latin with Teutonic". [1]
  8. ^ "Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia" by Jeffrey Cole (2011), p. 171; "Estimates of the total number of Germans in the world range from 100 million to 150 million, depending on how German is defined, ..."
  9. ^ CIA Factbook (2014) estimates 55 million in India. SIL Ethnologue cites 46 million native speakers of Gujarati. About 1 million in Pakistan and 1 million in the USA.
  10. ^ 1.24 billion (92% of total population) in the PRC (CIA Factbook 2014 est.), about 22 million in Taiwan, and an estimated 50 million Overseas Chinese
  11. ^ a b Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2000, Census of India, 2001
  12. ^ Depending on definition; CIA Factbook (2014) gives 890 million Indo-Aryans as the majority group of the Republic of India. The Indo-Aryan languages are estimated to have some 1.2 billion native speakers. The 2001 Indian census records two figures, 258 million and 422 million "Hindi" speakers. Both figures include languages other than Standard Hindi, such as Rajasthani (ca. 80 million in independent estimates), Bhojpuri (40 million), Awadhi (38 million), Chhattisgarhi (18 million), and dozens of other languages with a million to over ten million speakers each. The figure of 422 million specifically includes all such people, whereas the figure of 258 depends on speaker identification as recorded in the census. Maithili (one of the Bihari languages) was listed as a separate language in the 2001 census but previously considered a dialect of Hindi.
  13. ^ The Irish were predominantly Gaelic-speaking until the 17th century, but significantly anglicized during the early modern period. Since the mid-19th century, the large majority of Irish have been native speakers of English.
  14. ^ The Scottish Diaspora and Diaspora Strategy: Insights and Lessons from Ireland
  15. ^ As a nation state, Italy was unified in the 19th century, combining ethnically diverse territories in the Italian peninsula, Sicily and Sardinia.
  16. ^ Figures cited range anywhere between some 55 and 130 million, the latter figure including citizens of Brazil and the United States who identify as of partial Italian ancestry. The Italian language has some 60 million native speakers.[2]
  17. ^ 127 million in Japan, about 2.5 million abroad.
  18. ^ 102 million in Indonesia (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate); small numbers in Malaysia, Suriname and elsewhere.
  19. ^ 50 million in South Korea, 25 million in North Korea, roughly 7 million in diaspora.
  20. ^ 87 million in the Republic of India (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate), subject to rapid population growth.
  21. ^ 12 million in Nepal, 15 million worldwide.
  22. ^ http://www.ethnologue.com/language/npi
  23. ^ About 30 million in Pakistan and 12 million in Afghanistan; Penzl and Sloan, Pashto Grammar (2009) estimated a total number of Pashto speakers between 40 and 60 million. SIL Ethnologue in 2011 estimated an ethnic population of 49 million.
  24. ^ About 38 million in Ethiopia, ~2 million in Kenya, roughly half a million in diaspora. Afan Oromo language has an estimated 45 million native speakers.
  25. ^ 50 million in Iran, 8 million in Afghanistan, 2 million in Tajikistan, roughly 2 million in diaspora. The Persian language has an estimated 60 million native speakers.
  26. ^ 37,5 - 38 million in Poland and 21 - 22 million ethnic Poles or people of ethnic Polish extraction elsewhere. "Polmap. Rozmieszczenie ludności pochodzenia polskiego (w mln)"
  27. ^ Główny Urząd Statystyczny (January 2013). Ludność. Stan i struktura demograficzno-społeczna [Narodowy Spis Powszechny Ludności i Mieszkań 2011] (pdf) (in Polish). Główny Urząd Statystyczny. pp. 89–101. Retrieved 12 December 2014. 
  28. ^ Portuguese ethnicity is more clear-cut than Spanish ethnicity, but here also, the case is complicated by the Portuguese ancestry of populations in the former colonial empire. Portugal has 11 million nationals. The 42 million figure is due to a study estimating a total of an additional 31 million descendants from Portuguese grandparents; these people would be eligible for Portuguese citizenship under Portuguese nationality law (which grants citizenship to grandchildren of Portuguese nationals). Emigração: A diáspora dos portugueses (2009)
  29. ^ 93.5 M in Pakistan, 29 M in the Republic of India, (Punjabis).
  30. ^ Ian S. Livingston; Michael O'Hanlon (29 November 2011). "Pakistan Index" (PDF). Brookings population 2010. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2011. 
  31. ^ "The World Factbook". 
  32. ^ "Romanian". Ethnologue. Retrieved 13 November 2014. 
  33. ^ Estimates range between 130 and 150 million. 111 million in the Russian Federation (2010 census), about 16 million ethnic Russians in post-Soviet states (8 M in Ukraine, 4.5 M in Kazakhstan, 1 M in Belarus, 0.6 M Latvia, 0.6 M in Uzbekistan, 0.6 M in Kyrgyzstan. Up to 10 million Russian diaspora elsewhere (mostly Americas and Western Europe).
  34. ^ The Scottish Diaspora
  35. ^ roughly 53 million in Sindh 1.8 Million In Balochistan 0.2 Million Others Part Of Pakistan and 20 million in the Republic of India (CIA Factbook 2014 estimates, numbers subject to rapid population growth); about 2 million Sindhis in the Middle East, 0.7 million Sindhis in USA, 0.5 million British Sindhi and 1.8 Million Sindhis Others Part of world.
  36. ^ http://www.ethnologue.com/language/sin
  37. ^ There is no clear definition of Spanish ethnicity. In Spain, ethnic identity is divided into regional groups, and internationally, Spanish ethnicity is not clearly delineated from "Spanish ancestry" in the territories of the former colonial empire. There are 41 million Spanish nationals in Spain, and some 2 million living abroad. The total worldwide rounds to more than 47 million.
  38. ^ 73 million in the Republic of India (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate, subject to rapid population growth), 2 million in Sri Lanka (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate), roughly 3 million in diaspora.
  39. ^ 89 million in the Republic of India (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate), subject to rapid population growth.
  40. ^ Ukrainians at the Joshua Project
  41. ^ 80 million in Vietnam (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate), roughly 4 million in diaspora.
  • Levinson, David (1998), Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 978-1-57356-019-1 
Related concepts
Ethnology
Groups by region
Americas
Asia
Multiethnic society
Ideology and
ethnic conflict
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