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. Multiracial groups (such as Métis and Coloureds) should be listed as subgroups of the ethnic groups they are descended from.
Ethnic groups
The groups commonly identified as "ethnic groups" (as opposed to ethno-linguistic phyla, national groups, racial groups or similar). Smaller groups (i.e. less than 100,000) are often indigenous peoples.
Lists of ethnic groups
- by status
- regional lists
- List of ethnic groups in Russia
- Asian people
- African people
- European people
- Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas
- List of Indigenous Australian group names
See also
- Uncontacted peoples
- Ethnic flag
- List of language families
- Lists of people by nationality
- Lists of active separatist movements
- Race (human categorization)
- Y-chromosome haplogroups in populations of the world
- List of indigenous peoples
Notes and references
- ^ Abkhazia is currently a de facto independent state.
- ^ The majority of African Americans are bi-dialectal and speak both standard American English and African-American English.
- ^ a b Many Krio are also the descendants of other liberated/freed slaves.
- ^ a b Not including the 6.3 million Coloureds.
- ^ a b In addition to being an Afrikaner-, and Nami-descendant community, many Coloureds also share ancestry with at least one of the major ethnic groups residing in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, particularly the San, who were historically grouped with the Nami by academics.
- ^ Although the Ahom ruled over the indigenous Assamese, they eventually adopted the native language. Today, the Ahom speak Assamese, and the Ahom language is solely reserved for religious usage.
- ^ a b c d e f g h The population number here most likely does not include descendants of those who were sold in the Atlantic slave trade.
- ^ a b c d e f g The slave populations in the Americas consisted of over forty-five different African ethnic groups, with the following eight being the most numerous: Akan, Ambundu (who were frequently grouped with the Ovimbundu), Fon (who were frequently grouped with other Gbe speakers), Igbo, Kongo, Mandinka (who were frequently grouped with other Mande speakers), Wolof, and Yoruba. This article will limit listing these groups to these eight ethnicities, particularly the ones who are believe to be the most numerous of these slave populations.
- ^ a b This term will refer only to the African diaspora in the Americas.
- ^ The Afro-Jamaicans also have notable Igbo ancestry. Of the African-slave descendant populations in America, the Jamaicans are one of the few groups to predominately derived from one ethnicity.
- ^ The Afro-Costa Ricans refers to the descendants of Jamaican immigrants who arrived in the late 19th century; the original Costa Rican slave population largely integrated into the dominant Spanish population and are extinct as a unique community.
- ^ a b Its listing as an Akan sub-group is largely based on the fact that the Afro-Surinamese religion Winti is mostly based on the Akan religion with some Fon influence.
- ^ Kosovo is currently a de facto independent state.
- ^ Since the 19th century, the Arvanites have viewed themselves as being Greek.
- ^ This number, largely retrieved from the Arab League population, may include members who are actually of non-Arab descent, such as the Arab-Berbers and the Egyptians, and those who don't even see themselves as Arab, such as the Somalis and the Afar. Despite speaking an Arabic language, the Maltese are almost never considered a part of the Arab people.
- ^ The Baharna also have notable Persian, Jewish, and Assyrian ancestry.
- ^ a b Although the Shirazi claim to have originated from Iran, they are mainly of Arab and Swahili descent.
- ^ a b c d The ethnonyms Iraqis and Syrians refers to those of Arab and Assyrian descent who make up the majority of both countries' populations. Both groups primarily identify themselves as being Arab.
- ^ Although the Lebanese are usually considered to be an Arab subgroup, this is not an universal position as some Lebanese, especially the Maronites, reject this notion and view themselves as being the descendants of the ancient Phoenician population (see Phoenicianism). Although genetic studies have shown the majority of Lebanese, regardless of religion, are in fact the descendants of the Phoenicians, the idea that they are a separate ethnic group remains largely confined to Lebanese Christians.
- ^ a b Although the Sudanese Arabs are mostly made up of ethnic Arabs who had migrated into Sudan, a significant portion of them are actually Arabized Nubians.
- ^ The Baggara also include some non-Arab members such as the Fula.
- ^ Because the Hemshin are largely Muslim and have largely hidden their Armenian ancestry, they are sometimes considered a separate ethnic group. This is also why they are not listed as a diaspora population.
- ^ The Aromanians are considered to be descendants of the Romanised people of Southern Balkans and they live scattered in many settlements of that region.
- ^ Although the Rûm are also referred to as Antiochian Greek Christians, the designation "Greek" refers to the Rûm's usage of Koine Greek in their liturgy. Other than some Greek ultranationalists, the Rûm are usually seen (including by themselves) as being of Assyrian origin.
- ^ The Bayat have also been seen as a sub-group of the Turkmens and the Turks.
- ^ a b Although the Anglo-Burmese is largely used for those of English and Bamar descent, the term can also be used for anyone with European and Burmese (as in any of ethnic groups within Myanmar) ancestry.
- ^ a b c d Because the Haratin tend to follow their former master's culture, the former slave population, who are either of Bambara, Fula, Soninke, of Wolof descent, are sometimes classified as being Arab-Berbers.
- ^ This number does not include the millions of Latin Americans who are of Basque descent.
- ^ The majority of the Bembe, especially those residing in Tanzania, speak Swahili.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Language family. With some exceptions, the speakers of the various languages within this family are typically seen as one singular ethnicity.
- ^ "North Africa's Berbers get boost from Arab Spring". Fox News. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- ^ The Handbook of Bilingualism. John Wiley & Sons. 2006. p. 860. ISBN 0631227350. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
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(help) - ^ "Berber people". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- ^ Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia, Ed. Steven, L. Danver, M.E. Sharpe/Mesa Verde Publishing, 2013, p.23
- ^ Temehu.com. "Berbers (Imazighen) of North Africa: Libya, Algeria & Morocco". www.temehu.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ These numbers may not include the Arab-Berbers, who largely identify as being Arab.
- ^ The ethnonym Arab-Berbers refer to the Arab-speaking populations of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Western Sahara, and Tunisia who largely identify themselves as being Arab despite actually being mostly Berber descent.
- ^ The Arab population in France is predominantly Arab-Berber.
- ^ "Brahui". ethnologue.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ Due to France's long history of promoting the French language at the expense of others, the vast majority of Bretons only speak French. Gallo, a language spoken by Bretons near the Brittany-Normandy border, has also suffered from this policy.
- ^ Not including the unknown number of Fernandinos.
- ^ Including all population with Catalan heritage, language, and culture.
- ^ Due to the United States's long history of forced assimilation, the vast majority only speak English.
- ^ Due to the forced relocation of the Cherokee, the majority now reside in Oklahoma.
- ^ Number of enrolled tribal members. About 0.8 million claim to have Cherokee ancestry.
- ^ Originally known as Deori-Chutia, the Deori language is now limited to the Deori people, and the vast majority of the Chutiya only speak Assamese.
- ^ The Cornish language first went extinct in the late 18th century. While the language was revived during the early 20th century, the vast majority of the Cornish only speak English.
- ^ In the 1950s (the peak of traditional emigration) about 350,000 people left the Netherlands, mainly to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Argentina and South Africa. About one-fifth returned. The maximum Dutch-born emigrant stock for the 1950s is about 300,000 (some have died since). The maximum emigrant stock (Dutch-born) for the period after 1960 is 1.6 million. Discounting pre-1950 emigrants (who would be about 85 or older), at most around 2 million people born in the Netherlands are now living outside the country. Combined with the 13.1 million ethnically Dutch inhabitants of the Netherlands, there are about 16 million people who are Dutch, in a minimally accepted sense. Autochtone population at 1 January 2006, Central Statistics Bureau, Integratiekaart 2006', (external link) Archived 16 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine Template:Nl icon
- ^ a b The Mennonites has seen dramatic increase of non-Dutch/German members.
- ^ The original ancient Egyptian language, which around the 1st century AD became the Coptic language, died out as a spoken language around the 17th century and now survives as a sacred language. Today, the Egyptians (including the Copts) speak Arabic.
- ^ a b In addition to being an English-, and Igbo-descendant community, many Kriols have at least one of the major ethnic groups residing in Belize (with the exception of the Garifuna).
- ^ Estimates range from anywhere between 66 and 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]
- ^ Because the Pieds-Noirs (a French diaspora that had resided in Algeria) have been forced to flee back to France, they are not listed as one of the diaspora population.
- ^ As one of the largest nomadic people in the world whose settlements are rather disperse, it's impossible to claim any specific area in West Africa as a primary homeland of the Fula. The countries listed here are the present-day locations of famous Fula states: Futa Jallon, Futa Toro, Great Fulo, and Massina. (The Sokoto Caliphate was founded on traditionally Hausa land, which is why Nigeria is not listed.)
- ^ Unlike most Jewish populations, the Abayudaya are acknowledged to be entirely made up of Ganda converts to Judaism. The Abayudaya themselves do not claim to possess any ancient Israelite ancestry.
- ^ Due to large-scale deportations of the Garifuna only a few live in Saint Vincent; the vast majority now reside in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
- ^ "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..."
- ^ The term applies to the autochthonous Cyprus nationals with Greek ancestry, who are not considered part of the Greek diaspora and have a diaspora of their own .
- ^ a b Because the Pontic and Cappadocian Greeks (two former Greek diasporas that had resided in Turkey) have been deported back to Greece, they are not listed as being a part of the diaspora population.
- ^ Turkish-speaking ethnic Greeks in Georgia and Ukraine
- ^ 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.
- ^ It is believed that around the late 19th century, the Hajong language shifted from being a Sino-Tibetan language to an Indo-Ayran one.
- ^ 1.24 billion (92% of total population) in the China (CIA Factbook 2014 est.), about 22 million in Taiwan, and an estimated 50 million Overseas Chinese
- ^ Because of their Islamic faith, the Hui tend to be seen as a separate ethnic group (particularly by the Chinese government).
- ^ Due to frequent intermarriages, many of the Thai Chinese have significant amount of Thai ancestry.
- ^ As a group numbering more than a billion people with a diaspora population in almost every country, whose own native country is officially atheist, and has a long history of religious syncretism as well as two schools of thoughts that may or may not constitute as a religion, it is extremely difficult to determine the majority religion of the Han.
- ^ Since Hawaii's annexation into the United States, English has almost completely supplanted Hawaiian.
- ^ a b c Refers only to the Kinyarwanda and Kirundi dialects. The other speakers of the dialects within the Rwanda-Rundi continuum are considered to be separate from the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa peoples.
- ^ a b c Many Bahamians also have high amounts of African American ancestry.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b ceu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk, Scottish Government, St. Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG Tel:0131 556 8400 (29 May 2009). "The Scottish Diaspora and Diaspora Strategy: Insights and Lessons from Ireland". www.scotland.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ An unknown number of them are actually Scottish. Until the arrival of Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine, the descendants of the Ulster Scots referred to themselves as Irish.
- ^ Not including the Northern Irish.
- ^ Refers only to the languages of the six nations that made up the Iroquois Confederacy: Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. All six are either threatened or endangered, and the vast majority of the Iroquois speak either Canadian or American English.
- ^ Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country, James D. Fearon. Department of Political Science, Stanford University
- ^ Figures cited range anywhere between some 60 and 140 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]
- ^ 102 million in Indonesia (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate); small numbers in Malaysia, Suriname and elsewhere.
- ^ Despite the successfully revival of the Hebrew language, many Jews continue to speak the various languages that have developed by the diaspora populations, including Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. In addition, English served as the lingua franca of Israel.
- ^ Also known as Kalenjin proper. However, the Kalenjin ethnicity is sometimes extended to speakers of the other branches of the larger Kalenjin language family: Elgon, Ogiek, and Pökoot.
- ^ a b c Not part of the Nandi–Markweta language family.
- ^ ORGI. "Census of India: Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues −2001". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ Shakil, Mohsin. "Languages of Erstwhile State of Jammu Kashmir (A Preliminary Study)".
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(help) - ^ Including 0.9 million Nande speakers.
- ^ 50 million in South Korea, 25 million in North Korea, roughly 7 million in diaspora.
- ^ As a group that historically have been seen as part of the Coloured community, the Cape Malays also have significant amount of non-Malayan ancestry, particularly the major ethnic groups residing in South Africa that were traditionally Muslim.
- ^ Manchu is a critically endangered language; the vast majority of Manchu speak Chinese.
- ^ The Manx language is almost extinct due to the language shift to English, although there are current efforts to revive the language.
- ^ Although the Māori have been able to halt the extinction of their language, the majority still only speak English fluently.
- ^ 87 million in the Republic of India (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate), subject to rapid population growth.
- ^ The Lingala language is often used by urban-residing Mongo.
- ^ Refers only to the languages not part of the Kuki-Chin branch. The other four branches of the Kuki-Chin–Naga language family are Ao, Angami–Pochuri, Tangkhulic, and Zeme. It should be noted that although the Naga people are usually seen as a single ethnic group (both by themselves and by outsiders), it is unknown whether these four Naga branches are actually related to each other.
- ^ Due to France's long history of promoting the French language at the expense of others, the vast majority of Occitans only speak French.
- ^ "Odia". ethnologue.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ South Ossetia is currently a de facto independent state.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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)" Archived 2017-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 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.
- ^ Struktura narodowo-etniczna, językowa i wyznaniowa ludności Polski [Narodowy Spis Powszechny Ludności i Mieszkań 2011] (PDF) (in Polish). Warsaw: Główny Urząd Statystyczny. November 2015. pp. 129–136. ISBN 978-83-7027-597-6.
- ^ Central Statistical Office (January 2013). "The national-ethnic affiliation in the population – The results of the census of population and housing in 2011" (PDF) (in Polish). p. 1. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ^ Estimated over 20,000,000 Polish Diaspora Świat Polonii, witryna Stowarzyszenia Wspólnota Polska: "Polacy za granicą" Archived 8 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine (Polish people abroad as per summary by Świat Polonii, internet portal of the Polish Association Wspólnota Polska)
- ^ 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 Archived 28 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine (2009)
- ^ Lahnda/Western Punjabi 90,512,900 Pakistan and other countries (2014). Eastern: 28,200,000 India (2001), other countries: 1,314,770. Ethnologue 19.
- ^ David Mathieson (2009). Perilous Plight: Burma's Rohingya Take to the Seas. Human Rights Watch. p. 3. ISBN 9781564324856.
- ^ Although they are believed to have originated from India, the Romani are usually seen as not having a primary homeland.
- ^ As the Romani do not possess a primary homeland, this article will only list populations outside of Europe.
- ^ Gall, Timothy L, ed. (1998), Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life, vol. 4. Europe, Cleveland, OH: Eastword, pp. 316, 318,
'Religion: An underlay of Hinduism with an overlay of either Christianity or Islam (host country religion)'; Roma religious beliefs are rooted in Hinduism. Roma believe in a universal balance, called kuntari... Despite a 1,000-year separation from India, Roma still practice 'shaktism', the worship of a god through his female consort...
- ^ "Romanian". Ethnologue. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- ^ 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).
- ^ a b The Cossacks also include other members native to Eastern Europe.
- ^ Number includes self-identified Rusyns and Lemkos in the national censuses of Slovakia, Serbia, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia and Ukraine, although the number of people with Rusyn ancestry is considered to be much larger.
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ The classification of Hutsuls and Boykos under Rusyns is disputed by Ukrainians and some members of their communities.
- ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". www.demo.istat.it. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ The Scottish were predominantly Gaelic-speaking until the 11th century, when it was gradually phased out by the Kingdom of Scotland, which promoted the usage of Middle English. This version, which eventually developed into a separate language called Scots, was also gradually phased out following the complete unification of Scotland and England. Today, the large majority of Scottish have been native speakers of English.
- ^ Although they are sometimes referred to as Scotch-Irish, the Ulster Scots have very little Irish ancestry.
- ^ The Sidi language has been extinct since the 20th century and now tend to speak the dominant language of their region.
- ^ "Sinhala". ethnologue.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ 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, meaning that a large portion of Latin Americans who claim to be Spanish are actually either Basque, Catalan, or Galician. There are 41 million Spanish nationals in Spain, and some 2 million living abroad. The total worldwide rounds to more than 47 million.
- ^ Although their language is considered to be separate from Spanish, because the marriage between Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon is often seen as the start of the Unification of Spain, the Aragonese tend to be viewed as being part of Spanish ethnicity.
- ^ The Canary Islanders also have notable Berber ancestry.
- ^ the Dominicans also have significant amounts of African and Taíno ancestry.
- ^ "Swahili facts, information, pictures - Encyclopedia.com articles about Swahili". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ The number of ethnic Swahili is unknown, although most publications tend to stick with 500,000. Either way, it is universally believed that ethnic Swahili population is significantly smaller than the 100 million people who use Swahili in their everyday lives.
- ^ As French is the only official language in French Polynesia, the majority of Tahitians only speak French.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 89 million in the Republic of India (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate), subject to rapid population growth.
- ^ The term applies to the autochthonous Cyprus nationals with Turkish ancestry, not to be confused with the more recent Turkish settlers who have migrated after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots have a diaspora of their own.
- ^ Because the Meskhetian Turks (a former Turkish diaspora that had resided in Georgia and have some Georgian ancestry) have been deported out of Georgia and have been largely unable to return, they are not listed as being a part of the diaspora population.
- ^ a b Despite their name, the Syrian and Iraqi Turkmens have little to do the main ethnic group of Turkmenistan.
- ^ Project, Joshua. "Ukrainian – Joshua Project". www.joshuaproject.net. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ 80 million in Vietnam (CIA Factbook 2014 estimate), roughly 4 million in diaspora.
- ^ Although Welsh is the only Celtic language in the United Kingdom not to suffer threats of extinction, many of the Welsh speak English.
- Levinson, David (1998). Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-57356-019-1.