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Officially Recognized Minority Language Families
The following chart lists the ethnic minorities, their populations and the Language families that they belong to. All of the groups listed speak distinct languages except for the Hui, who are only distinguished from the Han because of their religious views (Hui are Chinese Muslims).
| Name of Group |
Population |
Language Family |
Location |
| Achang |
20,441 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Bai |
1,131,124 |
-- |
Yunnan |
| Bao'an |
9,027 |
Mongolian |
Gansu |
| Benglong |
12,295 |
Mon-Khmer |
Yunnan |
| Blang (Bulang) |
58,476 |
Mon-khmer |
Yunnan |
| Buyi (Bouyei) |
2,120,469 |
Tai |
Guizhou |
| Dagur (Daur) |
94,014 |
Mongolian |
Manchuria |
| Drung (Dulong) |
4,682 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Evenki |
19,343 |
Tungus |
Manchuria |
| Gelao |
53,802 |
-- |
Guizhou |
| Gin (Jing, Vietnamese) |
11,995 |
-- |
Guangxi |
| Han (Chinese) |
950,000,000 |
Sinitic |
Countrywide |
| Hani |
1,058,836 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Hezhen (Hoche) |
1,476 |
Tungus |
Manchuria |
| Hui |
7,219,352 |
Sinitic |
Countrywide |
| Jingpo |
93,008 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Jino |
11,974 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Kam (Dong) |
1,425,100 |
Tai |
Guizhou |
| Kaoshan (Gaoshan) |
1,549 |
Austronesian |
Taiwan |
| Kazakh |
907,582 |
Turkic |
Xinjiang |
| Kirghiz |
113,999 |
Turkic |
Xinjiang |
| Korean |
1,763,870 |
-- |
Manchuria |
| Lahu |
304,174 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Lhopa (Loba) |
2,065 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Tibet |
| Li |
817,562 |
Tai |
Hainan |
| Lisu |
480,960 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Manchu |
4,299,159 |
Tungus |
North |
| Maonan |
38,135 |
Tai |
Guangxi |
| Miao |
5,030,897 |
Miao-Yao |
South |
| Mongolian (proper) |
3,411,657 |
Mongolian |
North |
| Monguor (Tu) |
159,426 |
Mongolian |
Qinghai |
| Monpa (Monba) |
6,248 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Tibet |
| Mulam (Mulao) |
90,426 |
Tai |
Guangxi |
| Naxi (Moso, Nakhi) |
245,154 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Nu |
23,166 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Oroqen (Elunchun, Orochon) |
4,132 |
Tungus |
Manchuria |
| Primi (Pumi) |
24,237 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Yunnan |
| Qiang |
102,768 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Sichuan |
| Russian |
2,935 |
Indo-European |
Xinjiang |
| Salar |
69,102 |
Turkic |
Qinghai |
| Santa (Dongxiang) |
279,397 |
Mongolian |
Gansu |
| She |
368,832 |
Miao-Yao |
Fujian |
| Sui (Shui) |
286,487 |
Tai |
Guizhou |
| Tajik |
26,503 |
Indo-European |
Xinjiang |
| Tatar |
4,127 |
Turkic |
Xinjiang |
| Tibetan (Zang) |
3,870,068 |
Tibeto-Burman |
Tibet |
| Tujia |
2,832,743 |
-- |
Hunan |
| Uighur (Uygur) |
5,957,112 |
Turkic |
Xinjiang |
| Uzbek |
12,453 |
Turkic |
Xinjiang |
| Wa (Va) |
298,591 |
Mon-Khmer |
Yunnan |
| Xibo (Sibo) |
83,629 |
Tungus |
North |
| Yao |
1,402,676 |
Miao-Yao |
South |
| Yellow Uighur (Yugur) |
10,569 |
Turkic |
Gansu |
| Yi (Lolo) |
5,453,448 |
Tibeto-Burman |
South |
| Zhuang |
13,378,162 |
Tai |
Guangxi |
Note:
This chart is adapted from Ramsey, Robert S. "The Officially Recognized Nationalities of China." In The Languages of China. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983. 164-165. Populations are for 1982.
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