List of contemporary ethnic groups
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 ancestry, history, homeland, language or dialect and cultural heritage; where the term "culture" specifically includes aspects such as religion, mythology and ritual, cuisine, dressing (clothing) style and other factors.
By the nature of the concept, ethnic groups tend to be divided into subgroups, which may themselves be or not be identified as independent ethnic groups depending on the source consulted.
Ethnic groups
The following groups are commonly identified as "ethnic groups", as opposed to ethno-linguistic phyla, national groups, racial groups or similar.
Lists of ethnic groups
- by status:
- regional lists:
- Ethnic groups in Asia
- South Asian ethnic groups
- African people
- European people
- Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas
- List of Indigenous Australian group names
- Ethnoreligious group
See also
Notes
- Following the Caucasian War, the majority of Circassians and Abkhazians were deported to Turkey.
- Language family; with some exceptions, all speakers of the various languages within this family are typically seen as one singular ethnicity.
- Non-contiguous homeland. Throughout most of its history (if not its entire history), this ethnic group has lived in separate, isolated communities scattered throughout the countries/subdivisions listed.
- Assamese ethnic group; the vast majority only speak Assamese.
- As the Akan language has only recently been standardized, the majority of them still speak their local dialects, which are usually considered by linguists to be separate languages altogether.
- Due to historical migrations, about half of the Akan population reside in Ivory Coast.
- Some time around 1860s, many Akha have been migrating to Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand. Today, the majority reside outside of China.
- With the exception of Navajo, all Apachean speakers are seen as one ethnicity. However, due to a history of forced assimilation by the American government, the majority can only speak English.
- Between 632 and 861, the Arabs controlled most of West Asia and North Africa, with Bedouin tribes forming in what is now Algeria, Sudan, and Iraq. Today, the majority of the Arab world is outside of Arabia.
- The Argobba have typically been a merchant community and usually trades with other ethnic groups; recently, these factors have resulted in the majority only speaking Amharic or Oromo.
- During the Armenian genocide that occurred in the Turkish part of Greater Armenia (usually called Western Armenia), many Armenians fled to Russia, France, and the United States. Today, the majority reside outside of Greater Armenia, and Western Armenia no longer has an openly Armenian population (the Hemshin largely avoid identifying themselves as being Armenian, while the vast majority of people that are openly Armenian in Turkey reside in Istanbul, which is not a part of Western Armenia).
- The Aramaic language morphed into the Neo-Aramaic languages around 1200 AD. Whether the majority of the Assyrians are still speaking these languages is unclear, however.
- Modern Assyria have seen long periods of violence throughout the region, some of which (such as the Assyrian genocide and the Persecution of Christians by ISIL) have been directed against the Assyrians themselves. This has caused many to flee to places such as the United States and Sweden; it is believed that the majority now reside outside of the Middle East.
- Due to the widespread presence of both Spanish and French, the majority of Basques only have a passive knowledge of their language.
- Unlike the rest of the Soviet republics, who were able to maintain their native language despite the de facto Russianization during the Soviet era, the Russian language has largely replaced Belarusian in everyday use.
- The Beti and the Fang form the Beti-Pahuin peoples. While the term Beti is sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the Beti-Pahuin people, the Beti ethnicity is specifically limited to Ewondo and Eton speakers.
- Due to their historical low status in India, the majority only speak Bengali.
- Due to France's long history of promoting the French language at the expense of others, the vast majority only speak French.
- Due to the a long history of forced assimilation by the American government, the vast majority only speak English.
- Following the passage of the Indian Removal Act, the Cherokee, the Choctaw, and the Muscogee were all forced to relocate their entire population to Oklahoma.
- The original Egyptian language, which morphed into the Coptic language around the 1st century AD, died out as a spoken language around the 17th century and is now only used for religious ceremonies. Today, the Egyptians, including the Copts, speak Arabic.
- Due to a long history of English dominance within Great Britain, the Celtic languages within the islands have seen steady decline in use, with some of them eventually going extinct. Although all of them have since seen major language revival movements, English continues to be main language for the majority of this group.
- Due to the a long history of forced assimilation by the Canadian government, the vast majority can only either speak English.
- Largest practiced religion; the majority/plurality of this group are actually non-religious.
- Due to their historical low status in India, the majority only speak Gujarati.
- Between 1583 and 1997, the English, via being the dominant ethnic group in the United Kingdom, created the largest empire in the world, setting up settler colonies in areas such as what is now the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Today, the majority of the Anglosphere is outside of the United Kingdom.
- Although they are descendents of a subset of English settlers, the English Travellers of Texas do not consider England to be their primary homeland. While they are largely a semi-nomadic group, they consider Texas, particularly Grimes County, to be their homeland.
- The Gabrieleño language went extinct around 1900, but revival efforts have been ongoing since the 2000s. Most are fluent in English and/or Spanish
- This ethnic group is largely a nomadic or semi-nomadic one and do not have a particular area to claim as a primary homeland; these countries are listed here due to having a significant population.
- Like its speakers, the Garfuna language is the only remnant of the Island Carib language.
- Following the Second Carib War, the majority of the Garifuna were deported to Honduras, where they later spread to Guatemala, Belize, and Nicaragua. Since then, Honduras have seen high murder rates, causing many to flee to United States.
- Many of the Gelao dialects are mutually unintelligible; they are known to intermarry with other ethnic groups; recently, these factors have resulted in most of the populations speaking only Chinese.
- Although a Nakh people, they are heavily assimilated into Georgian society.
- Due to their historical low status in India, the majority only speak Hindi.
- Since Hawaii's annexation into the United States, English has almost completely supplanted Hawaiian.
- Following the suppression of Miao Rebellion of 1854–1873, the majority of the Hmong fled further south to Guangxi, Yunnan, Vietnam, and Laos.
- Refers specifically 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.
- During the Great Famine, many Irish people fled to places like Argentina, Mexico, and the United States. Today, the majority of people claiming Irish ethnicity resides outside of Ireland.
- With the exception of Cherokee, all Iroquoian speakers are seen as one ethnicity. However, due to a long history of forced assimilation by both American and Canadian governments, the vast majority can only speak English.
- The majority of the Japanese practiced a syncretised form of Shinto and Buddhism called Shinbutsu-shūgō.
- Despite the successful 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 serves as the lingua franca of Israel.
- While Jews originate in the Land of Israel, they were primarily a diaspora ethnicity from the late antique period until 1948, with the Jewish identity being claimed mostly by descendants of those that left Israel following the First Jewish–Roman War. Despite some entire Jewish communities migrating back to Israel, Israeli Jews make up only 30-40% of the worldwide Jewish population.
- The Wapan language have largely replaced Jukun Takum as the main language.
- The indigenous Kalinago language became extinct in the 1920s. However, an offshoot of it known as Garifuna is still spoken today.
- Due to both Turkification and the tendency among Georgia-residing Laz to see themselves as being a Georgian subgroup, the majority of Laz either speak Turkish or Georgian.
- The Lhoba speak a variety of Sino-Tibetan languages, all of which may or may not be mutually intelligible.
- Due to poor soil condition in Madura, the majority now live on Java.
- The majority of the Magars have recently switched to Nepali.
- The majority of the Tungusic languages are endangered, and many Tungusic ethnic groups now mostly speak only Russian or Chinese depending on the location of their homeland.
- Although the Māori have been able to halt the extinction of their language, the majority still only speak English fluently.
- Due to gradual Hispanicization following the Occupation of Araucanía, the majority of Mapuche can only speak Spanish.
- Most Maronites today speak Arabic since a language shift around the 17th century with Syriac in liturgical use, however some Maronites in Jish are reviving Aramaic.
- The Moriori language went extinct in 1898 but revival efforts have been ongoing since 2001.
- The Kuki-Chin–Naga language grouping (it is unclear whether the Kuki-Chin–Naga form an actual language family) consists of five to eight branches. Except for Karbi and Meitei, the Kuki-Chin–Naga is divided between the Chin and the Naga. The Mruic and most of the Kuki-Chin speakers are seen as Chin, while speakers of the remaining Kuki-Chin–Naga branches (Ao, Angami–Pochuri, Tangkhulic, and Zeme) and the speakers Northwestern Kuki-Chin are seen as Naga.
- Due to a long history of forced assimilation by both American and Canadian governments, the vast majority can only speak English.
- The Rusyn identity is mostly limited to those residing outside of Carpathian Ruthenia. Within Carpathian Ruthenia itself (especially in the Ukrainian region), the majority of its residents identify themselves as being Ukrainian.
- All Ryukyuan speakers are seen as one ethnicity; however, due to a history of forced assimilation by the Japanese government, the majority can only speak Japanese.
- The Siddi now speak the dominant language of their region.
- Due to a history of forced assimilation by the American government, the majority can only speak English.
- Asturleonese is sometimes considered a language family comprising Asturleonese (also commonly known as Asturian-Leonese and Asturian-Leonese-Cantabrian), Extremaduran, and Mirandese.
- Between 1492 and 1833, the Spaniards controlled most of the Americas, with Mestizo communities forming in areas such as what is now Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina. Today, the majority of the Hispanosphere is outside of Spain.
- Due to the widespread presence of Chinese, the majority of Tujia only have a passive knowledge of their language.
- Prior to the mid-twentieth century, the lingua franca of Belgium was French; this, paired with the fact that the Walloons are usually considered to be a French subgroup, have now resulted in the majority of them speaking only standard French.
References
- "Masa People". Joshua Project. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- "2013 Census ethnic group profiles: Pitcairn Islander". Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- Levinson, David (1998). Ethnic Groups Worldwide: A Ready Reference Handbook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-57356-019-1.
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