VIETNAM PEOPLE
Viet Nam is the world’s thirteenth most populous country, with in excess of 82 million people, 23.1 per cent of whom reside in urban areas. Population density currently stands at approximately 267 persons per square kilometre. The largest centres of population are the southern capital of Ho Chi Minh City (5.3 million), Ha Noi (3.1 million), and the cities of Hai Phong (1.6 million) and Da Nang (0.6 million)
Viet Nam is the world’s thirteenth most populous country, with in excess of 82 million people, 23.1 per cent of whom reside in urban areas. Population density currently stands at approximately 267 persons per square kilometre. The largest centres of population are the southern capital of Ho Chi Minh City (5.3 million), Ha Noi (3.1 million), and the cities of Hai Phong (1.6 million) and Da Nang (0.6 million). The former royal capital of Hue and the southern resort town of Vung Tau also support large growing urban communities.
The majority Kinh (or Viet) people account for some 69.6 million or 89 per cent of the total population of Viet Nam. The remaining 8.4 million is made up of 53 culturally distinct ethnic minorities.
Both the majority Kinh people and the country’s 53 ethnic minority groups derive from three great language families – the Austro-Asiatic, the Austronesian and the Sino-Tibetan.
The majority Viet language is one of approximately 150 languages belonging to the Austro-Asian language family. However, the classification of tieng Viet and its upland counterpart Muong within that language family is still the subject of academic debate – some scholars argue that it should be classified as part of the Mon-Khmer language group, while others (including most Vietnamese linguists) maintain that it should be categorised as a separate language group within the Austro-Asian language family, on the same level as Mon-Khmer, Asli, Munda and Nicobar.
The Viet-Muong language group/branch is dominated by the Viet (or Kinh), who constitute Viet Nam’s ethnic majority, and their upland cousins the Muong, Viet Nam’s fourth largest ethnicity, who reside mainly in Hoa Binh and Ha Tay provinces to the north and west of Ha Noi. The Tho of Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces south of Ha Noi and the Chut of Quang Binh province in central Viet Nam also hail from this ethnicity.
Branches of the Mon-Khmer language group represented in Viet Nam include Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnar (Ba-na, Brau, Gie-Trieng, Cho-ro, Co-ho, Hre, Ma, Sre-M’nong, Ro-mam, Xo-Dang and Xtieng), Katu (Bru-Van Kieu, Ca-tu, Ta-oi), Khmu (Khang, Kho-mu, O-du, Xinh-mun) and Mang (Mang). The Kho-me (equivalent to the Khmer of Cambodia) constitute the sixth largest ethnic people in the country and are widely settled throughout the Mekong Delta provinces of the south. The great majority of the other Môn-Khmer ethnicities are settled in the central and southern-central highlands region bordering Cambodia and southern Laos; notable exceptions to this rule are the Kho-mu, Khang, Mang and Xinh-mun, all of whom reside in the mountainous north west.
Three branches of the Austro-Thai linguistic family are represented in Viet Nam – Austronesian (Malay-Polynesian), Hmong-Mien and Tai-Kadai.
The Austronesian or Malay-Polynesian language family is represented by five of Viet Nam’s ethnic minority groups the Cham, the Chu-ru, the E-de, the Gia-rai and the Ra-glai all of whom hail from an Achinese-Chamic sub-sub-branch of Sundic and are to be found in south-central Viet Nam. Perhaps best-known of these are the Cham, now settled in the southern coastal provinces of Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen and Binh Dinh, whose ancestors founded the ancient kingdom of Champa. However, more numerous today are their neighbours the Ra-glai and the Chu-ru, and their central highland cousins the E-De of Dac Lac province and the Gia-rai of Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces.
The Hmong-Mien group is believed to have migrated from southern China into Viet Nam, Laos and northern Thailand only over the last 300 years, and all representatives in Viet Nam of its two constituent branches, the Hmong and the Mien, are settled exclusively in the north of the country. Of the four Hmong language branches found throughout the wider region, three are represented in Viet Nam. The White H’mong, the Flower or Variegated H’mong and the Blue or Green H’mong hail from the Chuanqiandian language group, the Black H’mong from the Qiandong language group and the Red H’mong from the Xiangxi language group. The Mien group is represented in Viet Nam by the Dao (Yao), all of whom are classified (like their cousins in neighbouring Thailand and Laos) as part of the Iu Mien language group. However, significant dialectical differences exist between major Dao sub-groups such as the Black Dao, the Coin Dao, the Red Dao, the Tight-trousered Dao and the White-trousered Dao.
The H’mong and the Dao are Viet Nam’s eighth and ninth largest ethnic group respectively. The H’mong are settled widely across the north of the country but particularly in Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Ha Giang and Cao Bang Provinces. The Dao are also found widely throughout the mountainous north of Viet Nam, with major pockets of settlement in Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Bac Can, Cao Bang and Lang Son Provinces.
The Tai-Kadai group comprises two branches Kadai or Kam-Tai (Co Lao, La Chi, La Ha and Pu Peo) and Tay-Thai (Bo Y, Giay, Lao, Lu, Nung, San Chay, Tay and Black/White Thai). Common ancestors of both branches are known to have migrated from southern China in large numbers during the first millennium CE. Some travelled as far as modern-day Laos and Thailand where they went on to lay the foundations for the powerful kingdoms of Lan Xang and Sukhothai (Kadai), while others chose to settle en route in the northern mountains of Viet Nam. Today the Tay (north east Viet Nam), the Black and White Thai (north-west Viet Nam) and the Nung (north east Viet Nam) constitute respectively the second, third and seventh largest ethnic groups in the country after the Kinh.
The Sino-Tibetan linguistic family is represented in Viet Nam by two groups. The Han (Sinitic) language group incorporates the Yunnanese or south west Mandarin-speaking Hoa, Ngai and San Diu ethnicities; and the Lolo-Burmish language group incorporates the Lolo-speaking Cong, Ha Nhi, La Hu, Lo Lo, Phu La and Si La ethnicities. The Hoa or ethnic Chinese constitute Viet Nam’s fifth largest ethnic group, who are nowadays found mainly in Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding Mekong Delta provinces, though scattered rural Hoa settlements may also be found in many other parts of the country. All other Sino-Tibetan ethnicities are settled exclusively in the north of Viet Nam.
Other ethnic groups in Viet Nam include a tiny Indian community in Ho Chi Minh City and a small but growing western expatriate population, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City.
Viet Nam is the world’s thirteenth most populous country, with in excess of 82 million people, 23.1 per cent of whom reside in urban areas. Population density currently stands at approximately 267 persons per square kilometre. The largest centres of population are the southern capital of Ho Chi Minh City (5.3 million), Ha Noi (3.1 million), and the cities of Hai Phong (1.6 million) and Da Nang (0.6 million). The former royal capital of Hue and the southern resort town of Vung Tau also support large growing urban communities.
The majority Kinh (or Viet) people account for some 69.6 million or 89 per cent of the total population of Viet Nam. The remaining 8.4 million is made up of 53 culturally distinct ethnic minorities.
Both the majority Kinh people and the country’s 53 ethnic minority groups derive from three great language families – the Austro-Asiatic, the Austronesian and the Sino-Tibetan.
The majority Viet language is one of approximately 150 languages belonging to the Austro-Asian language family. However, the classification of tieng Viet and its upland counterpart Muong within that language family is still the subject of academic debate – some scholars argue that it should be classified as part of the Mon-Khmer language group, while others (including most Vietnamese linguists) maintain that it should be categorised as a separate language group within the Austro-Asian language family, on the same level as Mon-Khmer, Asli, Munda and Nicobar.
The Viet-Muong language group/branch is dominated by the Viet (or Kinh), who constitute Viet Nam’s ethnic majority, and their upland cousins the Muong, Viet Nam’s fourth largest ethnicity, who reside mainly in Hoa Binh and Ha Tay provinces to the north and west of Ha Noi. The Tho of Nghe An and Thanh Hoa provinces south of Ha Noi and the Chut of Quang Binh province in central Viet Nam also hail from this ethnicity.
Branches of the Mon-Khmer language group represented in Viet Nam include Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnar (Ba-na, Brau, Gie-Trieng, Cho-ro, Co-ho, Hre, Ma, Sre-M’nong, Ro-mam, Xo-Dang and Xtieng), Katu (Bru-Van Kieu, Ca-tu, Ta-oi), Khmu (Khang, Kho-mu, O-du, Xinh-mun) and Mang (Mang). The Kho-me (equivalent to the Khmer of Cambodia) constitute the sixth largest ethnic people in the country and are widely settled throughout the Mekong Delta provinces of the south. The great majority of the other Môn-Khmer ethnicities are settled in the central and southern-central highlands region bordering Cambodia and southern Laos; notable exceptions to this rule are the Kho-mu, Khang, Mang and Xinh-mun, all of whom reside in the mountainous north west.
Three branches of the Austro-Thai linguistic family are represented in Viet Nam – Austronesian (Malay-Polynesian), Hmong-Mien and Tai-Kadai.
The Austronesian or Malay-Polynesian language family is represented by five of Viet Nam’s ethnic minority groups the Cham, the Chu-ru, the E-de, the Gia-rai and the Ra-glai all of whom hail from an Achinese-Chamic sub-sub-branch of Sundic and are to be found in south-central Viet Nam. Perhaps best-known of these are the Cham, now settled in the southern coastal provinces of Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen and Binh Dinh, whose ancestors founded the ancient kingdom of Champa. However, more numerous today are their neighbours the Ra-glai and the Chu-ru, and their central highland cousins the E-De of Dac Lac province and the Gia-rai of Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces.
The Hmong-Mien group is believed to have migrated from southern China into Viet Nam, Laos and northern Thailand only over the last 300 years, and all representatives in Viet Nam of its two constituent branches, the Hmong and the Mien, are settled exclusively in the north of the country. Of the four Hmong language branches found throughout the wider region, three are represented in Viet Nam. The White H’mong, the Flower or Variegated H’mong and the Blue or Green H’mong hail from the Chuanqiandian language group, the Black H’mong from the Qiandong language group and the Red H’mong from the Xiangxi language group. The Mien group is represented in Viet Nam by the Dao (Yao), all of whom are classified (like their cousins in neighbouring Thailand and Laos) as part of the Iu Mien language group. However, significant dialectical differences exist between major Dao sub-groups such as the Black Dao, the Coin Dao, the Red Dao, the Tight-trousered Dao and the White-trousered Dao.
The H’mong and the Dao are Viet Nam’s eighth and ninth largest ethnic group respectively. The H’mong are settled widely across the north of the country but particularly in Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Ha Giang and Cao Bang Provinces. The Dao are also found widely throughout the mountainous north of Viet Nam, with major pockets of settlement in Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Bac Can, Cao Bang and Lang Son Provinces.
The Tai-Kadai group comprises two branches Kadai or Kam-Tai (Co Lao, La Chi, La Ha and Pu Peo) and Tay-Thai (Bo Y, Giay, Lao, Lu, Nung, San Chay, Tay and Black/White Thai). Common ancestors of both branches are known to have migrated from southern China in large numbers during the first millennium CE. Some travelled as far as modern-day Laos and Thailand where they went on to lay the foundations for the powerful kingdoms of Lan Xang and Sukhothai (Kadai), while others chose to settle en route in the northern mountains of Viet Nam. Today the Tay (north east Viet Nam), the Black and White Thai (north-west Viet Nam) and the Nung (north east Viet Nam) constitute respectively the second, third and seventh largest ethnic groups in the country after the Kinh.
The Sino-Tibetan linguistic family is represented in Viet Nam by two groups. The Han (Sinitic) language group incorporates the Yunnanese or south west Mandarin-speaking Hoa, Ngai and San Diu ethnicities; and the Lolo-Burmish language group incorporates the Lolo-speaking Cong, Ha Nhi, La Hu, Lo Lo, Phu La and Si La ethnicities. The Hoa or ethnic Chinese constitute Viet Nam’s fifth largest ethnic group, who are nowadays found mainly in Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding Mekong Delta provinces, though scattered rural Hoa settlements may also be found in many other parts of the country. All other Sino-Tibetan ethnicities are settled exclusively in the north of Viet Nam.
Other ethnic groups in Viet Nam include a tiny Indian community in Ho Chi Minh City and a small but growing western expatriate population, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City.
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