Section 1 Demographic Composition of Ethnic Minori...
Yunnan Province has a population of 1,660,932 of26 ethnic groups by the end of2019. It has the most ethnic groups among all the provinces in China. Except for Han majority, each of the other 25 groups have more than 6000 members respectively (including Yi, Hani, Bai,Dai, Zhuang, Miao, Hui, Lisu and etc). 15 out of 26 are indigenous (including Hani, Bai,Dai, Lisu, Lahu, Wa, Nakhi, Jingpo, Bulang, Pumi, Achang, Nu, Jinuo, De’ang, and Dulong)whose population accounts for more than 80% of each group’s national total population.The province’s minorities’ population is 16,212,600, taking up 33.6% of the province’s total population. Yunnan is one of the three provinces (Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou) with a minority population of more than 10 million. The land size of ethnic autonomous areas is 276,700 square kilometers, accounting for 70.2% of the total area ofthe province. There are six ethnic minorities with a population ofmore than 1 million (including Yi, Hani, Bai, Dai,Zhuang, and Miao); nine ethnic minorities with a population of more than 100,000 but less than 1 million (including Hui, Lisu, Lahu, Wa, Nakhi, Yao, Jingpo, Tibetan, and Bulang);eight ethnic minorities with more than 10,000 and less than 100,000 members (including Buyi, Pumi, Achang, Nu, Jinuo, Mongolian, De’ang, and Man); two ethnic minorities with more than 6,000 and less than 100,000 (including Shui and Dulong).
The population of Yunnan’s ethnic minorities features in fast-growing and co-habiting with a convention of collective settlements and mixed residence. The population of Yi and Hui can be found distribute in alall the counties of the province. And the population of Yunnan’s ethnic minorities is mainly teenagers, youths and mid-aged adults, which contributes a lower population aging level than the average ofYunnan.
Yunnan is located in the middle of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the South China Peninsula. It is home to many ethnic groups since ancient times. For ages it has served asa corridor for the north-south migration of various ethnic groups along the Hengduan Mountains. Yunnan has not merely more ethnic groups but also a different demographic distribution and social development than that of the other innerland provinces. The three-dimensional distribution of ethnic population in Yunnan changes according to the geographical environment and topography.
Yunnan’s ethnic minority population is mainly distributed in 8 autonomous prefectures,29 autonomous counties and 140 ethnic townships, with the general characteristics ofmore living in the west, fewer in the east, more in the south and fewer in the north; more in the mountainous areas and fewer in the basins ; more in the frontier and fewer in the interior.In addition, the geographical regions and altitudes vary oftheir residential areas vary .
The distribution of 25 ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province is relatively complex, with two prominent features: first, staggered distribution. Yunnan ethnic minorities’ mainly live in mixed communities with Han and other minorities, but still some small ethnic population live collectively. There is no single ethnic county (city) in Yunnan Province, nor is there a single ethnic group living in only one county (city). Second,three-dimensional distribution.This is due to Yunnan’s unique topography and climate. Dai and Zhuang mainly live in river valley areas; Hui, Man, Bai, Nakhi, Buyi, Shui mainly live in basin areas; Hani, Lahu, Wa,Jingpo and Jino mainly live in halfmountainous areas; Miao, Lisu, Nu, Dulong, Tibetan and Pumi mainly live in the high mountainous areas.The ethnic groups in Yunnan maintain their own languages, dresses and customs, and do not easily assimilate and integrate with other ethnic groups. The distribution ofethnic groups and the resulting ethnic relations in Yunnan are special compared to other mono-ethnic regions in China.