ETHNIC GROUP IN DENMARK

The majority of Denmark’s population is of Scandinavian ethnicity. Out of six million Danes, almost 87% are Scandinavians. But apart from this group, other ethnic groups found in Denmark include the Inuits, Germans, Turks, Faroeses, Somalis and Iranians.

Scandinavian

Scandinavians include anyone originating from any of the following five countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. The history of this ethnic groups date back to the Stone Age period. The religion of the early Scandinavians was Norse. In the 10th century, King Harald Bluetooth of the Scandinavian Empire converted the Scandinavians to Christianity. The Scandinavians thus began to follow Roman Catholicism.

Later, during the first half of the 16th century, after the Danish reformation, the faith of the Scandinavians shifted from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism. This further became the official religion of Denmark.

Today almost the entire Scandinavian ethnic group of Denmark practices Lutheranism. They have a very free culture and a deep interest in the field of arts.

Inuits
The Inuits were more commonly known as Eskimos. But, due to stereotypes implied by this term, the ethnic group is now termed as Inuit. Because of the harsh atmosphere in the regions where the Inuits live, they could only depend on food that they procured by hunting and fishing. Thus, hunting and fishing was and is a main Inuit activity.

Inuits are mainly found in the Arctic region of Greenland. Inuits found in Greenland are also known as Kalaallit Inuits. Inuits in the Kingdom of Denmark speak the Greenlandic dialect. This is the primary language of Inuits living in Greenland. There are almost ten thousand Inuits living on the mainland of Denmark that also speak the Greenlandic dialect. This Greenlandic dialect is also known as Kalaallisut.

Faroeses

The Faroeses are believed to have settled in the regions of what is today the Kingdom of Denmark in the tenth century. Faroeses in the Kingdom of Denmark are mainly of Norse descent.
Like most Danish, they follow the Lutheran religion.

The language spoken by this ethnic group is called Faroese. Scholars of this language state that the Faroese language belongs to the group of North Germanic languages.

Germans

Germans are mostly found in the southern part of the Jutland peninsula of Denmark. More precisely, they are found in South Jutland County. A survey has found that there are nearly 20,000 Germans in this area.

ETHNIC GROUPS IN BANGLADESH

The Manipuris
The manipuris are one of the major ethnic communities of Bangladesh. They migrated to Bangladesh during the reign of Rajarshi Bhagyachandra (1764-1789) and the process was accelerated by the Manipuri-Burma war. After the war with Burma, Manipur was ruled by the Burmese invaders for about seven years. During that period, King Chourajit Singh accompanied by a large following of Manipuri subjects moved to areas - now in Bangladesh.

The Rajbangshi
The Rajbangshi is another small ethnic group of Bangladesh. They entered this country from the Himalayan region and the Brahmaputra valley. They live mostly in Rangpur, Dinajpur and Rajshahi districts and a small number of them in Bogra and Mymensingh.

The Khasia
'Better the dance, better the crop...' a saying of the Khasias, one of the ethnic groups of Bangladesh. Earlier, Khasia people used to live along the northeast border of Sunamganj district. At present they are spread over Bishwamvarpur, Tahirpur and Chhatak in Sunamganj. Most Khasias live in the border region. Many Khasia children are found working in the tea gardens in Kulaura.

The Tripura
The Tripuras are another large ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region. At present they live in CHT, especially in Ramgarh and Khagrachhari. It is also believed that Tripuras currently living in Bangladesh originally came from the Indian state of Tripura. The number of Tripuras in CHT areas was close to 80,000 in 1991, and it has no doubt increased considerably by this time.

The Marmas
The Marmas are the second largest ethnic minority
in Bangladesh. Most Marmas live in the three hill districts of Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari. Some Marmas, however, live in the coastal districts of Cox's Bazar and Patuakhali.
The Mandi

Mandis are short but usually have stout bodies with wide chest and thick arms and legs. They live in different areas of Bangladesh and in the adjacent parts of India. Their faces are round, black hair and eyes , deep eyebrows, small eyes, flat noses and high jaws. Beards rarely grow on their cheeks and they have almost no hair on their body. Their skin is yellow and smooth.

The Hajong
This ethnic group has been living for many generations in the hilly parts of Mymehsingh district. Some of them also live in the Sherpur, Sylhet and Netrokona regions.

The Chakmas
The Chakmas are the largest ethnic tribal minority in Bangladesh. They are concentrated in the central and northern parts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts where they live amidst several other ethnic groups. According to the 1991 population census, there were about 2,53,000 Chakmas. More than 90 percent of them are concentrated in Rangamati and Khagrachhari districts.

The Rakhain

The Rakhain, belonging to the Bhotbarmi community of the Mongoloids, came from the land Rakhain Pre, which is now known as Arakan in Myanmar. The word Rakhain originates from the word Rakshan, which means the people who preserve and safeguard their heritage and culture.

The Santal
The Santals are known as one of the oldest and largest indigenous communities in the northwestern belt of Bangladesh. They have been living in the pristine natural surroundings of the area for thousands of years. They might be described as children of nature who are nurtured and reared by its bounty. Santals are largely seen in the northern districts of Dinajpur, Naogaon, Thakurgaon, Panchagar, etc.

The Tanchyanga
The Tanchyanga are a small ethnic community living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. In terms of population they rank 5th among the ethnic communities of Bangladesh. According to the 1991 census, their number was 21,057 and the number of Tanchyanga households was 4,043.

The Muroungs
Murongs are one of the famous tribes of aborigines of Arakan and two Murong Kings ruled Arakan in the tenth century AD. Murongs live in Lama, Ruma, Alikadam and Thanchi upazilas near Chimbuk Mountain of Bandarban district.

ETHNIC GROUPS IN HONGKONG

Residents of Hong Kong are sometimes referred to as Hongkongers. The territory's population increased sharply throughout the 1990s, reaching 6.99 million in 2006. Hong Kong has a fertility rate of 0.95 children per woman, one of the lowest in the world and far below the 2.1 children per woman required to sustain the current population. However, the population in Hong Kong continues to grow due to the influx of immigrants from mainland China, approximating 45,000 per year. Life expectancy in Hong Kong is 81.6 years as of 2006, the sixth highest in the world.
About 95% of the people of Hong Kong are Chinese by ethnicity, the majority of which is Cantonese or from linguistic groups such as Hakka and Chiu Chow. The remaining 5% of the population is composed of non-ethnic Chinese forming a highly visible group despite their smaller numbers. A South Asian population of Sindhis, Indians, Pakistanis and Nepalese are found. Some Vietnamese refugees have become permanent residents of Hong Kong. There are also a number of Europeans, Americans, Australians, Canadians, Japanese, and Koreans working in Hong Kong's commercial and financial sector.
Hong Kong's de-facto official language is Cantonese, a Chinese language originating from Guangdong Province to the north of Hong Kong (of which Hong Kong was part of before British colonial rule), and is spoken by 95% of the population as a first language. English is also an official language, and according to a 1996 by-census is spoken by 3.1% of the population as an everyday language and by 34.9% of the population as a second language. Signs displaying both Chinese and English are common throughout the territory. Since the 1997 handover, an increase in immigrants from mainland China and greater integration with the mainland economy have brought an increasing number of Mandarin speakers to Hong Kong.
Religion in Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of freedom, guaranteed by the Basic Law. 90% of Hong Kong's population practises a mix of local religions, most prominently Buddhism (mainly Chinese Mahayana) and Taoism. A Christian community of around 600,000 exists, forming about 8% of the total population, and is nearly equally divided between Catholics and Protestants, although other, smaller Christian communities exist such as Latter-Day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses. There are also Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Bahá'í communities. Concerns over a lack of religious freedom after the 1997 handover have largely subsided, with Falun Gong adherents free to practice in Hong Kong, and the Anglican Church and Roman Catholic Church each freely appointing its own bishops, unlike in mainland China.

ETHNIC GROUPS IN GHANA

In 1960 roughly 100 linguistic and cultural groups were recorded in Ghana. Although later censuses placed less emphasis on the ethnic and cultural composition of the population, differences of course existed and had not disappeared by the mid-1990s The major ethnic groups in Ghana include the Akan, Ewe, Mole-Dagbane, Guan, and Ga-Adangbe. The subdivisions of each group share a common cultural heritage, history, language, and origin. These shared attributes were among the variables that contributed to state formation in the precolonial period. Competition to acquire land for cultivation, to control trade routes, or to form alliances for protection also promoted group solidarity and state formation. The creation of the union that became the Asante confederacy in the late seventeenth century is a good example of such processes at work in Ghana's past.
Ethnic rivalries of the precolonial era, variance in the impact of colonialism upon different regions of the country, and the uneven distribution of social and economic amenities in postindependence Ghana have all contributed to present-day ethnic tensions. For example, in February 1994, more than 1,000 persons were killed and 150,000 others displaced in the northeastern part of Ghana in fighting between Konkomba on one side and Nanumba, Dagomba, and Gonja on the other. The clashes resulted from longstanding grievances over land ownership and the prerogatives of chiefs. A military task force restored order, but a state of emergency in the region remained in force until mid-August.
Although this violence was certainly evidence of ethnic tension in the country, most observers agreed that the case in point was exceptional. As one prolific writer on modern Ghana, Naomi Chazan, has aptly observed, undifferentiated recourse to ethnic categories has obscured the essential fluidity that lies at the core of shared ties in the country. Evidence of this fluidity lies in the heterogeneous nature of all administrative regions, in rural-urban migration that results in interethnic mixing, in the shared concerns of professionals and trade unionists that cut across ethnic lines, and in the multi-ethnic composition of secondary school and university classes. Ethnicity, nonetheless, continues to be one of the most potent factors affecting political behavior in Ghana. For this reason, ethnically based political parties are unconstitutional under the present Fourth Republic.

ETHNIC GROUPS IN THAILAND

Thailand contains more than 30 ethnic groups varying in history, language, religion, appearance, and patterns of livelihood. However, the Thai, akin to the Lao of Laos, the Shan of Myanmar (Burma prior to June 1989), and the Thai groupings of southern China, comprise about 75% of the total population of Thailand. The Thai may be divided into three major groups and three minor groups. Major groups are the Central Thai (Siamese) of the Central Valley; the Eastern Thai (Lao) of the Northeast (Khorat); the Northern Thai (Lao) of North Thailand; and the Southern Thain (Chao Pak Thai) of peninsular Thailand. Minor groups are the Phuthai of northeastern Khorat, the Shan of the far northwestern corner of northern Thailand, and the Lue in the northeastern section of northern Thailand. The several branches of Thai are united by a common language.
A major ethnic minority is the Chinese (about 14%), engaged in business and commerce throughout the country. Other varied ethnic groups account for the remaining 11% of the population. Malays (3–4%), in the southern peninsula near the border and, to a lesser extent, along the southeast coast; Khmers (1%), all along the Cambodian border from the Mekong to the Gulf of Thailand; and Vietnamese or Annamese, in the southern Khorat and on the southeast coast. Small numbers of residents from India, Europe, and the United States live mainly in urban areas. Principal tribal groups, mainly hill peoples, include the Kui and Kaleung, in the northeast; the Mons, living mainly on the peninsula along the Burmese border; and the Karens, living along the northern Burmese border. There are, in addition, some 20 other minority groups, including the Akha, Musso, Meo, Kamuk, Tin, Lawa, and So; most of these peoples, primitive and small in number, live by shifting cultivation in rugged, isolated mountain or dense forest terrain.

ETHNIC GROUPS IN CHINA

There are 56 ethnic groups in China. The largest group, the Han, numbers about 1.1 billion and makes up 93.3 percent of the country's population. They live all over China but are concentrated in Huanghe, Changjiang and Zhujiang and the Shonghua-Liaohe Plain in the northeast.
Smaller ethnic groups make up the remaining 6.7 percent and number around 160 millions. They live mainly in the border regions and inhabit 60 percent of the China's total area. Of all the minority groups, 15 have well over a million people; 13 over 100,000 each; 7 over 50,000 each; and 20 groups have few over 50,000 people each.
All ethnic groups in China are represented equally, as stipulated by the Chinese Constitution. Each group partakes in the governing process without regards to its population or land size. Every minority nationality is represented in the National People's Congress, which is the main of state power of the People of the Republic of China.
Regional autonomy is practiced in areas where minority groups live in compact communities. There are 75 autonomous regions/counties, one for each group. Local governments established within the regions give ethnic groups control over their own affairs. However, their economies are not as developed as the more established Han. Over the past three decades, the Chinese Government has adopted many policies, including the provision manpower, and the financial and technical support, to help strengthen the minority groups' economies.