There are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam as officially recognized by the Vietnamese government. Each ethnicity has their own unique language, traditions, and culture. The largest ethnic groups are: Kinh 85.32%, Tay 1.92%, Thái 1.89%, Mường 1.51%, Hmong 1.45%, Khmer 1.32%, Nùng 1.13%, Dao 0.93%, Hoa 0.78%, with all others accounting for the remaining 3.7% (2019 census). The Vietnamese terms for ethnic groups are dân tộc (nation) and sắc tộc (ethnicity).

List of ethnic groups

The total population of Vietnam was 96,208,984 according to the 2019 census.

Other

Many of the local ethnic groups residing in mountain areas are known collectively in the West as Montagnard or Degar. One distinctive feature of highland ethnic minority groups in Vietnam is that they are colorfully attired whether at home, in the farm, traveling or in their home town. Foreign expatriate workers are a small portion of the population, some settling permanently or through marriage. Many are migrants from neighboring Asian countries like China, though some are from the west. Today, 2,700 Americans live in Vietnam. Moreover, some descend from the French and other Europeans from the colonial period. However, most European descendants left after Vietnam gained independence.

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