Placement of the largest ethnic groups and small nations. Peoples of the world and their classification

The concept “people” has several meanings. It is understood as the population of a country (for example, the people of India, the people of Switzerland, the people of France, etc.), workers, just a group, a crowd of people (in the expression: there are a lot of people on the street, etc.) and, finally , what scientists call the term “ethnos”, “ethnic community”. An ethnos (people) is defined as a historically established stable collection of people in a certain territory who have common relatively stable characteristics of language, culture and psyche, as well as an awareness of their unity and difference from all other similar entities.

There are several thousand peoples living in the world. They differ from each other in their numbers, level of social development, language and culture, and racial appearance.

The tribal leader dances. New Guinea.



Swazi woman in festive clothes. Swaziland.



The art of Tunisian carpet weavers is known all over the world.



Children's party in Hanoi.



thumb|Mongolian woman in national costume.



Norwegian schoolchildren.



Girls from the island of Nauru.



Large Indian market in the city of Toluca. Mexico.



frame|right|Belarusian folk holiday.



frame|right|Sugar cane harvesting in Cuba.



Modern races of the world.



frame|center|Representatives of the main races.



Tajik girl harvesting cotton.



Residents of Yakutia are accustomed to severe frosts.

Fluctuations in the numbers of different ethnic groups are quite significant. Thus, the number of the largest nations exceeds 100 million people. These are Chinese, Hindustani, US Americans, Bengalis, Russians, Brazilians, Japanese. Tiny endangered ethnic groups (more precisely, fragments of ethnic groups) today do not number even 10 people. These include ouma, eba, bina in Papua New Guinea and others. No less significant are the differences between ethnic groups in terms of the level of socio-economic development: peoples who are socially highly developed coexist with peoples who are actually still at the primitive stage. Linguistic and cultural differences are also very large. Each nation speaks a special language, although it happens that several ethnic groups use the same language or, conversely, one ethnic group speaks several languages. At the same time, many languages ​​are related to each other, and the degree of this relationship varies. The range of similarities and differences in the culture of different peoples is also significant.

The principles for classifying the peoples of the world are different. In ethnography, the ethnolinguistic classification is most often used, grouping all peoples based on linguistic kinship. This classification also helps with historical research, as it provides a genetic interpretation of the existing similarities between peoples. According to the ethnolinguistic classification, the peoples of the world are divided into the following families: Indo-European, Afroasiatic (Semitic-Hamitic), Kartvelian, Ural (Ural-Yukaghir), Dravidian, Altai, Eskimo-Aleutian, Chukchi-Kamchatka, North Caucasian, Sino-Tibetan, Miao-Yao, Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Paratai, Na-Dene, North Amerindian, Central Amerindian, Chibcha-Paes, Zhe-Pano-Caribbean, Andean, Equatorial-Tucanoan, Australian, Andamanese, Niger-Kordofanian, Nilo-Saharan, Khoisan, and also several Papuan. Along with the peoples united by the listed families, there are also ethnic groups that occupy an isolated position linguistically. These are the Basques, Burishi, Kets, Nivkhs, Ainu, etc.

The largest of the families is Indo-European, uniting 45% of the world's population. The peoples of this family live in most of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, foreign Europe, Iran and Afghanistan, in the northern and central regions of South Asia. They also predominate today in America and Australia. (All peoples included in one or another family are named in the appendix to the article.

The Kartvelian family is small (0.1% of the world population). This includes Georgians living in Transcaucasia and ethnic communities close to them. The peoples of the Ural (Ural-Yukaghir) family (0.5% of the world's population) live in the Trans-Urals, in the far north of Siberia, in the Volga region, in the north of the European part of Russia, in the Baltic states, Finland, and the north of Scandinavia and Hungary. The Dravidian family (4% of the world's population) is concentrated mainly in South Asia. The peoples of the Altai family (6% of the world's population) form a number of geographically unconnected areas from the Balkan Peninsula to the Russian Far East. Many scientists consider the groups included in its composition to be genetically unrelated and place them in several different families.

The small Eskimo-Aleut family, whose range mainly covers the extreme north of North America and Greenland, unites, as the name suggests, Eskimos and Aleuts. The small peoples of the Chukotka-Kamchatka family (Chukchi, Koryaks, Itelmens) live in the extreme northeast of our country.

The peoples of the Afroasiatic family (5% of the world's population) are settled in South-West Asia and North Africa. The Afroasiatic family includes the Semitic, Berber, Cushitic and Chadian groups.

The North Caucasian family is relatively small in number (0.1% of the world population). It includes two groups - Abkhaz-Adyghe and Nakh-Dagestan.

The Sino-Tibetan family (23% of the world's population) is second in number only to the Indo-European (it includes the Chinese, the largest people on Earth).

The peoples of the Miao-Yao family (0.2% of the world's population) live in China, as well as in Vietnam and some other countries in Southeast Asia. The two most significant ethnic communities are the Miao and Yao, which is where the family's name comes from. Some researchers consider the Miao-Yao a group within the Sino-Tibetan family, others as a group within the Austroasiatic family.

The peoples of the Austroasiatic family (2% of the world's population) live mostly in Southeast Asia, as well as in adjacent areas of South and East Asia.

The Austronesian family (5% of the world's population) unites peoples living over a vast area from Madagascar to the Hawaiian Islands and Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean.

The Parathai family (1.5% of the world's population belongs to it) is concentrated in the countries of Southeast Asia and neighboring areas of China. It does not always stand out as an independent unit. Some scholars consider it a group of the Sino-Tibetan family, while others combine the Para-Tai and Austronesian families.

The Indian peoples of America are linguistically divided into families: Na-Dene, North Amerindian, Central Amerindian, Chibcha-Paes (southern Central and northern South America), Zhe-Pano-Caribbean, Andean, Equatorial-Tucanoan. Of these families, the most significant is the Andean family (0.4% of the world's population), which includes the largest Indian people, the Quechua.

The Australian family, as its name suggests, is centered in Australia. It unites the very small indigenous peoples of this continent.

The Andaman family consists of several very small ethnic groups of the Adaman Islands (Ongyo and others).

In New Guinea and the adjacent islands (the New Guinea region surpasses any other region of the globe in terms of the complexity of its ethnic structure), Papuan peoples live, linguistically united into ten families: Trans-New Guinea, West Papuan, Sepik-Rama, Torricelli, East Papuan, East Chendrawasih Chendravasih Bay, kvomtari, arai, amto-musian. Only the first five families are significant, of which the Trans-New Guinean family stands out (the peoples included in its composition form 0.1% of the world's population).

The peoples of sub-Saharan Africa form three families: Niger-Kordofanian (6% of the world's population), Nilo-Saharan (0.6%) and Khoisan. The Nilo-Saharan family as a whole is localized to the north of the Niger-Kordofan family; small peoples of the Khoisan family (Hottentots, Bushmen, etc.) live on the southern periphery of Africa and in Tanzania.

A number of peoples of the world occupy a linguistically isolated position. Two linguistically distinct peoples - the Nivkhs and the Kets (both very small in number) - live in the Asian part of our country. In the far north of South Asia, in the Karakoram Mountains, live a small Burishi people, whose language also occupies an isolated position. In Europe, the isolated language is spoken by Basques living in the Pyrenees, on either side of the border between Spain and France. Isolated languages ​​are also spoken by the Ainu (Hokkaido Island, Japan). Finally, a large group of peoples speaking isolated languages ​​lives in New Guinea (Borumeso, Varenbori, Pauwi, etc.), but perhaps the classification of the languages ​​of the New Guinean peoples as isolated is not the result of true genetic isolation, but a consequence of their still poor study.

Some researchers are trying to identify more distant linguistic relationships, identifying macro-families in addition to families. So, for example, the Indo-European, Kartvelian, Dravidian, Ural-Yukaghir, Altai, Eskimo-Aleutian, and sometimes Afrasian families are combined into the Nostratic macrofamily; all Indian families (except Na-Dene) are included in the Amerindian macrofamily.

In addition to the ethnolinguistic classification, there is also an areal classification, when peoples are grouped into large regions called historical-cultural or historical-ethnographic regions. Within these areas, in the process of long historical development, a certain cultural community has emerged.

The peoples of the world are also divided into three main races: Caucasoid (or Caucasoid), Mongoloid and Negroid. The eastern range of Negroids is often considered as a special Australoid large race. Some foreign scientists identify a larger number of main human races, for example, Americanoids, Lapanoids, Malayan race, etc. (see map).

As a result of the mixing of various large races, the so-called contact races were formed, of which there are quite a lot today. Thus, from the mixing of the eastern branch of northern Caucasoids and northern Mongoloids, the Ural (Ural-Laponoid) racial group arose. The mixed group includes the South Siberian group, which arose from the first centuries of the new era on the vast steppe space between the Urals and the Yenisei, in which Mongoloid features predominate. In the Middle Ages, in the more southern regions, mixed Central Asian groups were formed, dominated in most cases by the Caucasian element. In the east and southeast of Asia there was a contact zone between Mongoloids and Australoids, where a number of mixed forms arose at different times, for example, the South Asian group with a preponderance of Mongoloid features.

APPLICATION

INDIAN FAMILIES

NADEN FAMILY Athabascan (Navajo, Apache and others), Tlingit, Haida NORTH AMERINDIAN FAMILY Mayan, Qeqchi, Quiché, Kaqchikel, Algonquin, Sioux and others CENTRAL AMERINDIAN FAMILY Aztec, Shoshone, Otomi, Mixtec, Zapotec and others CHIBCHA-PAES FAMILY Miskito, paes and others ANDEAN FAMILY Quechua, Aymara, Araucanas and others EQUATORIAL-TUCAN FAMILY Arawak, Tupi, Tucano and others JE-PANO-CARIBBEAN FAMILY Caribbean, Pano, zhe and others

The concept of “ethnicity” includes a historically established stable group of people who have a certain number of common subjective or objective characteristics. Ethnographic scientists include these characteristics as origin, language, cultural and economic characteristics, mentality and self-awareness, phenotypic and genotypic data, as well as the territory of long-term residence.

The word "ethnicity" has Greek roots and is literally translated as “people”. The word “nationality” can be considered a synonym for this definition in Russian. The term “ethnos” was introduced into scientific terminology in 1923 by the Russian scientist S.M. Shirokogorov. He gave the first definition of this word.

How does the formation of an ethnic group occur?

The ancient Greeks adopted the word “ethnos” designate other peoples who were not Greeks. For a long time, the word “people” was used in the Russian language as an analogue. Definition of S.M. Shirokogorova made it possible to emphasize the commonality of culture, relationships, traditions, way of life and language.

Modern science allows us to interpret this concept from 2 points of view:

The origin and formation of any ethnic group implies great length of time. Most often, such formation occurs around a certain language or religious beliefs. Based on this, we often pronounce such phrases as “Christian culture”, “Islamic world”, “Romance group of languages”.

The main conditions for the emergence of an ethnic group are the presence common territory and language. These same factors subsequently become supporting factors and the main distinguishing features of a particular ethnic group.

Additional factors influencing the formation of an ethnic group include:

1. General religious beliefs.
2. Intimacy from a racial perspective.
3. The presence of transitional interracial groups (mestizo).

Factors that unite an ethnic group include:

1. Specific features of material and spiritual culture.
2. Community of life.
3. Group psychological characteristics.
4. General awareness of oneself and the idea of ​​a common origin.
5. The presence of an ethnonym - a self-name.

Ethnicity is essentially a complex dynamic system that is constantly undergoing processes of transformation and at the same time maintains its stability.

The culture of each ethnic group maintains a certain constancy and at the same time changes over time from one era to another. Features of national culture and self-knowledge, religious and spiritual-moral values ​​leave an imprint on the nature of the biological self-reproduction of an ethnic group.

Features of the existence of ethnic groups and their patterns

The historically formed ethnos acts as an integral social organism and has the following ethnic relations:

1. Self-reproduction occurs through repeated homogeneous marriages and the transmission from generation to generation of traditions, identity, cultural values, language and religious characteristics.
2. In the course of their existence, all ethnic groups undergo a number of processes within themselves - assimilation, consolidation, etc.
3. In order to strengthen their existence, most ethnic groups strive to create their own state, which allows them to regulate relations both within themselves and with other groups of peoples.

The laws of peoples can be considered behavioral models of relationships, which are typical for individual representatives. This also includes behavioral models that characterize individual social groups emerging within a nation.

Ethnicity can simultaneously be considered as a natural-territorial and sociocultural phenomenon. Some researchers propose to consider the hereditary factor and endogamy as a kind of connecting link that supports the existence of a particular ethnic group. However, it cannot be denied that the quality of a nation’s gene pool is significantly influenced by conquests, living standards, and historical and cultural traditions.

The hereditary factor is tracked primarily in anthropometric and phenotypic data. However, anthropometric indicators do not always completely coincide with ethnicity. According to another group of researchers, the constancy of an ethnic group is due to national identity. However, such self-awareness can simultaneously act as an indicator of collective activity.

The unique self-awareness and perception of the world of a particular ethnic group may directly depend on its activities in developing the environment. The same type of activity can be perceived and evaluated differently in the minds of different ethnic groups.

The most stable mechanism that allows preserving the uniqueness, integrity and stability of an ethnic group is its culture and common historical destiny.

Ethnicity and its types

Traditionally, ethnicity is considered primarily as a generic concept. Based on this idea, it is customary to distinguish three types of ethnic groups:

1. Clan-tribe (species characteristic of primitive society).
2. Nationality (a characteristic type in the slave and feudal centuries).
3. Capitalist society is characterized by the concept of nation.

There are basic factors that unite representatives of one people:

Clans and tribes historically were the very first types of ethnic groups. Their existence lasted several tens of thousands of years. As the way of life and the structure of mankind developed and became more complex, the concept of nationality appeared. Their appearance is associated with the formation of tribal unions in the common territory of residence.

Factors in the development of nations

Today in the world there are several thousand ethnic groups. They all differ in level of development, mentality, numbers, culture and language. There may be significant differences based on race and physical appearance.

For example, the number of ethnic groups such as Chinese, Russians, and Brazilians exceeds 100 million people. Along with such gigantic peoples, there are varieties in the world whose number does not always reach ten people. The level of development of different groups can also vary from the most highly developed to those living according to primitive communal principles. For every nation it is inherent own language However, there are also ethnic groups that simultaneously use several languages.

In the process of interethnic interactions, processes of assimilation and consolidation are launched, as a result of which a new ethnic group can gradually form. The socialization of an ethnic group occurs through the development of such social institutions as family, religion, school, etc.

The unfavorable factors for the development of a nation include the following:

1. High mortality rate among the population, especially in childhood.
2. High prevalence of respiratory infections.
3. Alcohol and drug addiction.
4. Destruction of the family institution - a high number of single-parent families, divorces, abortions, and parental abandonment of children.
5. Low quality of life.
6. High unemployment rate.
7. High crime rate.
8. Social passivity of the population.

Classification and examples of ethnicity

Classification is carried out according to a variety of parameters, the simplest of which is number. This indicator not only characterizes the state of the ethnic group at the current moment, but also reflects the nature of its historical development. Usually, formation of large and small ethnic groups proceeds along completely different paths. The level and nature of interethnic interactions depends on the size of a particular ethnic group.

Examples of the largest ethnic groups include the following (according to data from 1993):

The total number of these peoples is 40% of the total population of the globe. There is also a group of ethnic groups with a population of 1 to 5 million people. They make up about 8% of the total population.

Most small ethnic groups may number several hundred people. As an example, we can cite the Yukaghir, an ethnic group living in Yakutia, and the Izhorians, a Finnish ethnic group inhabiting territories in the Leningrad region.

Another classification criterion is population dynamics in ethnic groups. Minimal population growth is observed in Western European ethnic groups. The maximum growth is observed in the countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

No science has yet given an exact definition of such a concept as “people,” but everyone understands by this concept a large community of people living compactly in a certain territory.

The science of ethnography, which studies peoples and ethnic groups, including the most numerous peoples, identifies today from 2.4 to 2.7 thousand nationalities living on earth. But in such a delicate matter, ethnographers can rely on statistical data, which put the figure at 5 and a half thousand peoples on Earth.

No less interesting is ethnogenesis, which studies the emergence and development of various ethnic groups. Let us present in a small overview the largest nations that emerged in ancient times, and their total number exceeds 100 million people.

Chinese (1,320 million)

The generalized concept of “Chinese people” includes all residents of China, including people of other nationalities, as well as those who have Chinese citizenship but live abroad.

Nevertheless, the Chinese people are the largest, both in the concept of “nation” and in the concept of “nationality”. Today, there are 1 billion 320 million Chinese living in the world, which is 19% of the total population of the planet. So, the list of the largest nations in the world, by all indicators, is rightfully headed by the Chinese.

Although in fact, those whom we call “Chinese” are ethnically representatives of the Han people. China is a multinational country.

The very name of the people is “Han”, which means “Milky Way”, and comes from the name of the country “Celestial Empire”. They are also the most ancient people on Earth, whose roots go back to the distant past. The Han people in China make up the absolute majority, about 92% of the country's population.

Interesting Facts:

• The Chinese Zhuang people, who are a national minority in the country, number about 18 million people, which is comparable to the population of Kazakhstan and larger than the population of the Netherlands.
• Another Chinese people, Huizu, has a population of about 10.5 million, which is earlier than the population of countries such as Belgium, Tunisia, the Czech Republic or Portugal.

Arabs (330-340 million)

The Arabs, who occupy second place, are defined in ethnographic science as a group of nationalities, but from the point of view of ethnogenesis, they are one people of the Semitic language group.

The nation developed in the Middle Ages, when the Arabs settled in the Middle East and northern Africa. All of them are united by a single Arabic language and a unique writing system - Arabic script. The people have long gone beyond the boundaries of their historical homeland, and at the present stage, due to various circumstances, they have settled in other regions of the globe.

Today the number of Arabs is estimated at 330-340 million people. They mostly adhere to Islam, but there are also Christians.

Did you know that:

• There are more Arabs living in Brazil than in the United Arab Emirates.
• Arabs consider the gesture to be a sexually suggestive insult.

Americans (317 million)

Here is a striking example when it is possible to accurately define a people, given the practically non-existent concept of “American nation”. In a narrow sense, this is a group of different nationalities that make up the population of the United States and have American citizenship.

Over a 200-year history, a single culture, mentality, and common language used in communication have developed, which makes it possible to unite the population of the United States into one people.

Today there are 317 million US Americans. For the indigenous population of America, Indians, the name Americans may be used, but in terms of ethnic identification this is a completely different ethnic group.

Hindustani (265 million)

At the moment, Hindustanis have settled compactly in three neighboring countries in the South-Eastern region of the planet - India, Nepal and Pakistan.

As for India, the largest number of them live in the northern part of the state. In total, ethnology numbers about 265 million Hindustanis, and their main language of communication is various dialects of the Hindi language.

It is interesting that of the related nationalities, the gypsies and Dravidians inhabiting the southern regions of India are closest to them.

Bengalis (over 250 million)

Among the numerous peoples, the Bengalis, numbering more than 250 million, also occupy a leading position. They mostly live in Asian countries, but there are small diasporas in the USA and Great Britain, and they also exist in other European countries.

Over the centuries-old history, the Bengalis have preserved their national culture, identity and language, as well as their main activities. In the Asian region, they live mainly in rural areas, as they have been engaged in agriculture since ancient times.

The Bengali language is one of the most complex on earth; it was formed as a result of the synthesis of the Indo-Aryan language and numerous local dialects.

Brazilians (197 million)

A group of different ethnic groups living in Latin America have formed into a single Brazilian people. There are currently about 197 million Brazilians, most of whom live in Brazil itself.

The people went through a difficult path of ethnogenesis, which began to take shape as a result of the European conquest of the South American continent. Indian nationalities lived intermixed over vast territories, and with the arrival of Europeans, most of them were destroyed, the rest assimilated.

And so it happened that the religion of the Brazilians became Catholicism, and the language of communication became Portuguese.

Russians (about 150 million)

The name of the most numerous people of Russia occurred as a result of the transition of the adjective “Russian people”, “Russian people” into the generalizing noun “Russians”, in the concept of people.

Modern statistical studies indicate that there are about 150 million Russians on Earth, most of whom live in Russia. The largest people in Russia belong to the linguistic group of East Slavic languages, and today more than 180 million people consider Russian their native language.

Russians are practically homogeneous in anthropological terms, although they are spread over a large territory and are divided into several ethnographic groups. The ethnos emerged during the development of the Russian state from different ethnic groups of the Slavs.

Interesting Fact: The largest number of Russians outside the borders of the Russian Federation and the countries of the former USSR are in Germany (∼ 3.7 million) and in the USA (∼ 3 million).

Mexicans (148 million)

Mexicans, who number about 148 million people, are united by a common territory of residence, a single Spanish language of communication, as well as an amazing national culture that has developed on the basis of the heritage of the ancient civilizations of Central America.

This people is also a vivid example of duality, since those Mexicans who live in the United States can simultaneously be considered Americans.
The people are also unique in that they are Latin Americans by ethnicity, but their language of communication classifies them as a Romance group. It is also the fastest growing nation on our planet.

Japanese (132 million)

There are 132 million conservative Japanese on Earth, and they live mainly in their historical homeland. After World War II, some Japanese settled around the world, and now only 3 million people live outside Japan.

The Japanese people are distinguished by isolation, high diligence, and a special attitude towards the historical past and national culture. Over many centuries, the Japanese have managed to preserve and, most importantly, increase their heritage, both spiritual and material and technical.

The Japanese treat foreigners in a special way, with some suspicion, and are reluctant to allow them into their lives.

Punjabis (130 million)

Another of the largest nations lives compactly in the territories of India and Pakistan. Of the 130 million Punjabis in the Asian regions, a small portion settled in Europe and Africa.

For many centuries, the hardworking people created an extensive irrigation system for irrigated fields, and their main occupation has always been agriculture.

It was the Punjabis who were one of the first peoples on earth to create a highly developed and cultural civilization in the valleys of Indian rivers. But, as a result of cruel colonial policies, much of the heritage of this people was lost.

Biharis (115 million)

The amazing Bihari people, living mainly in the Indian state of Bihar, today number about 115 million people. A small part settled in other Indian states and neighboring countries.

Modern representatives of the people are direct descendants of those. Who created the first agricultural civilizations on Earth in the Indus and Ganges valleys.

Today, there is an active process of urbanization of Biharis, and, leaving their main occupations and ancient crafts and trades, they are moving en masse to cities.

Javanese (105 million)

The last major nation on earth, numbering more than 100 million people. According to the latest data from ethnology and statistics, there are about 105 million Javanese people on the planet.

In the 19th century, only the Russian ethnographer and traveler Miklouho-Maclay provided data on the origin, but today quite a lot is known about the ethnogenesis of the Javanese.

They settled mainly on the islands of Oceania, and are the indigenous population of the large island of Java and the state of Indonesia. Over many centuries they have created a unique and inimitable culture.

Thais (over 90 million)

Just by the name of the ethnic group, it is clear that the Thais are the indigenous population of the kingdom of Thailand, and today there are more than 90 million of them.

The etymology of the origin of the word “tai” is interesting, which in local dialects means “free person”. Ethnographers and archaeologists, studying the culture of the Thais, have determined that it was formed during the early Middle Ages.

Among other nations, this nation is distinguished by its sincere love, sometimes bordering on fanaticism, for theatrical art.

Koreans (83 million)

The people formed many centuries ago and at one time populated the Korean Peninsula of Asia. They managed to create a highly developed culture and carefully preserve national traditions.

The total number of people is 83 million, but the confrontation led to the formation of two states with one ethnic group, which is an unresolved tragedy for the Koreans today.

More than 65 million Koreans live in South Korea, the rest in North Korea, and have also settled in other Asian and European countries.

Marathi (83 million)

India, among all its uniqueness, is also the record holder for the number of numerous nationalities living on its territory. For example, the state of Maharashtra is home to the amazing Marakhti people.

A very talented people, people from whom occupy high positions in India, Indian cinema is filled with Marakhti.

In addition, the Marakhti are a very purposeful and united ethnic group, which in the 50s of the twentieth century achieved the creation of their own state, and today, numbering 83 million people, this is the main population of the Indian state.

European peoples

It is worth separately touching upon the largest peoples of Europe, among which the leaders are the descendants of the ancient Germans, the Germans, whose number, according to various sources, ranges from 80 to 95 million. Second place is firmly held by Italians, of whom there are 75 million on earth. But the French are firmly established in third place, with a population of about 65 million.

Large nations living on the globe, however, like small ones, have their own cultural and national traditions that have developed over a long historical process.

Today, the process of erasing ethnic and national boundaries is increasingly observed. There are practically no mono-national states left on Earth, it’s just that in each of them there is one dominant nation, and all the different national people are united under the general concept of “resident of the country.”

Do you know how many nationalities there are in the world? Answering this question is not as easy as it seems at first glance. There are quite a lot of contradictions in the understanding of the very term “nationality”. What is this? Linguistic community? Citizenship? This article will be devoted to bringing some clarity to the problems of nationalities of the world. We will also look at which ethnic groups produce beautiful women and attractive men. Naturally, nationalities can disappear and assimilate. And an individual in our age of globalization can be a product of a mixture of different ethnic groups. And it is often difficult for a person to answer the question of what his nationality is. But if we talk about large groups of people, then we can isolate several factors by which ethnicity is determined.

Citizenship and nationality

Firstly, not all powers are monolithic in the ethnic composition of their populations. And even if we do not take into account the presence of migrants, the so-called “first generation citizens,” even then we cannot say that there are one hundred and ninety-two nationalities in the world. The list of states (and there are so many of them on the political map) does not give us an idea of ​​the numerous ethnic groups inhabiting these same countries. For example, representatives of more than one hundred and eighty nationalities live in the Russian Federation. And North and South Korea are inhabited by one people, separated by a demarcation line due to political strife. There is a concept of “American nation,” but it is extremely diverse in ethnic composition. The same can be said about Australia, New Zealand and Canada, whose lands were settled by emigrants from all over the world. At the same time, even in such a seemingly monolithic country in terms of ethnic composition as Poland, there are Silesians, Kashubians, Lemkos and other groups.

Language and nationality

One of the markers by which one can determine whether a person belongs to a particular nation is his language. In the population census, this factor is placed at the forefront. If we are guided by this marker, then the question of how many nationalities there are in the world can be answered: from two and a half to five thousand. Why is there such a huge discrepancy in numbers? Because we are faced with a new difficulty: what is language? Is it a dialect, a dialect used by a certain ethnic community? But determining a person’s nationality by language is also not entirely correct. After all, not all Jews know Hebrew. And it almost died, and now the government is making incredible efforts to revive it. Residents of the Green Island speak English, but do not consider themselves British.

Appearance and nationality

An even more precarious path is to determine the ethnicity of an individual by his physiological characteristics. What can we say about a person's appearance? If he has blond hair and blue eyes, then he can equally well turn out to be a Swede, a Russian or a Pole. We can, of course, talk about Scandinavian, Mediterranean, Latin American, but all this does not give us an idea of ​​what a representative of the “titular nation” should look like. Moreover, with the dominant brunette gene, blondes are gradually “dying out.” The nationalities of the world, whose representatives inhabited the lands previously known as the countries of fair-haired people (Bulgaria, states on the Balkan Peninsula, Italy, Georgia), after the Turkish conquest noticeably “darkened.” So it is not possible to determine an ethnic group by appearance. Although, of course, there are certain facial features that are often found in representatives of a particular nationality.

Formation of ethnic groups

All nationalities of the world have come a long way in their historical development. Ancient tribes entered into military and trade alliances with each other and lived in close proximity for a long time. As a result, certain differences were erased, dialects came closer together, forming one language. One can cite the example of the ancient Romans. In addition to the Latins who inhabited the regions along the banks of the Tiber, the Veneti, Auzones, Lucanians, Osci, Messapians, Piceni, Umbrians and Falisci took part in the formation of the people. And their dialects still exist today! The huge Roman Empire, which included many nationalities, collapsed in the Middle Ages. Latin, the official language of the ancient state, gave impetus to the formation of Romance languages: Italian, French, Spanish. Awareness of the multitude by one community within the state gives rise to a nation.

Natural assimilation

Not all nationalities of the countries of the world have survived to this day. A smaller nationality surrounded by a larger one risks losing its identity, especially if it is included in a state where this largest nationality is considered the “titular nation”. This happened in the USSR. The first census, conducted in 1926, found that there were 178 nationalities living in the state. In 1956, there were only 109 of them. And there were 91 large nationalities, which numbered more than ten thousand people. Thus, in less than thirty years, the number of ethnic groups has decreased significantly. Of course, not everyone became Russian. Adjarians, Laz, Svans and Mingrelians began to associate themselves with Georgians; Kuramins, Turks and Kipchaks began to consider themselves Uzbeks. Thus, if the cultural characteristics of small peoples are not maintained, there is a serious risk that they will disappear.

Forced assimilation

Sometimes governments, wary of separatist sentiments, pursue policies aimed at the deliberate destruction of nationality as such. They do not kill members of the ethnic minority, but carry out targeted assimilation measures. For example, in Poland after World War II, all Lemkos were taken out of their places of compact residence and settled in small groups in other regions of the country. In the south of France, for a long time, schoolchildren were punished if they began to speak the local Occitan dialect. Only in the eighties of the twentieth century, under public pressure, elective courses were opened to study the almost extinct dialect. Since the world's small nationalities already tend to dissolve into large ones, assimilating them by force is a violation of human rights.

How many nationalities are there in the world?

Nobody knows this. According to various sources, the nationalities of the peoples of the world can number from four and a half to six thousand. The total number of languages ​​and dialects ranges from two and a half to five thousand. But there are still tribes that do not make contact with the civilized world (the so-called un-contacted people). How many such tribes are still found in Africa, the Amazon Valley? It is also quite difficult to determine the line between ethnic group, nationality and nationality. But there is another opinion about larger communities. It is believed that a nation is a purely political construct. This theory is gaining more and more supporters in modern society.

Beautiful nationalities of the world: list

Assimilation, of course, can lead to the disappearance of an ethnic group. But mixing blood only improves the gene pool. The so-called mestizos have always amazed us with their beauty and talents. Let us at least remember the Russian poet A.S. Pushkin, in whose veins Slavic and African blood flowed. If we talk not about certain individuals, but about large groups of people, then the same relationship can be traced here. The most beautiful community is the one in which the different nationalities of the world are mixed, as if in a crucible. Thus, the countries of Latin America amaze with the abundance of beauties and angelic men. Indeed, local Indian tribes, Spaniards and people from Africa took part in the formation of Costa Ricans, Brazilians and Colombians. Citizens of the former USSR are also not bad-looking, since many of them were born as a result of mixed interethnic marriages.

Where do the most beautiful girls live?

This issue worries not only representatives of the stronger sex. Of course, everyone has their own standard of beauty, but aren’t Miss Universe competitions held? Let's do a little statistical analysis to find out in which country the most beautiful women in the world are most often found. The nationality of the charming winner is not taken into account by the jury. But we will consider the charming girl a representative of the “titular nation”.

So, according to surveys conducted by various men's and women's magazines, Brazilian women are in first place in beauty. After all, this Latin American country is real. Here you can meet both an irresistible blonde and a charming black woman. Many Asians gave Brazilians the languor of the Japanese orchid and almond-shaped eyes. If you like tall blondes, then feel free to go to Sweden for them. Argentines are in third place. The fourth position is held by Ukrainians, and the fifth by Russians.

Where do the most handsome men in the world live by nationality?

A selection of super attractive macho men from different countries was made by the travel portal Travelers Digest. He did his own research to properly guide single ladies on a romantic getaway. What happened? Which nationalities in the world have produced the most Apollos?

The portal warns that it assessed not only the external data of men, but also their upbringing, level of intelligence, and ability to care for a lady. Swedes, residents of New York and Amsterdam lead the list. The Top Ten included the Portuguese, Argentines, Australians, Spaniards, Germans, Italians and Israelis. But girls often notice that the portal is wrong. In their opinion, residents of Latin American countries, Spaniards, Italians and Turks are more attractive.

Connected with their resettlement during the era of colonial conquests. Negroids in North and South America appeared during the era of the slave system, when they were brought here to work on plantations.

It is wrong to think that the entire population of the world belongs to these races. They constitute only 70% of the total world population, and the other 30% are racial groups resulting from the mixing of these four races. Racial mixing was especially intense in North and South America. As a result of marriages between representatives of different races, groups such as mulattoes, mestizo and sambo arose. Descendants from marriages of Caucasians with Indians belonging to the Mongoloid race are called mestizos. Mulattos arose when Caucasians mixed with Negroids brought from Africa. As a result of marriages of Negroids with Indians (Mongoloids), sambo groups were formed.

Within races, smaller groups are distinguished: tribes, nationalities, nations. In the modern world there are 3-4 thousand different peoples. The number of each of them is different. For example, the Chinese, of whom there are already more than 1.1 billion, and the Vedda tribe, whose number is less than 1000 people. The bulk of the world's population is still made up of large nations.

As a rule, the community of each ethnic group is characterized by a combination of a large number of characteristics, the main of which are territory, features of life, culture, and language. The classification of different peoples by language is based on the principle of their kinship. Languages ​​are united into language families, and these in turn are divided into language groups. The most widespread of all language families is Indo-European. About half of all peoples in the world speak languages ​​of this family. Of the languages ​​of the Indo-European family, the most common are English (425 million people), Hindi (350 million people), Spanish (340 million people), Russian (290 million people), Bengali (185 million people), Portuguese (175 million people), German (120 million people), French (129 million people).

The second significant language family is the Sino-Tibetan family, whose main language is Chinese (over 1 billion people). The Chinese language has several main dialects, the differences between which are so great that when speaking, residents of the northern and southern provinces have difficulty understanding each other. To explain, they use a single written language, which has 50 thousand characters. Each Chinese character is pronounced in a specific musical tone. Depending on the tone, many words pronounced using the same sounds can have completely different meanings.

The wide distribution of Chinese and Russian languages ​​is explained by the significant territory of these states. But why are English and Spanish so common? Their wide distribution, sharply exceeding the population of the island itself, is explained by the colonial past of the countries of Asia, Africa and. So, until now the official language of some is English, and almost everyone (except) speaks Spanish.

National criteria underlie the division of humanity into states. If national borders coincide with state borders, then a single-national state is created. This is about half. In them, the main nationality is over 90%. This is many countries in Latin America. Sometimes a state is created by two nations. This , . Along with all these countries, there are many states that are multinational. This , . Up to a hundred peoples live in such countries, and very often such a state has a federal structure.

In many multinational states there are problems of interethnic relations, which are very acute in many regions of the world and from time to time give rise to hot spots on our planet, which often leads to serious consequences in economic and social life.

In the modern world, there are still manifestations of nationalism, which is characterized by the idea of ​​​​the national superiority of any people. Racial and national discrimination has not been completely eliminated. Thus, for many years, conflicts in Canada have not subsided between the English-Canadians, who occupy key positions in the economy, and the French-Canadians, who feel their social and economic disadvantage and advocate the creation of an independent state; For several years, the Middle Eastern hotbed of tension associated with the Arab confrontation and which gave rise to the problem of Palestinian refugees has not subsided. There are also “hot spots” in Europe: the Turkish-Greek conflict in Russia, which actually led to the division of this country. There are also “hot spots” associated with national conflicts in the republics of the former USSR.

The most acute national conflicts occur in Russia, where the policy of discrimination was elevated to the rank of state policy until the early 90s.

At the end of the 80s, interethnic relations in Eastern Europe became very complicated. These include, in particular:

a) the desire of the Polish national minority (this is approximately 260 thousand people, or 8% of the country’s population) to create their own autonomy;

e) the collapse of Yugoslavia.

It is quite obvious that without solving these and other similar problems it is difficult to develop normal relations between countries.

Largest language families in the world