China's Population

China is a multinational country, with a population com­posed of a large number of ethnic and linguistic groups. Almost all its inhabitants are of Mongoloid stock: thus, the basic classification of the population is not so much Han ethnic as linguistic. The Han (Chinese), the largest group, (Chinese) outnumber the minority groups or minority nationalities in every province or autonomous region except Tibet and Sinkiang. The Han. therefore, form the great homoge­neous mass of the Chinese people, sharing the same cul­ture, the same traditions, and the same written language. Some 55 minority groups are spread over approximately 60 percent of the total area of the country. Where these minority groups are found in large numbers, they have been given some semblance of autonomy and self-govern­ment; autonomous regions of several types have been established on the basis of the geographical distribution of nationalities.…