Which peoples of the world are the most numerous? The most numerous people

Do you know how many peoples there are in the world? Probably, few people will be able to accurately answer this question, even among scientists and historians. In Russia alone there are 194 nations of the world (the list goes on and on). All people on Earth are completely different, and this is the biggest advantage.

General classification

Of course, everyone is interested in quantitative data. If you collect all the peoples of the world, the list will be endless. It is much easier to classify them according to certain characteristics. First of all, this is done depending on what language people speak within the same territory or the same cultural traditions. An even more general category is language families.

Preserved through the centuries

Every nation, no matter what its history, tries with all possible forces to prove that their ancestors built the Tower of Babel. It is flattering for everyone to think that he or she belongs to those roots that go back to distant, distant times. But there are ancient peoples of the world (the list is attached), whose prehistoric origin is beyond doubt.

Largest nations

There are many large nations on Earth that have the same historical roots. For example, there are 330 nations in the world, numbering a million people each. But there are only eleven of those with more than 100 million people (each). Consider the list of peoples of the world by number:

1. Chinese - 1.17 million people.
2. Hindustani - 265 million people.
3. Bengalis - 225 million people.
4. Americans (USA) - 200 million people.
5. Brazilians - 175 million people.
6. Russians - 140 million people.
7. Japanese - 125 million people.
8. Punjabis - 115 million people.
9. Biharis - 115 million people.
10. Mexicans - 105 million people.
11. Javanese - 105 million people.

Unity in diversity

Another classification characteristic that allows us to distinguish between the world's population is threefold: Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid. Some Western historians distinguish a little more, but these races still became derivatives of the three main ones.

In the modern world there are a large number of contact races. This led to the emergence of new peoples of the world. The list has not yet been provided by scientists, because no one has worked on an exact classification. Here are some examples. The Ural group of peoples originated from the mixing of some branches of northern Caucasoids and northern Mongoloids. The entire population of southern island Asia arose as a result of the kinship of Mongoloids and Australoids.

Endangered ethnic groups

There are nations of the world on Earth (the list is attached), the number of which amounts to several hundred people. These are endangered ethnic groups who are trying to preserve their identity.

conclusions

Can be interpreted in different ways. Some will argue that this population is within the state, others will insist that it does not matter where people live, the main thing is that they are united by some common features that determine their belonging to the same historical origins. Still others will believe that a people is an ethnic group that has existed for centuries, but has faded over the years. In any case, all people on Earth are very diverse and studying them is a pleasure.

In the modern world, Russia is the largest country, occupying a vast area - more than seventeen thousand square kilometers. Two continents divide it into parts - European and Asian. Each of them is larger in territory than many not-so-small states of the Earth.

In terms of population, however, our country is only in ninth place. The number of Russians today does not reach one hundred and fifty million people. The problem is that most of the country's territory lies under deserted steppes and taiga, for example, these are the most remote regions of Siberia.

However, this is compensated by the number of peoples living here. This was predetermined by the past. Historically, Russia is a multinational state, which it became by absorbing neighboring peoples, attracting strangers with large territories and wealth. According to official data, almost two hundred peoples now live in the Russian state, differing sharply in numbers: from Russians (more than one hundred and ten million people) to Kerek (less than ten representatives).

How many of us are there?

How many peoples live in Russia? How to find out? The leading sources of useful information about the population of our country are statistical censuses, regularly conducted in recent years. At the same time, according to modern methods and according to democratic approaches, data on the nationality of Russian residents by origin is not noted in documents, which is why digital material for the census appeared on the basis of self-determination of Russians.

In total, in recent years, a little more than 80% of the country’s citizens declared themselves Russian by nationality, leaving only 19.1% as representatives of other nations. Almost six million census participants were unable to identify their nationality at all or defined it as a fantastic people (elves, for example).

Summing up the final calculations, it should be noted that the total number of peoples of the country who do not consider themselves Russian population did not exceed twenty-five million citizens.

This suggests that the ethnic composition of the Russian population is very complex and requires constant special attention. On the other hand, there is one large ethnic group that serves as a kind of core of the entire system.

Ethnic composition

The basis of the national composition of Russia is, of course, Russians. This people has its historical roots from the Eastern Slavs, who lived on the territory of Rus' since ancient times. A significant part of Russians exist, of course, in Russia, but there are large layers in a number of former Soviet republics and in the USA. This is the most significant European ethnic group. Today there are more than one hundred thirty-three million Russians living in the world.

Russians are the titular people of our country; their representatives dominate a significant number of regions of the modern Russian state. Of course, this led to side effects. The spread of this nation over several centuries over a vast territory in the course of historical development led to the formation of dialects, as well as separate ethnic groups. For example, on the coast of the White Sea live the Pomors, who form a subethnic group of local Karelians and Russians who arrived in the past.

Among the more complex ethnic associations, groups of peoples can be noted. The largest group of peoples are the Slavs, mainly from the eastern subgroup.

In total, representatives of nine large language families live in Russia, differing greatly in language, culture, and way of life. With the exception of the Indo-European family, they are mainly of Asian origin.

This is the approximate ethnic composition of the Russian population today according to official data. What can be said definitely is that our country is distinguished by a significant diversity of nationalities.

The largest nations of Russia

The nationalities living in Russia are quite clearly divided into numerous and small. The first ones, in particular, include:

• The Russian inhabitants of the country number (according to the latest census) more than one hundred and ten million people.
• Tatars of several groups, reaching 5.4 million people.
• Ukrainians number two million. The bulk of the Ukrainian people live on the territory of Ukraine; in Russia, representatives of this people appeared in the course of historical development in the pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and modern periods.
• Bashkirs, another nomadic people in the past. Their number is 1.6 million people.
• Chuvash, residents of the Volga region - 1.4 million.
• Chechens, one of the peoples of the Caucasus, - 1.4 million, etc.

There are other peoples of similar numbers who played an important role in the past and, possibly, the future of the country.

Small nations of Russia

How many small nations live on the territory of Russia? There are many such ethnic groups in the country, but they are poorly represented in the total population because they are very few in number. These national groups include the peoples of the Finno-Ugric, Samoyed, Turkic, and Sino-Tibetan groups. Particularly small are the Kereks (a tiny people - only four people), the Vod people (sixty-four people), the Enets (two hundred and seventy-seven), the Ults (almost three hundred people), the Chulyms (a little more than three and a half hundred), the Aleuts (almost half a thousand) , Negidals (just over five hundred), Orochi (almost six hundred). For all of them, the problem of survival is a pressing and everyday issue.

Map of the peoples of Russia

In addition to the strong dispersion in the size of the national composition of Russia and the inability of many ethnic groups in modern times to maintain their numbers independently, there is also the problem of distribution within the country. The population of Russia is distributed very heterogeneously, which is caused primarily by economic incentives both in the historical past and in the present.

The bulk is in the area between Baltic St. Petersburg, Siberian Krasnoyarsk, Black Sea Novorossiysk and the Far Eastern Primorsky Territory, where all the big cities lie. The reasons for this are the good climate and favorable economic background. To the north of this territory there is permafrost caused by eternal cold, and to the south there are vast expanses of lifeless desert.

In terms of population density, Siberia has one of the last places in the modern world. Its vast territory is home to less than 30 million inhabitants. This represents only 20% of the country's total population. While in its vast area Siberia reaches three-quarters of the expanses of Russia. The most densely populated areas are the directions Derbent - Sochi and Ufa - Moscow.

In the Far East, a significant population density runs along the entire length of the Trans-Siberian Highway. Increased standards of population density are also observed in the Kuznechny coal basin region. All these areas attract Russians with their economic and natural wealth.

The country's largest peoples: Russians, and to a lesser extent Tatars and Ukrainians, are mainly located in the southwest of the state. Ukrainians today are mostly located on the territory of the Chukotka Peninsula and in the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug, in the distant Magadan region.

Other small peoples of the Slavic ethnic group, such as the Poles and Bulgarians, do not create large compact groups and are scattered throughout the country. The Polish population is found in a fairly compact group only in the Omsk region.

Tatars

The number of Tatars living in Russia, as noted above, exceeded the level of three percent of the total Russian population. About a third of them live compactly in the region of the Russian Federation called the Republic of Tatarstan. Group settlements exist in the Volga regions, in the far north, etc.

A significant part of the Tatars are supporters of Sunni Islam. Certain groups of Tatars have differences in language, culture and way of life. The common language is within the Turkic group of languages ​​of the Altaic language family, it has three dialects: Mishar (western), the more widespread Kazan (middle), and the slightly distant Siberian-Tatar (eastern). In Tatarstan, this language appears as an official one.

Ukrainians

One of the many East Slavic peoples is the Ukrainians. More than forty million Ukrainians live in their historical homeland. In addition, significant diasporas exist not only in Russia, but also in the countries of Europe and America.

Ukrainians living in Russia, including labor migrants, number about five million people. A significant number of them are located in cities. Particularly large groups of this ethnic group are located in the capital, in oil- and gas-bearing regions of Siberia, the Far North, etc.

Belarusians

In modern Russia, Belarusians, taking into account their total number in the world, constitute a large number. As the 2010 census of the Russian population shows, there are a little more than half a million Belarusians living in Russia. A significant proportion of white people are located in the capitals, as well as in a number of regions, for example in Karelia and the Kaliningrad region.

In the pre-revolutionary years, a large number of Belarusians moved to Siberia and the Far East, and later national administrative units existed there. By the end of the eighties, there were more than one million Belarusians on the territory of the RSFSR. Nowadays, their number has been halved, but it is obvious that the Belarusian stratum in Russia will be preserved.

Armenians

There are quite a lot of Armenians living in Russia, although according to different sources, their number differs. Thus, according to the 2010 census, there were slightly more than one million people in Russia, that is, less than one percent of the total population. According to the assumptions of Armenian public organizations, the number of the Armenian stratum in the country at the beginning of the twentieth century exceeded two and a half million people. And Russian President V.V. Putin, speaking about the number of Armenians in Russia, voiced the figure of three million people.

In any case, Armenians play a serious role in the social and cultural life of Russia. Thus, Armenians work in the Russian government (Chilingarov, Bagdasarov, etc.), in show business (I. Allegrova, V. Dobrynin, etc.), and in other fields of activity. There are regional organizations of the Union of Armenians of Russia in sixty-three regions of Russia.

Germans

The Germans living in Russia are representatives of an ethnic group that has experienced a contradictory and in some ways even tragic history. Migrating en masse in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries at the invitation of the Russian government, they mainly settled in the Volga region and the western and southern provinces of the Russian Empire. Life on good lands was easy, but in the twentieth century, historical events hit the Germans hard. First the First World War, then the Great Patriotic War led to mass repressions. In the fifties and eighties of the last century, the history of this ethnic group was hushed up. It is not for nothing that the mass migration of Germans began in the nineties, the number of which, according to some sources, barely exceeds half a million.

True, in recent years, episodic re-evacuations from Europe to Russia have begun, but so far they have not reached large proportions.

Jews

It is difficult to say how many Jews currently live in Russia due to their active migration both to Israel and back to the Russian state. In the historical past, there were many Jews in our country - several million in the Soviet era. But with the collapse of the USSR and significant migration to their historical homeland, their number decreased. Now, according to public Jewish organizations, there are approximately one million Jews in Russia, half of them are residents of the capital.

Yakuts

They are a fairly numerous Turkic-speaking people, an indigenous population of the region adapted to local conditions.

How many Yakuts are there in Russia? According to the 2010 All-Russian Census of the Domestic Population, there were slightly less than half a million people, mainly in Yakutia and surrounding regions. The Yakuts are the largest (about half the population) people and the most significant of the indigenous peoples of Russian Siberia.

In the traditional economy and material culture of this people there are many close similarities with the pastoralists of southern Asia. On the territory of the Middle Lena, a version of the Yakut economy was formed, combining nomadic cattle breeding and the most important extensive types of fisheries (meat and fish production), similar to the local one. In the north of the region there is also a distinctive form of harness reindeer herding.

Reasons for resettlement

The history of the ethnic composition of the population of Russia in the course of its development is extremely ambiguous. The accelerated settlement of the Russian state by Ukrainians occurred back in the Middle Ages. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, on instructions from government agencies, settlers from the southern lands headed east to develop new territories. After some time, representatives of social classes from different regions began to be sent there.

Representatives of the intelligentsia voluntarily moved to St. Petersburg in an era when this city had the status of the capital of the state. Nowadays, Ukrainians constitute the largest ethnic group in Russia in terms of number of people after, of course, the Russians.

At the other pole are representatives of small nations. The Kereks, who have the smallest numbers, are in particular danger. According to the latest census, there are only four representatives left, although fifty years ago there were only one hundred Kerek people. The leading languages ​​for these people are Chukchi and common Russian; their native Kerek is found only in the form of an ordinary passive language. The Kereks, in terms of their level of culture and ordinary daily activities, are very close to the Chukchi people, which is why they were in constant assimilation with them.

Problems and future

The ethnic composition of the Russian population will undoubtedly develop in the future. In modern conditions, the revival of ethnographic traditions and the culture of peoples is clearly visible. However, the development of ethnic groups experiences a number of problems:

• poor fertility and gradual decline of most peoples;
• globalization, and at the same time the influence of the culture and life of large nations (Russian and Anglo-Saxon);
• general economic problems that undermine the economic base of peoples, and so on.

Much in such a situation depends on the national governments themselves, including the Russian one, and on global opinion.

But I want to believe that the small peoples of Russia will further develop and grow in size in the coming centuries.

>> Largest nations of the world

§ 5. The largest nations of the world

In total, there are 5-5.5 thousand peoples, or ethnic groups, that is, established stable communities of people in the world. The vast majority of peoples are extremely small in number.

There are 330 peoples in the world numbering more than 1 million people, but they cover 96% of the total population of the Earth. There are only 11 peoples in the world with more than 100 million people each (Table 20), but they cover almost 45% of everything population Earth.

Table 20

Largest nations and most widely spoken languages

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 an insult with sexual overtones.

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 the course of its 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.

By the way, read about the most interesting sights of the USA.

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 interspersed 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 nation on our planet that is growing at the fastest pace.

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 man”. 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.

Summarize

In the photo: Fountain of Friendship of Peoples in Moscow.

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.”

• - See: Large ethnic group /...

  General linguistics. Sociolinguistics: Dictionary-reference book

• - numerous adj., used. compare often Morphology: numerous, numerous, numerous, numerous; more numerous than 1...

  Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary

• - - small in number. wide. one...

  Ideographic Dictionary of the Russian Language

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  Dictionary of antonyms

• - Quantitative characteristics of the ethnic group and its corresponding language...
• - cr.f. many/slenno, many/slenna, -lenno, -lenny...

  Spelling dictionary of the Russian language

• - ...

  Together. Apart. Hyphenated. Dictionary-reference book

• - NUMEROUS, -aya, -oe; -len, -lenna. 1. Consisting of a large number of someone. M. squad. 2. Available in large quantities. Numerous examples...

  Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

• - NUMEROUS, numerous, numerous; numerous, numerous, numerous. 1. Consisting of a large number of some homogeneous objects. Numerous army. Numerous offspring. 2...

  Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

• - numerous adj. 1. Consisting of a large number of someone or something. 2. Available in large quantities...

  Explanatory Dictionary by Efremova

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  Spelling dictionary-reference book

• - verbose; brief...

  Russian spelling dictionary

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  Word forms

• - countless, countless, uncountable, innumerable, innumerable, multiple, multiple...

  Synonym dictionary

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  Dictionary of linguistic terms T.V. Foal

"Numerous ethnic group" in books

7.3. Ethnicity and gene pool

7.3. Ethnicity and gene pool