Largest nations of the world. Peoples of the world and their classification

I recently asked myself this question and tried to find the answer. Surprisingly, despite the level of science in our time, scientists cannot clearly determine the exact number. However, the topic is quite interesting, and therefore I will share the information I found.

How many peoples are there on Earth?

Even scientists find it difficult to answer accurately - there is simply no clear answer. Every time this topic is raised, a new figure is heard, but official science believes that our planet is inhabited by from 2 to 4 thousand nationalities and peoples. Agree, the spread is quite large. The thing is that it is almost impossible to give precise definition the term “people” - everyone has their own understanding of this word. For example, there are states whose residents communicate using the same language, but in fact they are different peoples, but it happens the other way around.


If you try to find definition of a term in a dictionary, then one can find that the term is used both in a political sense and in a cultural one. There are several meanings:

  • a certain set of art consumers, in other words - the public;
  • population of a state;
  • crowd of people in certain place;
  • working population:
  • an ethnic group with distinct common characteristics.

The last definition is generally accepted; as for the mentioned characteristics, they are:

  • culture;
  • traditions;
  • language.

How do peoples differ?

The main feature is the language, therefore its unity is considered a paramount indicator. Exists about 4000 languages, which are identified by scientists into separate groups. There are about 20 such groups. Half of humanity speaks languages ​​included in the largest - Indo-European group. What else could be different? Certainly, by number. Research suggests that most peoples are not particularly numerous - no more than 1 million people. However, there are also quite numerous ones, for example, the Chinese and Indians.


Culture is one of the characteristic differences. They distinguish both spiritual and material. The first group includes legends, songs, dances and so on. The second group includes the type of housing, clothes, kitchen features etc.

Earth is a truly unique planet, where many different people with different ethnicity, appearance, nationality, religion and perception of the world. Continents share territory, but not the population living on them. Nations that have existed side by side for centuries, in most cases peacefully share territory, adopting useful knowledge from each other and forming a joint cultural heritage.

Each nation is unique in its own way, is the custodian of its culture, passing it on from generation to generation. national customs and traditions, brings its own into creation general culture of all humanity.

Europe

The modern states of Europe were formed on the site of the former Roman Empire, then its possessions included vast lands, starting from the west, where Germanic tribes ruled, to the cities of North Africa. The formation of the ethnic group was also influenced by the wars that took place, when the population of Europe migrated, the borders of countries were again modified due to martial law.

The largest ethno-linguistic community in Europe is the Slavs. The Slavs include: Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats and nine other peoples.

The most numerous peoples living in Europe are Russians (more than 130 million people), Germans (more than 80 million), French (more than 65 million), Italians (more than 59 million), British (58 million), Spaniards (46 million), Ukrainians (more than 45 million) and Poles (more than 44 million). There are also more than two million Jews living in Europe, belonging to several groups. Present and nomadic peoples- Gypsies, numbering over four million people.

The main religious movements common among the peoples of Europe are Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Islam.

The cultural component of Europe stands on three “pillars”: personal culture, universalism and freedom of creative expression. This forms the basis of Christian norms; even in those countries where other forms of religion predominate, Christian roots can be traced. Here, the basis for the existence of society is freedom (of self-expression, creativity, worldview) and tolerance towards others, the acceptance of another personality with certain characteristics and views on current reality.

A characteristic feature of the European population has become mass culture, implying both mass production and mass consumption. It received full coverage of all areas of activity, from art, music and cinematography to youth subcultural movements.

Asia

Asia is the most for the most part light, forming together with Europe the continent of Eurasia. The majority of Asia's population is made up of the peoples of China and India (about 40% of the total population); the list of the largest countries also includes: Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan and the Philippines. Each of these states has more than 100 million inhabitants.

If you take it apart cultural centers, then Asia can be divided into four conventional parts:

  1. South East Asia. There is a Buddhist worldview here.
  2. Near East. The birthplace of Islamic culture.
  3. East Asia. The epicenter of the Confucian worldview is China, which has a huge influence on Japan and Korea.
  4. South Asia. India and Hindu culture dominate here.

However, despite such fragmentation, all the peoples of Asia have similar features that can distinguish them from others.

One of these features is a respectful attitude towards traditions and culture; in most countries, they have been holding the same holidays for years, observing established rules of behavior and communication in society, adhering to strict upbringing and respecting their elders. The last one came from tribal communities, where the chief elder was held in high esteem, many Asian countries still abide by this law.

Most of the ethnic group believes in the need centralized state. Many countries in Asia are states with significantly limited democracy, led by a charismatic and strong leader, or are even authoritarian monarchies.

From large nationalities occupy a special place:

Africa

If in Europe and Asia it is quite simple to create a picture of the ethnic composition and identify large nations, then with Africa things are different. There are up to 8,000 different peoples here, most of them have two to three thousand people and are located in a small area. According to some estimates, more than 3,000 tribes live in Africa, speaking a thousand languages, some of which are poorly understood.

The largest ethnic groups found in Africa are: Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Algerian and Moroccan Arabs, Igbo, Fulbe, Aromo, Amhara.

The culture of local peoples is significantly different from European ones. Northern Africa is characterized as a more developed civilization; the southern and tropical parts have followed a different path of development, which is why they are so distinctive. Here, the vast majority of residents still live in tribes, where strict rules have been established for family life, work and general society. For example, circumcision is a necessity dictated by strict rules, and women in most tribes do not have the same rights as men.

Most of the peoples of Africa believe in the existence of magical influences; they make amulets against the evil eye, conduct traditional rituals, and create totems to protect against various natural Disasters and the wrath of the gods, there is even a sacrifice to obtain a rich harvest, fertile soil, and stable rains.

North America

In North America, the indigenous population was divided into three large groups, each of them lived on its own territory and had special traditions and customs that have survived to this day with some changes. Central part North America The Indians occupied the coasts and islands, the Aleuts inhabited them, and the northern regions went to the Eskimos.

If the Eskimos managed to preserve their people, the Aleuts almost completely disappeared - their numbers decreased three times. After colonization, the Spaniards, Portuguese, British and French came to America. Most settled on this continent, mixing with the Americans and the indigenous population. This is how the Americans appeared English origin, and French-Canadians, and Barbadians (descendants of slaves brought from Africa).

The culture of North America is characterized by enviable patriotism, and it is observed both among the indigenous people and among visitors during the colonization of the United States. Modern culture The local ethnic group is a combination of the values ​​of the original population and the innovative reforms of the colonialists. Here, totemic buildings still coexist with great skyscrapers, and in remote corners of the country you can see yurts, bizarre drawings of disappeared tribes, and the homes of indigenous settlers.

Population of North America:

South America

The modern population of South America is diverse - there are Americans, immigrants from Europe, descendants of slaves brought from Africa, and mixed groups (mestizo, mulatto, Sambo). The indigenous settlers are groups of Indian peoples, most of whom still live in South America, for example, the Arawaks, Wayu, Wapishana, the smaller ones have not survived to this day, for example, the Charruas. Some peoples have practically disappeared from America; their number today does not exceed 10 thousand people. At the ethnic level in South America, three main classes can be distinguished: Indians, representatives of the Negroid race and representatives of the Caucasian race.

The culture of South America is very colorful and original. South American countries have rich musical heritage, this is where genres such as cumbia and samba originate. South America became the birthplace of the creation of new musical styles, the world-famous Argentine tango dance appeared here.

South America is an example of successful borrowing of knowledge and skills among peoples, which generalizes different ethnic groups into a single system. The bulk of the population cannot even accurately infect this or that custom; they do not know where it originates and whose people were the original source. Here traditions are passed on from generation to generation.

Population of South America:

Australia

The Australian aborigines are considered the indigenous population of Australia; they live separately from other peoples of the world and have their own language group. Now in Australia there are more than 55 thousand people who speak Australian languages, the most widespread of them is the language of the Western Desert, about 7,000 people speak it.

Australian aborigines are prominent representatives of the ancient inhabitants of the earth; peoples have a similar way of life with the peoples who existed at the stage of the emergence of world culture. Indigenous people prefer to stay in the deserts, engage in hunting and farming, and live in unity with nature.

Since the arrival of the settlers, the ethnic groups on this continent have undergone significant changes. Now large group are Anglo-Australians (Australians of English origin); there are also Afghans, Hungarians, Indians, and Chinese.

Although the majority of Australia's population is English-speaking, this country stands out from the rest English speaking countries. First distinctive feature is egalitarianism, which presupposes the equality of all members of society. All peoples of Australia, without exception, have the same legal, economic and political opportunities. The value of equality for men, women and children is fundamental to Australia.

Another feature includes friendliness and good relationships; on the territory of this continent, the aborigines coexist peacefully with the visiting colonialists. Indigenous people even received back the territories it had owned before the arrival of Europeans.

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 what ethnic groups produce beauties 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,” then even then we cannot say that there are one hundred and ninety-two nationalities of 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, in Russian Federation Representatives of more than one hundred and eighty nationalities live here. And Northern and South Korea inhabits one people, divided 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 also to determine nationality a person’s 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 define ethnicity by appearance does not seem possible. Although, of course, there are certain facial features that are often found in representatives of a particular nationality.

Formation of ethnic groups

All the nationalities of the world in their own way historical development have come a long way. Ancient tribes entered into military-trade alliances with each other and long time lived in close proximity. 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 - official language 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 nation surrounded by a larger one risks losing its identity, especially if it is included in a state where “ titular nation"This is considered to be the largest nationality. 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 not supported cultural characteristics small nations, 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 are already inclined 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 people, then the same relationship can be traced here. The most beautiful community is the one in which they are mixed, as in a crucible, different nationalities peace. Yes, countries 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 former USSR They are also quite good-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 small one statistical analysis to identify which country is most likely to have the most beautiful women peace. 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 done by various men and women women's magazines, in first place in beauty are residents of Brazil. 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? What nationalities of the world gave birth to large quantity Apollo's?

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.

    It is difficult to calculate how many nationalities there are in the world, since there is always a merging of peoples in the world. There are 251 countries in the world. But there are approximately 2000 nationalities, with their own language and religion, but this figure is constantly changing, due to the fact that some peoples simply disappear from the face of the earth.

    There are more than 2000 nationalities in the world, but these are the main nationalities.

    But every nationality has ethnic peoples, as for example among the Dagestanis - Avars, Dargins, Lezgins, Laks, Tabasarans, Nogais, Rutulians, Tsakhurs, Agulians, etc.

    If by nationality, then 252.

    No one can name the exact number of nationalities living on Earth; the number gradually changes, some nationalities disappear or merge with others. As of 2015, there are about two thousand nationalities.

    Although the humanity of the Earth was usually divided into races, and these are four main ones: Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid and Australoid. But they are only 70% of the total population of the world, and 30% are already racial groups that arose as a result of the mixing of these main races. There are 3-4 thousand different peoples in the world. Mixing of blood occurs constantly in our world. If there was a time when national borders coincided with state borders, where 90% of the population consisted of the main nationality, for example Denmark, Poland, many Latin American states, now people migrate more often.

    It all depends on what you mean by nationality. So in domestic understanding, nationality is ethnic origin individual, that is, to which nation he belongs. In the West, the term nationality refers to citizenship, or state affiliation of a person. If we evaluate the number of nationalities in the domestic sense of the word, then their number per different estimates will be from 4500 to 6000. In the second case, the number of nationalities coincides with the number of states and becomes the number 192.

    If by the term nationality you mean some belonging to one or another ethnic group of a certain individual, then in the whole world there are about 2000 such groups that are registered in official sources, but I do not agree with this, because I believe that if a person has modern world there was a mixing of blood, then it will be a different nationality, and not a choice between mother or father

    Now there are from 4500 to 6000 nationalities on Earth, but no one can say for sure how many nationalities actually exist on our Earth, but these numbers are only approximately estimated; there are many ethnic groups, groups of nationalities that differ in their characteristics and language, external characteristics (appearance, eyes).

    There are more than 180 nationalities in Russia alone.

    But the total number of languages ​​on earth ranges from 2500 to 5000.

    They say that the number nations equal to the quantity states, but there are even more nationalities.

    There are no exact data, because different countries have their own concept of nationality, moreover, some of them do not have specific information due to poor organization of the population census.

    If we consider that in Russia alone there are more than 200 nationalities, then I think this figure will reach more than 1000.

    The names of all nationalities living in our country can be found on WIKIPEDIA at the link:

    There are many nationalities on Earth, some indicate numbers from 800 to 2 thousand. The reason the discrepancies are so great is that not all countries keep records. national composition and the population census is poorly developed.

    I found information that there are 252 nationalities living on Earth. WITH full list and the number of peoples can be found in the photo below.

    No one knows the exact number of nationalities of people living in our time for one simple but global reason: **INTERRACIAL AND INTERNATIONAL MIXING**, for example: a Ukrainian woman gives birth to a black man, a Russian woman to a Kazakh woman, a Polish woman to a Chinese man, etc. The approximate number of nationalities is about 2000 thousand

    No one can say the exact number of nationalities on the planet, but official sources put the figure at about 2000. Only according to official data, about two hundred nationalities live in our country.

Chinese actor and director Jackie Chan

In second place among the most large nations The lands are Arabs, of which there are currently about 350 million people.

In fifth place among the largest nations on the planet are Bengalis- the main population of the state of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India. Total number There are more than 250 million Bengalis in the world (about 150 million in Bangladesh and about 100 million in India).

Indian writer and poet Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali by nationality

Bengal girl

In sixth place among the largest nations on Earth are Brazilians(193 million people) - a nation that was formed in the same way as the American nation - by mixing different ethnic groups.

Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho

The seventh largest people on the planet - Mexicans, of which there are 156 million people in the world, of which 121 million people. live in Mexico and 34.6 million in the USA. Using the example of the Mexicans, one can note the convention of dividing people into nations. Those Mexicans who live in the United States can be considered both Mexican and American.

Mexican Ximena Navarrete - Miss Universe 2010

Mexican footballer Rafael Marquez, captain of the Mexico national team

The eighth largest people on Earth - Russians, of which there are about 150 million people in the world, of which 116 million live in Russia, 8.3 million in Ukraine, 3.8 million in Kazakhstan. Russians are the largest people in Europe.

Russian actress Irina Ivanovna Alferova

The ninth largest nation in the world is Japanese(130 million people).

Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki

Rounding out the top ten largest nations on Earth Punjabis. There are 120 million Punjabis in the world, of which 76 million are lives in Pakistan and 29 million in India.

14th largest people in the world - Marathi(80 million people) - the main population of the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Indian actress Madhuri Dixit is from the Maratha people.

15th largest people on Earth - Tamils, of which there are 77 million people in the world, of which 63 million live in India.

Indian actress Vyjayanthimala, Tamil by nationality

Indian chess player Viswanathan Anand (Tamil by nationality), current world chess champion.

There are approximately the same number of Tamils ​​as there are Tamils ​​(77 million people) in the world. Vietnamese(Viets).

There are also at least 75 million people Telugu- the main population of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

There are about 70 million people Thais- the main population of Thailand.

Thai Piyaporn Deejin, Miss Thailand 2008

Another big people - Germans. There are 65 million Germans in Germany. If we also count persons German origin, then we get a more impressive figure - 150 million people. For example, in the USA, 48 million people have German roots, making it the largest ethnic group among Americans.

German actress Diane Kruger

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