Editing Multinational state

{{Short description|State comprising multiple nations}}
A '''multinational state''' or a '''multinational [[political union|union]]''' is a [[sovereignty|sovereign entity]] that comprises two or more [[nation]]s or [[state (polity)|states]]. This contrasts with a [[nation state]], where a single nation accounts for the bulk of the population.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} Depending on the definition of "nation" (which touches on [[ethnicity]], language, and political identity), a multinational state is usually [[multiculturalism|multicultural]] or [[multilingualism|multilingual]], and is geographically composed of more than one country, such as the [[countries of the United Kingdom]].

Historical multinational states that have since split into multiple states include the [[Ottoman Empire]], [[British Raj|British India]], [[Qing dynasty|Qing Empire]], [[Czechoslovakia]], the [[Soviet Union]], [[Yugoslavia]], the [[United Arab Republic]] and [[Austria-Hungary]] (a dual monarchy of two multinational states). Some analysts have described the [[European Union]] as a multinational state or a potential one.<ref name="Built to Last">Kelemen, R. Daniel. (2007). {{cite web |url= http://www.princeton.edu/~smeunier/Kelemen%20Memo.pdf |title= Built to Last? The Durability of EU Federalism? |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130120153312/http://www.princeton.edu/~smeunier/Kelemen%20Memo.pdf |archive-date= 2013-01-20 }} In ''Making History: State of the European Union'', Vol. 8, edited by [[Sophie Meunier]] and Kate McNamara, Oxford University Press, p. 52.</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHw9M_817nwC&pg=PA74|title=A Union of Diversity: Language, Identity and Polity-Building in Europe|first=Peter A.|last=Kraus|date=2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=71|isbn=978-1-139-46981-4}}</ref>

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==Definition==

Many attempts have been made to define multinational states. One complicating factor is that it is possible for members of a group that could be considered a nation to identify with more than one nation-state. As Katiambo (2024)<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Katiambo |first=David |date=2024-12-12 |title=Consumer nationalism in Kenya: tracing the rhetorical construction of the nation through anti-brand activism on Facebook |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14725843.2024.2439423 |journal=African Identities |language=en |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1080/14725843.2024.2439423 |issn=1472-5843|url-access=subscription }}</ref> explains in ''[https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3TWRGEUCHBGIJED5AJJU/full?target=10.1080/14725843.2024.2439423#abstract Consumer nationalism in Kenya: tracing the rhetorical construction of the nation through anti-brand activism on Facebook]'', many countries are multination states and there are only "few nation-states with a perfect match between the nation and the state." [[Ilan Peleg]] wrote in ''Democratizing the Hegemonic State'': {{blockquote|sign=|source=|One can be a Scot and a Brit in the United Kingdom, a Jew and an American in the United States, an Igbo and a Nigerian in Nigeria ... One might find it hard to be a Slovak and a Hungarian, an Arab and an Israeli, a Breton and a Frenchman.<ref>Ilan Peleg, 'Classifying Multinational States' in ''Democratizing the Hegemonic State'' ([[Cambridge University Press]], 2007), pp. 78–80</ref>}}

A state may also be a [[society]], and a '''multiethnic society''' has people belonging to more than one ethnic group, in contrast to societies that are [[Monoculturalism|ethnically homogeneous]]. By some definitions of "society" and "homogeneous", virtually all contemporary national societies are multiethnic. The scholar [[David Welsh]] argued in 1993 that fewer than 20 of the 180 sovereign states then in existence were ethnically and nationally homogeneous, if a homogeneous state was defined as one in which minorities made up less than 5 percent of the population.<ref name="Welsh">{{cite book|last=Welsh|first=David|title=Ethnic Conflict and International Security|editor=Brown, Michael E.|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton|year=1993|pages=43–60|chapter=Domestic politics and ethnic conflict|isbn=0-691-00068-9|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cstjhpRd-F4C&pg=PA43}}</ref> [[Sujit Choudhry]] therefore argues that "[t]he age of the agriculturally homogeneous state, if ever there was one, is over".<ref>{{cite book|last=Choudhry|first=Sujit|title=Constitutional Design for Divided Societies: Integration or Accommodation?|editor=Choudhry, Sujit|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2008|pages=[https://archive.org/details/constitutionalde0000unse/page/3 3–40]|chapter=Bridging comparative politics and comparative constitutional law: Constitutional design in divided societies|isbn=978-0-19-953541-5|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/constitutionalde0000unse/page/3}}</ref>

== Modern multinational states ==
===Africa===
{{further|Ethnic groups in Africa}}

Most countries in [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] are former colonies and, as such, are not drawn along national lines, making them truly multinational states.

====Ghana====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Ghana}}

There is [[Demographics of Ghana|no ethnic majority in Ghana]]. The plurality group, the [[Akan people]], are a [[meta-ethnicity]] (that is, a collection of similar but distinct ethnicities). While Akan is the most-widely spoken language in Ghana,<ref name="Introduction To The Verbal and Multi-Verbalsystem of Akan">{{cite web|title=Introduction To The Verbal and Multi-Verbalsystem of Akan|url=http://www.ling.hf.ntnu.no/tross/osam.pdf|work=ling.hf.ntnu.no|year=2013|access-date=16 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407085659/http://www.ling.hf.ntnu.no/tross/osam.pdf|archive-date=7 April 2014}}</ref> English is the official language of government. <ref name="The Ghanaian Government states that English is the official language">{{cite web|quote=English is the official language of Ghana and is universally used in schools in addition to nine other local languages. The most widely spoken local languages are, Ga, Dagomba, Mumpruli, Akan and Ewe.|url=http://www.ghanaembassy.org/index.php?page=language-and-religion|title=Language and Religion|publisher=Ghana Embassy|access-date=8 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301155437/https://www.ghanaembassy.org/index.php?page=language-and-religion|archive-date=1 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ghana – 2010 Population and Housing Census">{{cite web|url=http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010phc/Census2010_Summary_report_of_final_results.pdf|title=Ghana – 2010 Population and Housing Census|work=Government of Ghana|year=2010|access-date=1 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925192147/http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/2010phc/Census2010_Summary_report_of_final_results.pdf|archive-date=25 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Kenya ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Kenya}}

[[Kenya]] is home to more than 70 ethnic groups; the most populous of which are the [[Kikuyu people|Kikuyu]], at about 20 percent of the population.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.africa.upenn.edu/NEH/kethnic.htm|title=East Africa Living Encyclopedia|website=www.africa.upenn.edu|access-date=2017-01-05}}</ref> Together, the five largest groups—the Kikuyu, [[Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania|Luo]], [[Luhya people|Luhya]], [[Kamba people|Kamba]], and [[Kalenjin people|Kalenjin]]—account for 70 percent of Kenyans.<ref name=":0" /> The major impediment to nation-building in Kenya is the schism caused by the failure to align the mystically bonded ethnic groups to the state so that the state territory can simultaneously be the national territory and vice versa [https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3TWRGEUCHBGIJED5AJJU/full?target=10.1080/14725843.2024.2439423#abstract (Katiambo, 2024, p.6)]. According to [https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3TWRGEUCHBGIJED5AJJU/full?target=10.1080/14725843.2024.2439423#abstract Katiambo (2024]) although the hegemony of the nation-state should ideally lead to each state having one nation,  regardless of Kenya’s deliberate nation-building efforts aimed at reversing the fragmented ethnic nations of the colonial epoch, the nation-state is still in competition with ethnic sub-nationalism. 

==== Nigeria ====
{{Further|Ethnic groups in Nigeria}}
[[File:Nigeria linguistical map 1979.svg|thumb|250px|right|Map of Nigeria's linguistic groups]]
The largest nation in [[Nigeria]] is the [[Hausa-Fulani]], which accounts for 29 percent of the country's population. However, the group actually encompasses two distinct ethnicities: the [[Hausa people|Hausa]] and the [[Fulani]] (or Fulbe). While both ethnicities are found in large areas of [[West Africa]], it is only in Nigeria that they are classified as a single ethnic group for political expediency. Nigeria is also made up of many other ethnic groups like the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]], [[Igbo people|Igbo]] and [[Ibibio people|Ibibio]]. Prior to colonialism, they were not self identified as one ethnic nationality but are so today along with the three Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo which classification does carry between each group of who is part of and not part of the group aside from them Nigeria as about 250–500 other ethnic nationalities considered minorities with some large enough to control the outcomes of elections in states such as the Igala and Urhobo. While some are so small that they only show up in one local Government area.

====South Africa====
{{Further|Ethnic groups in South Africa}}
[[File:SAPS language.png|thumb|250px|Map showing the dominant languages in South Africa]]
Present-day [[South Africa]] is the successor state to the [[Union of South Africa]], which was formed from four British colonies in 1910.

South Africa has eleven official languages ([[Afrikaans]], English, [[Southern Ndebele language|Ndebele]], [[Northern Sotho language|Pedi]], [[Sotho language|Sotho]], [[Swazi language|Swazi]], [[Tsonga language|Tsonga]], [[Tswana language|Tswana]], [[Venda language|Venda]], [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]], and [[Zulu language|Zulu]]) and formally recognizes several other languages spoken by minority nations. Speakers of each language may be of a different nationality—for example, some members of the [[Southern Ndebele people|Ndebele]] and [[Tswana people|Tswana]] nations speak Zulu, and groups such as the [[Thembu people|Thembu]] and [[Hlubi people|Hlubi]] speak Xhosa.

As is the case throughout Africa, the nations of South Africa mostly correspond to specific regions. However, large cities such as [[Johannesburg]] are home to a mixture of national groups, leading to a "[[melting pot]]" of cultures. The government has continuously attempted to unify the country's various nationalities and to foster a South African identity.

Many of the nationalities found in South Africa are also found in bordering countries, and in some cases, more members live in South Africa than in the country where the group originated. For example, there are more [[Sotho people|Sotho]], Tswana, and [[Swazi people|Swazi]] people living in South Africa than in the bordering nation states of [[Lesotho]], [[Botswana]], and [[Eswatini]], respectively. In the past, this has led to conflict. Lesotho still claims large swathes of South Africa, and attempts have been made to cede some South African territory to Botswana and Eswatini. All three states were intended to be incorporated in the Union of South Africa, but those plans never came to fruition because of power struggles within their [[apartheid]] governments.

=== Americas ===

==== Bolivia ====
{{main|Ethnic groups in Bolivia}}

Since 2010, under the [[presidency of Evo Morales]], [[Bolivia]] has been officially defined as a [[Plurinationalism|plurinational state]], which recognizes the national distinctiveness of various [[Indigenous peoples in Bolivia|indigenous peoples]].

==== Canada ====
{{main|Ethnic groups in Canada|Constitutional debate in Canada}}
Whether [[Canada]] should be described as "multinational" is an ongoing topic in academia<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423901778055|doi = 10.1017/S0008423901778055|title = Canada and the Multinational State|year = 2001|last1 = McRoberts|first1 = Kenneth|journal = Canadian Journal of Political Science|volume = 34|issue = 4|pages = 683–713| s2cid=154802932 |url-access = subscription}}</ref> and popular discourse. The current policy of the federal government is that Canada is [[official bilingualism in Canada|bilingual]]—English and French [[Official Languages Act (Canada)|are both official languages]]—and [[multiculturalism in Canada|multicultural]]. In 2006, the [[House of Commons of Canada]] voted in favour of ''Government Business No. 11'', which states that the [[Québécois people|Québécois]] "form a nation within a united Canada".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=39&Ses=1&DocId=2539924|title=Journals No. 87 – November 27, 2006 (39–1) – House of Commons of Canada|website=www.parl.gc.ca|access-date=22 October 2017}}</ref> According to Canadian political philosopher Charles Blattberg, Canada should be seen as a multinational country. All Canadians are members of Canada as a civic or political community, a community of citizens, and this is a community that contains many other kinds within it. These include not only communities of ethnic, regional, religious, and civic (the provincial and municipal governments) sorts, but also national communities, which often include or overlap with many of the other kinds. He thus recognizes the following nations within Canada: those formed by the various [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]], that of francophone Quebecers, that of the anglophones who identify with English [[Canadian culture]], and perhaps that of the [[Acadians]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/3084986|title= "Canadian Identity" and "Canadian Identity and Language"|author=Charles Blattberg|publisher=University of Montreal|year=2013|ssrn= 2238333}}</ref><ref name="Blattberg">{{cite book|last=Blattberg|first=Charles|title=Shall We Dance? A Patriotic Politics for Canada|location=Montreal|publisher=McGill–Queen's University Press|year=2003}}</ref>

=== Asia ===
{{further|Ethnic groups in Asia}}

==== Afghanistan ====
{{further|Demographics of Afghanistan|Ethnic groups in Afghanistan}}
While [[Pashto]] and [[Dari]] being [[Afghanistan]]'s two official languages, the nation is separated into several ethnolinguistic groups which the major ones include the [[Pashtuns]], [[Tajiks in Afghanistan|Tajiks]], [[Hazaras]], [[Uzbeks in Afghanistan|Uzbeks]], [[Aimaqs]], [[Afghan Turkmens|Turkmens]], [[Balochs]], and [[Sayyid|Sadats]]. Among the minor groups are the [[Pashayis]], [[Nuristanis]], [[Pamiris]], [[Kurds in Afghanistan|Kurds]], [[Kyrgyz in Afghanistan|Kyrgyz]], and several others.

==== Bhutan ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Bhutan}}

The four major groups that compose Bhutan's ethnic population are the [[Ngalop people|Ngalops]], which make up the majority, the [[Sharchops]], the [[Lhotshampa]]s, and the aboriginal or indigenous tribal peoples living in villages and communities scattered throughout the country. There are also [[Tibetan diaspora|Tibetan refugees]] that have been around since 1959 during the [[1959 Tibetan Rebellion]].

==== Cambodia ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Cambodia}}
While the ethnic [[Khmer people|Khmer]] make up 90-94% of [[Cambodia]], others consists of four different major minority groups: the [[Chams]], the indigenous highland [[Khmer Loeu]] tribes, the ethnic [[Chinese in Cambodia|Chinese]], and the ethnic [[Vietnamese Cambodians|Vietnamese]], in addition to other smaller minority groups such as the [[Khmer Krom]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-06-19 |title=Cambodia - World Directory of Minorities & Indigenous Peoples |url=https://minorityrights.org/country/cambodia/ |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=Minority Rights Group |language=en-GB}}</ref>

====China====
{{main|Ethnic groups in China}}

{{See also|Ethnic groups in Taiwan|Taiwanese indigenous peoples}}
[[File:Ethnolinguistic map of China 1983.png|thumb|250px|Ethnolinguistic map of China]]
The [[China|People's Republic of China]] (PRC) is a multinational state consisting of 56 ethnic groups with the [[Han Chinese|Han]] people the largest ethnic group in mainland China. As of 2010, 91.51% of the population were classified as Han (~1.2 billion).<ref>{{cite web|title=Han Chinese proportion in China's population drops: census data |date=28 April 2011 |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/28/c_13849933.htm |website=Xinhua News (English) |access-date=1 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160711022113/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/28/c_13849933.htm |archive-date=11 July 2016}}</ref> Besides the [[Han Chinese]] majority, 55 other ethnic (minority) groups are categorized in present China, numbering approximately 105 million people (8%), mostly concentrated in the bordering northwest, north, northeast, south and southwest but with some in central interior areas.

The major [[Ethnic minorities in China|minority ethnic groups in China]] are [[Zhuang people|Zhuang]] (16.9 million), [[Hui people|Hui]] (10.5 million), [[Manchu people|Manchu]] (10.3 million), [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] (10 million), [[Miao people|Miao]] (9.4 million), [[Yi people|Yi]] (8.7 million), [[Tujia people|Tujia]] (8.3 million), [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] (6.2 million), [[Mongolians in China|Mongolian]] (5.9 million), [[Dong people|Dong]] (2.8 million), [[Buyei people|Buyei]] (2.8 million), [[Yao people|Yao]] (2.7 million), [[Bai people|Bai]] (1.9 million), [[Koreans in China|Korean]] (1.8 million), [[Hani people|Hani]] (1.6 million), [[Li people|Li]] (1.4 million), [[Kazakhs in China|Kazakh]] (1.4 million) and [[Dai people|Dai]] (1.2 million).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/pcsj/rkpc/6rp/indexch.htm |title=index |website=www.stats.gov.cn}}</ref> At least 126,000 people from [[Canada]], the [[US]] and [[Europe]] are living in Mainland China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beijingrelocation.com/blog/expats-in-china-nationalities-and-in-which-cities-they-settle/ |title=Expats in China: Nationalities and in which cities they settle}}</ref> In addition, there are also [[Unrecognized ethnic groups in China|unrecognized ethnic groups]], for example: [[Chuanqing people]] (穿青人), and others, who account for over 730,000 people.

However, the [[Taiwan|Republic of China]] (ROC), which [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|ruled]] mainland China from 1912 to 1949 and currently governs the island of Taiwan since 1945, had recognized five main ethnic groups under [[Five Races Under One Union]]: Han, Hui, Manchu, Mongol and Tibetan. Since retreating to Taiwan, the ROC government recognizes 16 groups of [[Taiwanese aborigines]], which constitutes a number 569,000 or 2.38% of the [[Geography of Taiwan|island]]'s population. The PRC classifies them as ''Gāoshān''.

====India====
{{further|Ethnic groups of India|Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes}}
[[India]] has more than 2,000 ethnolinguistic groups which includes over 645 indigenous tribes with 52 major tribes among them, and over 80,000 subcultures, and every major religion is represented being [[Hinduism in India|Hinduism]], [[Islam in India|Islam]], [[Adivasi]], [[Sikhism]], [[Buddhism in India|Buddhism]], and [[Christianity in India|Christianity]] as are four major [[Language family|language families]] ([[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]], [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]], [[Austroasiatic]], and [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]) and a [[language isolate]] ([[Nihali]]).

Each state and [[union territory]] of India has one or more official languages, and the [[Constitution of India]] recognizes in particular 22 "[[Languages with official status in India|scheduled languages]]". It also recognizes 212 scheduled tribal groups, which together constitute about 7.5% of the country's population.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}

Most of its states are based on a [[Languages with official status in India|linguistic]] ethnicity,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chari |first=Mridula |title=How the map of India was redrawn on the lines of language |url=http://scroll.in/article/820359/how-the-map-india-was-redrawn-on-the-lines-of-language |access-date=2020-06-16 |website=Scroll.in |date=November 2016 |language=en-US}}</ref> including [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], and [[Chhattisgarh]] ([[Hindustanis]]), [[Gujarat]] ([[Gujaratis]]), [[West Bengal]] ([[Bengalis]]), [[Maharashtra]] ([[Marathis]]), [[Odisha]] ([[Odias]]), [[Goa]] ([[Konkani people|Konkanis]]),   [[Haryana]] ([[Haryanvi people|Haryanvis]]), [[Rajasthan]] ([[Rajasthanis]]), [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] ([[Punjabis in India|Punjabis]]), [[Tamil Nadu]] ([[Tamils]]), [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]] ([[Telugus]]), [[Karnataka]] ([[Kannada people|Kannada]]), [[Kerala]] ([[Malayali]]s), [[Assam]] ([[Assamese people|Assamese]]), [[Nagaland]] ([[Naga people|Nagas]]), [[Manipur]] ([[Meitei people|Manipuris]]), [[Mizoram]] ([[Mizo people|Mizos]]), [[Meghalaya]] ([[Khasi people|Khasi]]), [[Tripura]] ([[Tripuri people|Tripuri]]), and [[Sikkim]] ([[Sikkimese people|Sikkimese]]). [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]] is the only union territory in the country based on this which is home to the [[Kashmiris]], [[Dogras]], [[Ladakhis]], [[Gurjar|Gujjars]], [[Bakarwal|Bakarwals]], [[Pahari people (Kashmir)|Paharis]], [[Dard people|Dards]], [[Hani people|Hanjis]], and several other people groups.

Furthermore, several other Indian states are themselves ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse. The tribes of [[Uttar Pradesh]] are [[Agaria|Agarias]], [[Baiga tribe|Baigas]], [[Bhar|Bhars]], [[Chero|Cheros]], [[Gondi people|Gonds]], [[Kolis]], [[Korwa people|Korwas]], [[Tharus]], [[Bhoksa people|Bhoksas]], [[Bhotiya|Bhotiyas]], [[Jaunsaris]], and [[Rajis]]; [[Madhya Pradesh]] is where tribes such as the Gonds, [[Bhil|Bhils]], Baiga, [[Korku people|Korku]], [[Bharia people|Bhadia]], [[Halba (tribe)|Halba]], [[Karul people|Kaul]], [[Madia Gond|Mariya]], [[Malto people|Malto]] and [[Sahariya]]; [[Chhattisgarh]]'s tribal population consists mainly of the Gonds, [[Kanwar (tribe)|Kanwars]], [[Binjhwari language|Brinjhwasr]], [[Bhaina]], [[Bhatra]], [[Oraon people|Uraon]], [[Oraons]], [[Kamar language|Kamar]], Halba, Baiga, [[Sanwra|Sanwras]], [[Korwa people|Korwas]], [[Bharia people|Bhariatis]], [[Nageshia|Nageshias]], [[Manghwar|Manghwars]], [[Kharia people|Kharias]], and [[Dhanwar (community development block)|Dhanwars]]; [[Bihar]] has the [[Bhojpuri people|Bhojpuris]], [[Maithils]], and [[Magahi people|Magadhis]], and [[Jharkhand]] has the [[Santhals]], [[Oraons]], [[Mundas]], [[Kharia people|Kharias]], and [[Ho people|Hos]] while both states are home to several other groups like the [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]-speaking peoples; [[Uttarakhand]] is where the [[Garhwali people|Garhwalis]], [[Kumaoni people|Kumaonis]], and tribes like the Jaunsaris, Bhotiyas, Tharus, Bhoksas, Rajis, and [[Banrawats]] resides; [[Karnataka]] houses the [[Kannadigas]], [[Tuluvas]], and several others; [[Himachal Pradesh]] is home to tribes like the [[Kinnauri language|Kinnauris]], [[Gujjars]], [[Lahuli–Spiti languages|Lahaulis]], [[Gaddis]], [[Swangla|Swanglas]], [[Pangwali|Pangwalis]], [[Khampa (people)|Khampas]], and others; [[Arunachal Pradesh]] being the home of various tribes like the [[Galo tribe|Abor]], [[Hruso people|Hruso]], [[Apatanis]], [[Nyishis]], [[Tagin people|Tagins]], [[Galo people|Galos]], [[Khamti people|Khamptis]], [[Mishmi people|Mishmis]], [[Monpa people|Monpa]], any Naga tribes, [[Sherdukpen people|Sherdukpens]], and [[Singpho people|Singpho]]; the [[Assam]] includes the Assamese, [[Bodo people|Bodo]], and [[Karbi people]]s.

====Indonesia====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Indonesia|Native Indonesians}}
[[File:Indonesia Ethnic Groups Map English.svg|thumb|280px|Map showing ethnic groups native to Indonesia]]
Indonesia is a very diverse country with over 600 ethnic groups.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ananta |first1=Aris |last2=Arifin |first2=Evi Nurvidya |last3=Hasbullah |first3=M Sairi |last4=Handayani |first4=Nur Budi |last5=Pramono |first5=Agus |year=2015 |title=Demography of Indonesia's Ethnicity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=crKfCgAAQBAJ |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |isbn=978-981-4519-87-8|pp=12, 27–28 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bps.go.id/news/2015/11/18/127/mengulik-data-suku-di-indonesia.html|title=Mengulik Data Suku di Indonesia|publisher=Statistics Indonesia|access-date=1 January 2021|language=id|date=18 November 2015}}</ref> The vast majority of them speak [[Austronesian languages]] and among these tribal people groups are the [[Javanese people|Javanese]], [[Sundanese people|Sundanese]], [[Malay Indonesians|Malays]], [[Madurese people|Madurese]], [[Bugis]], [[Torajan people|Torajans]], [[Bataks]], [[Mandarese people|Mandarese]], [[Minangkabau people|Minangkabau]], [[Betawi people|Betawi]], [[Banjarese people|Banjarese]], [[Acehnese people|Acehnese]], [[Balinese people|Balinese]], [[Dayaks]], [[Sasaks]], [[Cirebonese people|Cirebonese]], [[Lampungese people|Lampungese]], [[Palembang people|Palembang]], [[Gorontalo people|Gorontaloa]], [[Minahasan]], [[Nias people|Nias]], and [[Makassar people|Makassarese]]. Another group of indigenous peoples in the country are the native [[Melanesians]] in the [[Maluku Islands]] and [[Western New Guinea]], which include tribes such as the Ambonese, native [[Timorese people]]s, Biak, [[Dani people|Dani]], Moi, Arfak, Amungme, [[Asmat people|Asmat]], and [[Korowai people|Korowai]], among others. Non-indigenous peoples includes [[Indos]] (half-Dutch, half-native Indonesians), [[Mardijkers]], ethnic [[Chinese in Indonesia|Chinese]] and [[Peranakans]], [[Arabs in Indonesia|Arabs]], and [[Indians in Indonesia|Indians]].

The largest ethnicity in Indonesia is the Javanese which makes up 40% of the population and most of them live indigenously in [[Java island]], the most populous island in the country. Generally, people who live outside of [[Jakarta]] still retain the ethnic language and utilize it in daily conversations. As a result, formation of distinct dialects each unique to the regions, is prominently used among the population.

==== Laos ====
{{further|Demographics of Laos|List of ethnic groups in Laos}}
The government of [[Laos]] recognizes over 160 ethnic groups with 49 main ethnicities. These main Laotian ethnic groups separated into 4 linguistic groups which are 8 [[Lao-Tai Languages|Lao-Tai]] peoples which includes the ethnic [[Lao people|Lao]] who make up the majority in the country, 32 [[Mon Khmer|Mon-Khmer]] peoples, 7 [[Tibeto-Burmese]] peoples, and 2 [[Hmong people|Hmong]]-[[Yao people|Loumien]] peoples. They are generally spread across the nation each with their own distinct traditions, cultures and languages.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hays |first=Jeffrey |title=ETHNIC GROUPS AND MINORITIES IN LAOS {{!}} Facts and Details |url=https://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Laos/sub5_3c/entry-2962.html |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=factsanddetails.com |language=en}}</ref>

====Malaysia====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Malaysia}}

When it was formed on 16 September 1963, [[Malaysia]] comprised four independent, self-governing nations: [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]], [[Singapore]], [[Sabah]], and [[Sarawak]]. In 1965, Singapore seceded from the federation. Today, Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak each have their own ethnic majority. Generally, however, Malaysia is considered to have three major groups: [[Bumiputera (Malaysia)|Bumiputeras]] ([[Malaysian Malays|Malays]], [[Orang Asli]], various native tribes of the [[Borneo States|Borneo states]], and [[Peranakans]]), ethnic [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese]], and ethnic [[Malaysian Indian|Indians]]. While the Malays make up the majority of population in the country, the [[Ibans]] for Sarawak and the [[Kadazan-Dusun]], [[Murut people|Murut]], and [[Sama Bajau peoples|Sama-Bajau peoples]] for Sabah are dominant in their respective states. [[Malay language|Malay]] is the primary official and national language, followed by [[English language|English]]. In Sabah and Sarawak, English is the official language, although many locals speak a dialect of Malay.

====Myanmar====
{{further|List of ethnic groups in Myanmar}}
[[File:Ethnolinguistic map of Burma 1972 en.svg|200px|thumb|An ethnolinguistic map of Burma, 1972]]
[[Myanmar]] (also known as Burma) is an ethnically diverse nation with 135 distinct [[ethnic group]]s officially recognized by the [[politics of Myanmar|Burmese Government]]. These are grouped into eight "major national ethnic races": [[Bamar people|Bamar]], [[Chin peoples|Chin]], [[Kachin people|Kachin]], [[Karen people|Karen]], [[Karenni people|Kayah]], [[Mon people|Mon]], [[Rakhine people|Rakhine]], [[Shan people|Shan]]<ref>[http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/ministry/hotel/fact/race.htm Retrieved from Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism webpage at] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220174829/http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/ministry/hotel/fact/race.htm |date=20 December 2007 }}</ref>

The "major national ethnic races" are grouped primarily according to region rather than linguistic or ethnic affiliation, as for example the Shan Major National Ethnic Race includes 33 ethnic groups speaking languages in at least four widely differing language families.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://myanmartravelinformation.com/mti-myanmar-people/index.htm |title=Myanmar People & Races |access-date=2007-12-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609072939/http://myanmartravelinformation.com/mti-myanmar-people/index.htm |archive-date=9 June 2010 |df=dmy-all }} For example, the [[Shan people|Shan]] speak a [[Tai–Kadai languages|Tai–Kadai]] language, the [[Lahu people|Lahu]] speak a [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] language, the [[Khmu people|Khamu]] speak a [[Mon–Khmer languages|Mon–Khmer]] language, and the [[Yao people|Yao]] speak a [[Hmong–Mien languages|Hmong–Mien]] language.</ref>

Many unrecognized ethnic groups exist, the largest being the [[Burmese Chinese]] and [[Panthay]] (who together form 3% of the population), [[Burmese Indians]] (who form 2% of the population), [[Rohingya people|Rohingya]], [[Anglo-Burmese people|Anglo-Burmese]] and [[Burmese Gurkha|Gurkha]].

==== Nepal ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Nepal}}
[[File:Nepal-ethnic-groups-map.jpg|200px|thumb| Ethnic groups in Nepal]]
[[Nepal]] is a multi-ethnic country with over 100 ethnic groups. Most ethnic groups fall into one of two categories and either speak [[Indo-Aryan languages]] or [[Sino-Tibetan languages]]. The official language of the country is [[Nepali language|Nepali]], earlier known as Gorkhali in the [[Kingdom of Nepal]], which is part of the Indo-Aryan group and is the spoken by majority of the population. 

The [[Indo-Aryan languages]] languages are spoken by [[Madhesi people]] ( [[Maithili people|Maithili]], [[Bhojpuri people| Bhojpuri]], [[Awadhi people| Awadhi]]) and [[Tharu people| Tharu]] ethnic groups which constitutes majority of the speakers in southern Nepal in the [[Terai]] region.<ref name="worldatlas.com">{{cite web |last1=Sen Nag |first1=Oishimaya |title=What Languages Are Spoken In Nepal? |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-nepal.html |website=WorldAtlas |access-date=19 February 2023}}</ref> The people who speak [[Sino-Tibetan languages]] includes [[Tamang people|Tamang]], [[Newar people|Newari]], [[Magar people| Magar]], [[Gurung people| Gurung]], [[Kiranti]] and [[Sherpa people| Sherpa]] ethnic groups in central and northern Nepal.<ref name="worldatlas.com"/> Much of the ethnic groups migrated from neighbouring countries over the centuries from [[India]] and [[Tibet]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last1=Massey|first1=Douglas S.|last2=Axinn|first2=William G.|date=August 2010|title=Environmental change and out-migration: evidence from Nepal|journal=Population and Environment|volume=32|issue=2–3|pages=109–136|doi=10.1007/s11111-010-0119-8|pmid=21350676|pmc=3042700}}</ref>

====Pakistan====
{{further|Ethnic groups of Pakistan}}
[[File:Mother Tongue by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|thumb|250px|Dominant Ethnolinguistic Group in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]]]
[[Pakistan]]'s population comprises various ethnolinguistic groups; the major groups are the [[Punjabis]], [[Pashtuns]], [[Sindhis]], [[Saraikis]], [[Balochs]], [[Brahuis]], [[Pahari people (Kashmir)|Paharis]], and [[Muhajir (Pakistan)|Muhajirs]]. Minor groups includes the [[Kashmiris]], [[Chitralis]], [[Shina people|Shina]], [[Balti people|Baltis]], [[Indus Kohistani people|Kohistanis]], [[Torwali people|Torwalis]], [[Hazaras]], [[Burusho people|Burusho]], [[Wakhi people|Wakhis]], [[Kalash people|Kalash]], [[Siddi]]s, [[Uzbeks in Pakistan|Uzbeks]], [[Nuristanis]], [[Pamiris]], [[Hazarawals|Hazarewals]] and several other minorities.

Present-day Pakistan arose out of the [[Pakistan Movement]], which demanded a separate state for the Muslims of the [[British Raj]]. The movement was based on the [[two-nation theory]] put forward by [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]]: the idea that Hindus and Muslims in British India represented not only different religious communities but also distinct nations, and hence that, in the event of [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]], they should be divided into two nation states. Jinnah (known in Pakistan as "Quaid-e-Azam", meaning "the great leader"){{Citation needed|date=January 2017}} outlined the theory as follows:

{{blockquote|It is extremely difficult to appreciate why our Hindu friends fail to understand the real nature of Islam and Hinduism. They are not religious in the strict sense of the word, but are, in fact, different and distinct social orders, and it is a dream that the Hindus and Muslims can ever evolve a common nationality, and this misconception of one Indian nation has troubles and will lead India to destruction if we fail to revise our notions in time. The Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, literatures. They neither intermarry nor interdine together and, indeed, they belong to two different civilizations which are based mainly on conflicting ideas and conceptions. Their aspect on life and of life are different. It is quite clear that Hindus and Mussalmans derive their inspiration from different sources of history. They have different epics, different heroes, and different episodes. Very often the hero of one is a foe of the other and, likewise, their victories and defeats overlap. To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built for the government of such a state."<ref name=dt-march>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C03%5C23%5Cstory_23-3-2011_pg3_6|title=VIEW: March towards independence|newspaper=Daily Times|date=23 March 2011|access-date=29 September 2011}}</ref><ref name="res3">[http://www.nazariapak.info/data/quaid/statements/two-nation.asp Excerpt from the Presidential Address delivered by Quaid-e-Azam at Lahore, March 22–23, 1940] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628044030/http://www.nazariapak.info/data/quaid/statements/two-nation.asp |date=2006-06-28 }}, Nazariapak.info</ref>}}

This movement culminated in the creation of Pakistan in 1947 through the [[partition of India]]. [[Urdu]] was then promoted as the national language of all [[Muslim nationalism in South Asia|South Asian Muslims]]. However, Pakistan remains ethnically diverse. Punjabis are the largest ethnolinguistic group, but at 45 percent of the population, they do not make up an absolute majority. Furthermore, only 8 percent of Pakistanis speak the national language, Urdu, as their [[First language|mother tongue]]. As a result, many nationalist movements that oppose the two-nation theory have emerged, arguing that Pakistan is not only a linguistically diverse state but also a multinational one, and that, therefore, each ethnolinguistic group of Pakistan is a distinct nation.<ref name="pakethnat">{{cite book |author=Tariq Rahman |title=Language and Politics in Pakistan |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1996 |page=2}}</ref> Common grievances of these movements include the idea that Punjabis dominate Pakistan politically and economically, thus marginalizing other groups, and that the establishment of Urdu as the country's sole official language is a form of [[cultural imperialism]] that ignores the heritage of Pakistan's diverse peoples.

The most successful of these movements was [[Bengali nationalism]], which led to the creation of the [[Bengali language|Bengali]]-speaking nation-state of [[Bangladesh]]. The movement asserted that Urdu's official status gave an unfair advantage to Muhajirs (most of whom speak Urdu as their mother tongue) and Punjabis (whose mother tongue, [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], is similar to Urdu, and many of whom were educated in Urdu under British rule). Bengalis feared they would be marginalized despite their demographic strength as, at the time, the largest ethnic group of Pakistan. These grievances culminated in the secession of [[East Bengal]] (which had been part of the administrative unit of [[East Pakistan]]) and the creation of Bangladesh.

Today, nationalist movements within Pakistan include those of the [[Sindhi nationalism|Sindhis]], [[Pashtun nationalism|Pashtuns]], [[Baloch nationalism|Balochs]], [[Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan|Mohajirs]], and [[Kashmiriyat|Kashmiris]]. The members of these movements assert that Islam cannot be considered the sole basis for nationhood, and that Pakistan is therefore a multinational state. Their demands range from increased autonomy or the transformation of Pakistan into a [[federation]], to the recognition of [[language rights]] for non-Urdu-speaking populations, to outright secession.

Despite the fact that Punjabis are widely seen as the dominant ethnic group in Pakistan, both economically and politically, there is also a small [[Punjabiyat|Punjabi movement]] that asserts that the Punjabi language has been unfairly subordinated to Urdu and supports the reestablishment of cultural and economic links with [[East Punjab]] in India.<ref name="punjnat">{{cite book |author=Tariq Rahman |url=http://www.apnaorg.com/articles/rahman2.html |title='The Punjabi Movement' from ''Language and Politics in Pakistan''}}</ref>

====Philippines====
{{further|Ethnic groups in the Philippines}}
[[File:Peoples of the Philippines en.svg|thumb|Dominant ethnic groups by province]]
The Philippines has more than 182 distinct ethnolinguistic groups that the vast majority of them speaking [[Austronesian languages]], with the [[Tagalogs]], [[Bisayans]], [[Ilocanos]], [[Bicolano people|Bikols]], [[Kapampangan people|Kapampangans]], [[Pangasinan people|Pangasinans]], [[Ivatans]], [[Romblomanon people|Romblomanons]], [[Masbateño people|Masbateños]], [[Kamayo people|Kamayos]], [[Moro people|Moros]], [[Igorots]], [[Lumad]]s, [[Mangyans]], and [[Zamboangueño people|Zamboangueños]] being the most prevalent. Among the immigrants and mixed peoples are the [[Spanish Filipinos]], [[Chinese Filipinos]], [[Japanese in the Philippines|Japanese Filipinos]], [[Filipino people of Spanish ancestry|Mestizo de Españols]], [[Mestizo de sangley|Mestizo de Sangleys]], [[Torna atrás|Tornatrás]], [[Indian Filipinos]], [[Sangirese people|Sangils]], [[Jewish Filipinos]], and [[American Filipinos]].

==== Thailand ====
{{further|Demographics of Thailand|Ethnic groups in Thailand}}
There are some 70 ethnic groups in [[Thailand]] which make up 24 ethnolinguistically [[Tai peoples]] such as the [[Thai people|Central Thais]], [[Isan people|Isan]], and [[Northern Thai people|Northern Thais]], 22 [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] peoples, with significant populations of [[Northern Khmer people|Northern Khmer]] and [[Kuy people|Kuy]], 11 [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]-speaking [[Hill tribe (Thailand)|hill tribes]], 3 [[Austronesian peoples]] being [[Malays in Thailand|Malays]], [[Moken]], and [[Urak Lawoi]]. Immigrants in the nation includes communities like the [[Chinese in Thailand|Chinese]], [[Indians in Thailand|Indians]], and [[Thai Portuguese]]. However, the Royal Thai Government officially recognizes only 62 of these ethnolinguistic groups.

====Vietnam====
{{further|Demographics of Vietnam|List of ethnic groups in Vietnam}}
The Vietnamese government recognizes [[List of ethnic groups in Vietnam|54 ethnic groups]], of which the Viet (Kinh) is the largest; according to official Vietnamese figures (2019 census), [[Vietnamese people|ethnic Vietnamese]] account for 85.32% of the nation's population and the non-Vietnamese ethnic groups account for the remaining percent. The ethnic Vietnamese inhabit a little less than half of Vietnam, while the ethnic minorities inhabit the majority of Vietnam's land (albeit the least fertile parts of the country).

The central highland peoples commonly termed [[Degar]] or Montagnards ([[mountain people]]) consist of two main ethnolinguistic types--[[Malayo-Polynesian]] and [[Mon–Khmer]]. About 30 groups of various cultures and dialects are spread over the highland territory.

Other minority groups include the [[Chams]]—remnants of the once-mighty [[Champa]] Kingdom, conquered by the Vietnamese through a progress called "[[Nam Tiến]]", [[Hmong people|Hmong]], [[Hoa people|Chinese]], and [[Thai people in Vietnam|Thái]].

=== Europe ===
{{further|Ethnic groups in Europe}}
[[Montenegro]] is the only European state with no ethnic majority, but many others have ethnic minorities that form a majority within a province or region (see [[multilingual countries and regions of Europe]]).

==== Russia ====
{{main|Ethnic groups in Russia}}

[[File:Two largest ethnic minority by federal subject 2010.jpg|thumb|250px|The largest two ethnic groups, excluding Russians, in each region (Census 2010)]]
Russia is a multinational state, and is home to over 193 ethnic groups. In the 2010 Census, roughly 81% of the population were ethnic [[Russians]],<ref name="ethnicgroups">[http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_02.php Ethnic groups in Russia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622084055/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_02.php |date=22 June 2011}}, 2002 census, ''Demoscope Weekly''. Retrieved 5 February 2009.</ref> and 19% of the population were minorities;<ref name="perepis-2010.ru">{{cite web|url=http://www.perepis-2010.ru/results_of_the_census/result-december-2011.ppt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118212344/http://www.perepis-2010.ru/results_of_the_census/result-december-2011.ppt|archive-date=18 January 2012|title=ВПН-2010|website=perepis-2010.ru}}</ref> while around 84.93% of the Russia's population was of [[Ethnic groups of Europe|European descent]],<ref name="perepis-2010.ru" /> of which the vast majority were [[Slavs]] as well as minorities of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]], [[Baltic-Finnic peoples|Baltic-Finns]] and other peoples. There are [[Republics of Russia|22 republics]] in Russia, designated to have their own ethnicities, cultures, and languages. In 13 of them, ethnic Russians [[Republics of Russia#Demographics trend|consist a minority]]. According to the [[United Nations]], Russia's [[Immigration to Russia|immigrant population]] is the third-largest in the world, numbering over 11.6 million;<ref>{{cite news|last=Kirk|first=Ashley|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/12111108/Mapped-Which-country-has-the-most-immigrants.html|title=Mapped: Which country has the most immigrants?|date=21 January 2016|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref> most of which are from [[post-Soviet states]], mainly [[Ukrainians in Russia|Ukrainians]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-03/russia-and-ukraine-fight-but-their-people-want-reconciliation|title=Russia and Ukraine Fight, But Their People Seek Reconciliation|work=[[Bloomberg L.P.]]|author=Leonid Ragozin|date=3 April 2019|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref> The republics are [[Tatarstan]] ([[Volga Tatars]]), [[Bashkortostan]] ([[Bashkirs]], [[Volga Tatars]]), [[Chuvashia]] ([[Chuvash people|Chuvash]]), [[Adygea]] ([[Circassians#Ethnonyms|Adyghe]]), [[Karachay-Cherkessia]] ([[Circassians#Ethnonyms|Cherkess of Karachay-Cherkessia]], [[Karachays]], [[Nogais]], [[Abazins|Abaza]]), [[Kabardino-Balkaria]] ([[Kabardians|Kabardins]] & [[Balkars]]), [[Chechnya]] ([[Chechens]]), [[Mordovia]] ([[Mordvin people|Mordvin]]), [[Udmurtia]] ([[Udmurts]]), [[Mari El]] ([[Mari people|Mari]]), [[Kalmykia]] ([[Kalmyks]]), the [[Komi Republic]] ([[Komi peoples|Komi]]), [[Karelia]] ([[Karelians]], ethnic [[Finns]], [[Vepsians]]), [[Ingushetia]] ([[Ingushs]]), [[North Ossetia-Alania]] ([[Ossetians]]), [[Sakha Republic|Sakha]] ([[Yakuts]], [[Evenki people|Evenki]], [[Evens]], [[Dolgans]], [[Yukaghir people|Yukaghir]]), [[Buryatia]] ([[Buryats]]), [[Khakassia]] ([[Khakas]]), the [[Altai Republic]] ([[Altai people|Altai]], ethnic [[Kazakhs in Russia|Kazakhs]]), [[Tuva]] ([[Tuvans]]), and [[Dagestan]] (ethnic [[Azerbaijanis in Russia|Azerbaijanis]], [[Chechens]], [[Caucasian Avars|Avars]], [[Dargins]], [[Kumyks]], [[Lezgins]], [[Lak people (Dagestan)|Laks]], [[Tabasaran people|Tabasarans]], [[Nogais]], [[Aguls]], [[Rutuls]], [[Tsakhurs]], [[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tats]] and others). There are also 4 [[Autonomous okrugs of Russia|autonomous okrugs]] which are [[Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Khanty]] & [[Mansi people|Mansi]]), [[Nenets Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Nenets people|Nenets]]), [[Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Nenets people|Nenets]], [[Selkup people|Selkup]]), and [[Chukotka Autonomous Okrug]] ([[Chukchi people|Chukchi]]), 1 [[Autonomous oblast of Russia|autonomous oblast]], it is [[Jewish autonomous oblast]] ([[Jewish people|Jews]], but there are a few of them, because of migration to [[Israel]] after [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]]), 6 [[Administrative-territorial units with a special status of Russia|administrative-territorial units with a special status]], which are [[Agin-Buryat Okrug]] ([[Buryats]]) in [[Zabaykalsky Krai]], [[Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug]] ([[Buryats]]) in [[Irkutsk Oblast]], [[Koryak Okrug]] ([[Koryaks]]) in [[Kamchatka Krai]], [[Taymyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky District]] ([[Dolgans]], [[Nenets]], [[Enets]], [[Nganasans]]) and [[Evenkiysky District]] ([[Evenks|Evenki]]) in [[Krasnoyarsky Krai]], [[Komi-Permyak Okrug]] ([[Komi peoples|Komi]]) in [[Perm Krai]]. 

The Tatars, Bashkirs, and Chechens are three predominantly [[Muslims|Muslim]] minorities in the country. Russia is also home to small [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] populations, such as the [[nomad]]ic Buryats in Buryatia, and the Kalmyks; native to Kalmykia, the only Buddhist region in Europe. There are also the [[Shamanism|Shamanistic]] peoples of [[Siberia]] and the [[Far North (Russia)|Far North]]; the [[Finno-Ugric peoples]] of [[Northwest Russia]] and the [[Volga region]]; the [[Sakhalin Koreans|Korean inhabitants of Sakhalin]]; and the diverse peoples of the [[North Caucasus]].<ref>[http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_02.php Ethnic groups in Russia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622084055/http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_02.php |date=2011-06-22 }}, at demoscope.ru</ref>

Russia's [[official language]] is [[Russian language|Russian]]. However, Russia's 193 minority ethnic groups speak over 100 languages.<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia/Mixed-and-deciduous-forest#ref38596|title=Russia|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref> According to the 2002 Census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by [[Tatar language|Tatar]] with 5.3 million, and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] with 1.8 million speakers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perepis2002.ru/index.html?id=87 |title=Russian Census of 2002 |website=4.3. Population by nationalities and knowledge of Russian; 4.4. Spreading of knowledge of languages (except Russian) |publisher=[[Rosstat]]|access-date=16 January 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719233704/http://www.perepis2002.ru/index.html?id=87|archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> The constitution gives the individual republics of the country the right to [[Languages of Russia#Official languages|establish their own state languages]] in addition to Russian.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Constitution of the Russian Federation|website=(Article 68, §&nbsp;2)|url=http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-04.htm|access-date=27 December 2007}}</ref>

==== Belgium ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Belgium|Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium}}

The territory of [[Belgium]] is almost equally divided between the two people groups and their communities: the [[Flemish dialects|Dutch-speaking]] [[Flemish people|Flemings]] of [[Flanders]] and the [[Belgian French|French-speaking]] [[Walloons]] of [[Wallonia]]. This led to political unrest throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and in the aftermath of the difficult [[2007–08 Belgian government formation]], the Belgian media envisaged a [[partition of Belgium]] as a potential solution. There is also a [[German-speaking Community of Belgium|German-speaking minority in the east]].

==== Bosnia and Herzegovina ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
[[File:Map Bih entities.png|thumb|200px|Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (FBiH), the [[Republika Srpska]] (RS), and the [[Brčko District]] (BD).]]
[[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] is home to three ethnic "[[Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina|constituent peoples]]": [[Bosniaks]] (50.11%), [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Serbs]] (30.78%), and [[Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Croats]] (15.43%).<ref name="Popis2013">{{cite web|title=Census of population, households and dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013: Final results|url=http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf|publisher=Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina|date=June 2016|access-date=1 July 2016|archive-date=24 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224103940/http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The country's political divisions were created by the [[Dayton Agreement]], which recognized a second tier of government comprising two entities: the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (mostly Bosniaks and Croats) and the [[Republika Srpska]] (mostly Serbs), with each governing roughly half of the state's territory. A third region, the [[Brčko District]], was governed locally. Today, all three ethnic groups have an equal constitutional status over the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country has a [[bicameral|bicameral legislature]] and a [[Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina|three-member presidency]] composed of one member of each major ethnic group.

==== Norway ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in Norway}}

Official policy states that [[Norway]] was founded on the territory of two peoples, [[Norwegians]] and [[Sami people|Samis]].<ref>[http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad/tema/samepolitikk.html?id=1403 Samepolitikk] {{in lang|no}} [[Regjeringen.no]], retrieved 17 July 2013</ref> In addition, [[Forest Finns]], [[Kven people|Kvens]], [[Jews in Norway|Jews]], [[Romani people|Romani]], and the [[Norwegian and Swedish Travellers]] are recognised as national minorities.<ref>[http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fad/tema/nasjonale_minoriteter.html?id=1404 Nasjonale minoriteter] {{in lang|no}} [[Regjeringen.no]], retrieved 17 July 2013</ref>

==== Spain ====

{{main|Ethnic groups in Spain|Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain}}

[[File:Spanish dialects in Spain-en.png|thumb|right|250px|Languages and dialects in Spain]]
Definitions of ethnicity and nationality in [[Spain]] are politically fraught, particularly since the transition from [[Francoist Spain]] to the (restored) Kingdom of Spain in the 1970s, when local regionalisms and peripheral nationalisms became a major part of national politics.

The term [[Spanish people]] (Spanish: ''pueblo español'') is defined in the [[Spanish Constitution of 1978]] as the political sovereign, i.e., the citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. The same constitution, in its preamble, speaks of "peoples and nationalities of Spain" (''pueblos y nacionalidades de España'') and their respective cultures, traditions, languages, and institutions.

The ''CIA World Factbook'' (2011) describes Spain's ethnic makeup as a "composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types", instead of the usual breakdown of ethnic composition. This reflects the formation of the modern Kingdom of Spain by the accretion of numerous independent [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian]] realms: [[Andalusia]], [[Aragon]], [[Asturias]], [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]], [[Catalonia]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Kingdom of León|León]], [[Majorca]], [[Navarre]], and [[Valencian Community|Valencia]]. Thus, today's Spaniards include [[Andalusians]], [[Aragonese people|Aragonese]], [[Asturians]], [[Basques]], [[Cantabrian people|Cantabrians]], [[Castilians]], [[Catalan people|Catalans]], [[Galicians]], [[Leonese people|Leonese]], and [[Valencian people|Valencians]], and individual members of these groups may or may not consider them distinct nations.

==== United Kingdom ====
{{further|Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom}}
{{Home Nations}}
While the [[Office for National Statistics]] describes the [[United Kingdom]] as a nation state,<ref>{{cite web|title=ONS Glossary of economic terms|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/glossary/economic_terms.asp|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=24 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110907093405/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/glossary/glossary-u.html|archive-date=7 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Giddens|first=Anthony|title=Sociology|year=2006|publisher=Polity Press|isbn=978-0-7456-3379-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/sociology0005gidd/page/41 41]|location=Cambridge|url=https://archive.org/details/sociology0005gidd/page/41}}</ref> other people, including former Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]],<ref>"[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3556535/Gordon-Brown-We-must-defend-the-Union.html Gordon Brown: We must defend the Union]", ''The Telegraph'', 25 March 2008.</ref> describe it as a multinational state.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hogwood|first=Brian|title=Regulatory Reform in a Multinational State: The Emergence of Multilevel Regulation in the United Kingdom|url=http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/events/jointsessions/paperarchive/grenoble/ws20/hogwood.pdf|access-date=24 July 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608053831/http://www.essex.ac.uk/ecpr/events/jointsessions/paperarchive/grenoble/ws20/hogwood.pdf|archive-date=8 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/sc-feb0659017b.pdf |title=Diversity and Citizenship Curriculum Review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615160114/http://www.devon.gov.uk/sc-feb0659017b.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-15 |website=Devon County Council |access-date=13 August 2010}}</ref> The term "[[Home Nations]]" is used to describe the national teams that represent the four nations of the United Kingdom: [[England]], [[Northern Ireland]], [[Scotland]], and [[Wales]] in various sports.<ref>{{cite news|last=Magnay|first=Jacquelin|title=London 2012: Hugh Robertson puts Home Nations football team on agenda|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/london2012/7768436/London-2012-Hugh-Robertson-puts-Home-Nations-football-team-on-agenda.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428173322/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/london2012/7768436/London-2012-Hugh-Robertson-puts-Home-Nations-football-team-on-agenda.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 April 2011|access-date=11 September 2010|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=26 May 2010}}</ref>

The [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] was created on 1 May 1707 by the [[political union]] of the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]].<ref>William E. Burns, ''A Brief History of Great Britain'', p. xxi</ref> This unification was the result of the [[Treaty of Union]], which was agreed on 22 July 1706 and then ratified by the parliaments of [[Parliament of England|England]] and [[Parliament of Scotland|Scotland]] in the 1707 [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/citizenship/rise_parliament/docs/articles_union.htm|title=Articles of Union with Scotland 1707 |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=19 October 2008}}</ref> The two kingdoms, along with the [[Kingdom of Ireland]], had already been in a [[personal union]] as a result of the 1603 [[Union of the Crowns]], in which [[James I of England|James VI, King of Scots]], inherited the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and moved his [[court (royal)|court]] from [[Edinburgh]] to [[London]]. However, until 1707, all three had remained separate political entities with separate political institutions.<ref name="D. Ross, 2002 p. 56" /><ref name="J. Hearn, 2002 p. 104" />

Prior to the Acts of Union, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland both had minority populations of their own that could themselves be called nations. [[Wales]] and [[Cornwall]] were part of the Kingdom of England (Wales had been officially incorporated into England by the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542]], although it had been a ''de facto'' English territory [[Conquest of Wales by Edward I|since the 13th century]]; Cornwall had been conquered during the [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon period]]). The [[Northern Isles]], with their [[Norsemen|Norse]]-derived culture, were part of Scotland, having been pledged by Norway as security against the payment of a [[dowry]] for [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret of Denmark]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.historychannel.com.au/this-day-in-history/orkney-and-shetland-are-pawned-as-dowry/|title=Orkney and Shetland Are Pawned as Dowry ⋆ History Channel|date=2016-06-20|newspaper=History Channel|language=en-US|access-date=2017-01-05}}</ref> and then integrated in 1471. When the Kingdom of Great Britain was created, many of its inhabitants retained a sense of English, Scottish, or Welsh identity. Many of them also spoke languages other than English: principally [[Scottish Gaelic]], [[Scots language|Scots]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]], and [[Norn language|Norn]].

Almost a century later, the Kingdom of Ireland merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] under the 1800 [[Act of Union (1800)|Acts of Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.actofunion.ac.uk/actofunion.htm#act |title=The Act of Union |publisher=Act of Union Virtual Library |access-date=15 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415061235/http://www.actofunion.ac.uk/actofunion.htm#act |archive-date=15 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The United Kingdom thus became the union of the kingdoms of England, Ireland, and Scotland.<ref name="D. Ross, 2002 p. 56">D. Ross, ''Chronology of Scottish History'' (Glasgow: Geddes & Grosset, 2002), {{ISBN|1-85534-380-0}}, p. 56.</ref><ref name="J. Hearn, 2002 p. 104">J. Hearn, ''Claiming Scotland: National Identity and Liberal Culture'' (Edinburgh; Edinburgh University Press, 2002), {{ISBN|1-902930-16-9}}, p. 104.</ref> Eventually, disputes within [[Ireland]] over the terms of [[Irish Home Rule movement|Irish home rule]] led to the [[Partition of Ireland|partition of the island]]:<ref>[[SR&O 1921]]/533 of 3 May 1921</ref> The [[Irish Free State]] received [[Dominion|dominion status]] in 1922, while Northern Ireland remained part of the UK.<ref name="CAIN">{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/politics/docs/ait1921.htm |title=The Anglo-Irish Treaty, 6 December 1921 |publisher=CAIN |access-date=15 May 2006}}</ref> As a result, in 1927, the formal title of the UK [[Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927|was changed]] to its current form, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.<ref>P. Cottrell, ''The Irish Civil War 1922–23'' (London: Osprey, 2008), {{ISBN|1-84603-270-9}}, p. 85.</ref>

Political, ethnic, and religious tensions between [[Irish people|Irish]] and [[British people|British]] groups in Northern Ireland culminated in [[The Troubles]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/archive/events/the-troubles-gallery-40-years-of-conflict-in-northern-ireland-from-the-belfast-telegraph-archives-29947576.html|title=The Troubles gallery – 40 years of conflict in Northern Ireland from the Belfast Telegraph archives – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-05-22|language=en}}</ref> This period of armed conflict erupted in 1966 between [[Ulster loyalism|loyalist]] paramilitaries, seeking to maintain the country's position in the UK, and [[Irish republicanism|republican]] paramilitaries, seeking to [[United Ireland|unify Ireland as a 32-county independent republic]]. The [[British Army]] also played a key role. Following the deaths of over 3,500 people,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/topics/troubles_violence|title=BBC – History – The Troubles – Violence|access-date=2017-05-22}}</ref> a [[Good Friday Agreement|peace treaty]] was reached in 1998,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-belfast-agreement|title=The Belfast Agreement – GOV.UK|website=www.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=2017-05-22}}</ref> although divisions remain high in some areas and sporadic violence still occurs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/03/union-flag-protests-arrested-northern-ireland|title=Union flag protests: more than 200 arrested in Northern Ireland|agency=Press Association|date=2013-04-03|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-05-22|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

The end of the 20th century brought major governing changes, with the establishment of [[devolution|devolved]] national administrations for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales following pre-legislative [[Referendums in the United Kingdom|referendums]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Reforging the Union: Devolution and Constitutional Change in the United Kingdom|journal=Publius: The Journal of Federalism |volume=28 |issue=1 |page=217 |last=Keating |first=Michael |date=1 January 1998 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pubjof.a029948}}</ref>

The [[Scottish National Party]], the largest political party in Scotland, is committed to the goal of an [[Scottish independence|independent Scotland]] within the [[European Union]], but this is opposed by three of the four other parties in the Scottish Parliament. A [[referendum on Scottish independence]] was held in September 2014, and 55% of the electorate rejected independence in favour of retaining the union.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29270441|title=Scottish referendum: Scotland votes 'No' to independence|date=2014-09-19|newspaper=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=2017-01-05}}</ref> [[Plaid Cymru]], a Welsh nationalist party, has a similar ambition for Wales. Plaid Cymru is currently the second- or third-largest party in Wales depending on how it is measured.<ref>Simon Jenkins, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article641379.ece We'd be a more united kingdom with an independent Scotland]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} in ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' dated September 17, 2006</ref> Several parties in Northern Ireland, including the second- and third-largest,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/ni2017/results|title=Northern Ireland Assembly election 2017 results|website=BBC News|access-date=2017-05-22}}</ref> seek to establish an independent United Ireland, and have repeatedly called for border polls.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/sinn-fein-chief-gerry-adams-in-fresh-call-for-united-ireland-border-poll-35249176.html|title=Sinn Fein chief Gerry Adams in fresh call for united Ireland border poll – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk|access-date=2017-05-22|language=en}}</ref> The [[D'Hondt method|d'Hondt system]] used in Northern Ireland means that either the First Minister or Deputy First Minister will be from one of these parties.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-13359731|title=D'Hondt system for picking NI ministers in Stormont|date=2011-05-11|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-05-22|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Former multinational states ==
{{main|List of empires}}
{{further|List of largest empires}}

=== Roman Empire ===
[[Ancient Rome | Early Romans]] assimilated neighbouring tribes in the Italian peninsula, including [[Etruscans]] and the Greeks of [[Magna Graecia]]. The rights of [[Roman citizenship]] extended to the Italic peoples from the 1st century BCE, and later more widely: Gauls, Iberians, Greeks, and the peoples of North Africa and of the Near East joined with Britons and Teutons in a multi-ethnic conglomeration, often headed by "provincial" [[Roman emperor | emperor]]s of non-Roman ethnic stock. The success of the Roman state in melding together various nations into a single putative whole shows in the nature and naming of its successor states: the [[Byzantine Empire]] officially styled itself as a "Roman Empire" (historians designate it the "Eastern Roman Empire"), and the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation") maintained pretensions to control various nationalities in Central Europe from 800 to 1806.

===Qing dynasty===
The [[Qing dynasty]] was an imperial dynasty that ruled [[China]] between 1636 and 1912; it was founded by [[Manchu people]], not by [[Han Chinese]]. The Manchu-led dynasty exerted [[Minoritarianism|minoritarian]] rule over the majority-Han Chinese population, and in the 17th and 18th centuries incorporated the regions of present-day [[Mongolia]], [[Tibet]] and [[Xinjiang]] into the empire through military expansionism. This effectively made China a multi-ethnic empire, with different regions having varying degrees of autonomy under Qing rule.

===Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth===

=== Austria-Hungary ===
{| border="1" style="width:200px; float:right; margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em; background:white; border:1px #aaa solid; border-collapse:collapse; font-size:90%;"
|+ <big>'''Austria-Hungary'''</big>
|- style="background:#efefef;"
| [[File:Austria-Hungary map new.svg|350px]]<br />[[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] (1), [[Bukovina]] (2), [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthia]] (3), [[Carniola]] (4), [[Kingdom of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]] (5), [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]] (6), [[Austrian Littoral|Küstenland]] (7), [[Lower Austria]] (8), [[Moravia]] (9), [[Duchy of Salzburg|Salzburg]] (10), [[Austrian Silesia|Silesia]] (11), [[Duchy of Styria|Styria]] (12), [[Tyrol (state)|Tirol]] (13), [[Upper Austria]] (14), [[Vorarlberg]] (15), [[Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] (16), [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia|Croatia-Slavonia]] (17), and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian condominium)|Bosnia]] (18).
|}
{{Further|Ethnic and religious composition of Austria-Hungary}}
[[Austria-Hungary]], which succeeded the [[Austrian Empire]] and the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)|Kingdom of Hungary]], was a historical monarchy composed by two multinational states. The centrifugal forces within it, coupled with its loss in [[World War I]], led to its breakup in 1918. Its successor states de jure included the [[First Austrian Republic]], the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Kingdom of Hungary]], while part from her former territories entirely new states were created such as [[Czechoslovakia]], or other parts incorporated into the [[Yugoslavia|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]], [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], [[Kingdom of Romania]], [[Kingdom of Italy]] and the [[Soviet Union]].

The principal languages of Austria-Hungary were [[German language|German]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Czech language|Czech]], and [[Croatian language|Croatian]], but there were also many minor languages, including [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]], [[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Slovene language|Slovene]], [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]].<ref>''Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1910'', published in ''Geographischer Atlas zur Vaterlandskunde an der österreichischen Mittelschulen'' (Vienna, 1911)</ref>

===Ottoman Empire===
The [[Ottoman Empire]] was the [[dynastic state]] of the Turkish [[House of Osman]]. At its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, it controlled much of [[Southeast Europe]], [[Western Asia]], the [[Caucasus]], [[North Africa]], and the [[Horn of Africa]].

In addition to [[Turkish people|Turks]], the ethnic groups of the Ottoman Empire included [[Albanians]], [[Amazighs]], [[Arabs]], [[Armenians]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Bosnians]], [[Bulgarians]], [[Circassians]], [[Georgians]], [[Greeks]], [[Jews]], [[Kurds]], [[Laz people|Laz]], [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]], [[Romanians]], [[Serbs]], [[Tatars]], and [[Zazas]].

Through [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet courts]], [[confessional community|confessional communities]] were allowed to rule themselves under their own legal systems: for example, [[Sharia|sharia law]] for Muslims, [[Canon law]] for Christians, and [[Halakha|halakha law]] for Jews. After the [[Tanzimat]] reforms from 1839 to 1876, the term "millet" was used to refer to legally protected religious minority groups, similar to the way other countries use the word "nation". (The word "millet" comes from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word "millah" (ملة), which literally means "nation".){{citation needed|date=April 2016}} The millet system has been called an example of pre-modern [[religious pluralism]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sachedina |first=Abdulaziz Abdulhussein |date=2001 |title=The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/islamic_sac_2001_00_4172/page/96 96–97] |isbn=0-19-513991-7 |quote=The millet system in the Muslim world provided the pre-modern paradigm of a religiously pluralistic society by granting each religious community an official status and a substantial measure of self-government. |url=https://archive.org/details/islamic_sac_2001_00_4172/page/96 }}</ref>

===Soviet Union===
[[File:Map of the ethnic groups of the Soviet Union.png|thumb|250px|Ethnographic map of the Soviet Union, 1970]]
The [[Soviet Union]] was a state composed of the [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet republics]] (of which there were 15 after 1956), with the capital in [[Moscow]]. It was founded in December 1922, when the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]]—which formed during the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]] and emerged victorious in the ensuing [[Russian Civil War]]—unified with the [[Transcaucasian SSR|Transcaucasian]], [[Ukrainian SSR|Ukrainian]], and [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Belarusian SSRs]]. Addressing the Extraordinary Eighth [[Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union]] on 25 November 1936, [[Joseph Stalin]] stated that "within the Soviet Union there are about sixty nations, national groups, and nationalities. The Soviet state is a multinational state."<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1936/11/25.htm On the Draft Constitution of the U.S.S.R] marxists.org, accessed 15 January 2011</ref> Among the 15 republics were the [[Baltic states]] of [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]], which were illegally annexed into the Soviet Union in 1940. The Soviet [[occupation of the Baltic states]] was not recognized by a number of Western governments including the [[United States]].

In the late 1980s, some of the republics sought sovereignty over their territories, citing Article 72 of the [[Constitution of the Soviet Union|USSR Constitution]], which stated that any constituent republic was free to secede.<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n12_v42/ai_9119705 The red blues&nbsp;— Soviet politics] by Brian Crozier, ''[[National Review]]'', 25 June 1990.</ref> On 7 April 1990, a law was passed allowing a republic to secede if more than two-thirds of its residents voted for secession in a referendum.<ref>[http://www.rspp.su/sobor/conf_2006/istoki_duh_nrav_crisis.html Origins of Moral-Ethical Crisis and Ways to Overcome it] by V.A.Drozhin Honoured Lawyer of Russia.</ref> Many held free elections, and the resulting legislatures soon passed bills that contradicted Soviet laws, in what became known as the [[War of Laws]].

In 1989, the Russian SFSR—the largest constituent republic, with about half of the USSR's population—convened a new [[Congress of People's Deputies of Russia|Congress of People's Deputies]] and elected [[Boris Yeltsin]] its chairman. On 12 June 1990, the Congress [[Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|declared Russia's sovereignty over its territory]] and proceeded to pass legislation that attempted to supersede Soviet laws. Legal uncertainty continued through 1991 as constituent republics slowly gained ''de facto'' independence.

In [[1991 Soviet Union referendum|a referendum]] on 17 March 1991, majorities in nine of the 15 republics voted to preserve the Union. The referendum gave Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] a minor boost, and in the summer of 1991, the [[New Union Treaty]] was designed and agreed upon by eight republics. The treaty would have turned the Soviet Union into a much looser federation, but its signing was interrupted by the [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|August Coup]]—an attempted [[coup d'état]] against Gorbachev by hardline [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] members of the government and the [[KGB]], who sought to reverse Gorbachev's reforms and reassert the central government's control over the republics. When the coup collapsed, Yeltsin—who had publicly opposed it—came out as a hero, while Gorbachev's power was effectively ended.

As a result, the balance of power tipped significantly toward the republics. In August 1991, [[Latvia]] and [[Estonia]] had regained their independence (following [[Lithuania]]'s 1990 example), while the other twelve republics continued to discuss new, increasingly loose models for the Union.

On 8 December 1991, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus signed the [[Belavezha Accords]], which declared the Soviet Union dissolved and established the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS) in its place. Doubts remained about the authority of the Belavezha Accords to dissolve the Union, but on 21 December 1991, representatives of every Soviet republic except [[Georgian SSR|Georgia]]—including those that had signed the Belavezha Accords—signed the [[Alma-Ata Protocol]], which confirmed the dissolution of the USSR and reiterated the establishment of the CIS. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev yielded, resigning as the president of the USSR and declaring the office extinct. He turned the powers vested in the Soviet presidency over to Yeltsin, the president of Russia.

The following day, the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet]], the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, dissolved itself. Many organizations, such as the [[Soviet Army]] and [[Militsiya|police forces]], remained in place in the early months of 1992, but were slowly phased out and either withdrawn from or absorbed by the newly independent states.

=== Yugoslavia ===
[[File:Breakup of Yugoslavia.gif|thumb|250px|The breakup of the [[SFR Yugoslavia|Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]]]]
The first country to be known by this name was the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]], known until 3 October 1929 as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. It was established on 1 December 1918 by the union of the [[State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs|State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs]] and the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] (to which the [[Kingdom of Montenegro]] had been annexed on 13 November 1918), and the [[Conference of Ambassadors]] gave international recognition to the union on 13 July 1922.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orderofdanilo.org/en/family/index.htm|title=Interesting things about the royal order of Montenegro – Untitled|website=Orderofdanilo|access-date=22 October 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090516203805/http://www.orderofdanilo.org/en/family/index.htm|archive-date=16 May 2009}}</ref>

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by the [[Axis powers]] in 1941 and abolished as a result of [[World War II]]. It was succeeded by Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, proclaimed in 1943 by the [[Yugoslav Partisans]] resistance movement. When a communist government was established in 1946, the country was renamed the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1963, it was renamed again, becoming the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] (SFRY). This was the largest Yugoslav state, with [[Istria]] and [[Rijeka]] having been added after World War II.

The country consisted of six constituent "socialist republics" ([[SR Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[SR Croatia]], [[SR Macedonia]], [[SR Montenegro]], [[SR Slovenia]], and [[SR Serbia]]) and two "socialist autonomous provinces" ([[SAP Vojvodina]] and [[SAP Kosovo]], which became largely equal to other members of the federation after 1974).<ref>{{cite book |last=Huntington |first=Samuel P. |title=The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=0-684-84441-9 |year=1996 |page=[https://archive.org/details/clashofcivilizat00hunt/page/260 260] |title-link=The Clash of Civilizations }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/kosovo/110492.stm |title=History, bloody history |work=BBC News |date=March 24, 1999 |access-date=December 29, 2010}}</ref>

Starting in 1991, the SFRY disintegrated in the [[Yugoslav Wars]], which followed the secession of most of the country's constituent entities. The next Yugoslavia, known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, existed until 2003, when it was renamed [[Serbia and Montenegro]]. In 2006, this last vestige separated into Serbia and Montenegro, but only to go further in 2008 after [[Kosovo]] unilaterally declared its independence but with limited recognition.

===Czechoslovakia===
{{Further|Demographics of Czechoslovakia}}
[[File:Czechoslovakia 1930 linguistic map - created 2008-10-30.svg|thumb|250px|Linguistic map of Czechoslovakia in 1930]]
Czechoslovakia was a multi-ethnic state, with [[Czechs]] and [[Slovaks]] as ''constituent peoples''. [[Sudeten Germans]] were forcibly expelled after World War II.

==See also==
* [[Multiculturalism]]
* [[Multiracialism]]
* [[Nation state]]
* [[Plurinational]]
* [[Polyethnicity]]
* [[Stateless nation]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{Ethnicity}}
{{Autonomous types of first-tier administration|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Types of countries]]
[[Category:Cultural politics]]
[[Category:Ethnicity in politics]]
[[Category:Multiculturalism]]
[[Category:Nation]]
[[Category:Supraorganizations]]
[[Category:Transnationalism]]
[[Category:World government]]

[[it:Multicomunitarismo]]
[[he:חברה רב-אתנית]]