South Asian ethnic groups

These groups are further subdivided into numerous sub-groups, castes and tribes. Indo-Aryans form the predominant ethno-linguistic group in Northern India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Dravidians form the predominant ethno-linguistic group in southern India and the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka, and a small pocket in Pakistan. Iranian peoples, grouped with Indo-Aryans in the Indo-Iranian language group, also have a significant presence in South Asia, the large majority of whom are located in Pakistan, with heavy concentrations in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Dardic peoples form a minority among the Indo-Aryans. They are classified as belonging to the Indo-Aryan language group, though sometimes they are also classified as external to the Indo-Aryan branch. They are found in northern Pakistan (Northern Areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) and in Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Minority groups not falling within either large group mostly belong to the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman language families, most of whom live around North-East India, Nepal, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh. The Andamanese (Sentinel, Onge, Jarawa, Great Andamanese) live on some of the Andaman Islands and speak a language isolate, as do the Kusunda in central Nepal, the Vedda in Sri Lanka, and the Nihali of central India, who number about 5000 people. The people of the Hunza valley in Pakistan are another distinct population. They speak Burushaski, a language isolate.

The traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged, influenced by external cultures, especially in the northwestern parts of South Asia (where Turkic and Iranian peoples have had much influence) and in the border regions and busy ports, where there are greater levels of contact with external cultures. This is particularly true for many ethnic groups in the northeastern parts of South Asia who are ethnically and culturally related to peoples of the Far East. The largest ethno-linguistic group in South Asia are the Indo-Aryans, numbering around 1 billion, and the largest sub-group are the native speakers of Hindi languages, numbering more than 470 million.

List of ethnic groups on the basis of language

Indo-Iranians

Most of the North Indian population is of Indo-Aryan descent. The Ra1a1 gene haplotype is found in at least 50% of the populations from North/East India to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Assamese people (i.e. the Assamese speakers of the Brahmaputra valley, not to be confused with the multi-ethnic people of Assam)

Iranian peoples

Dardic peoples

Dravidian peoples

Austro-Asiatic peoples

Tibeto-Burman peoples

Light green: Indo-European languages

Blue: Dravidian languages

Dark Green: Altaic Languages

Grey: 3 groups; Japonic {possibly Altaic}, Koreanic, {possibly Altaic}, and Indochinese languages. Pink: Austronesian languages.]]

Turko-Mongol peoples

Austronesian peoples

Semitic peoples

Tai peoples

European/Eurasian peoples

Afro-Asian

Dravidian groups mistaken for Afro-Asian

Linguistically isolate groups

Diaspora

See also Punjabi diaspora, Bangladeshi diaspora, Tamil diaspora, Pakistani diaspora, Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora and Indian diaspora.

Two (or possibly three) other people groups have ethnic and linguistic ties with the region:

See also

National demographics:

References

Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan