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Ethnic groups in Europe

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There are various ethnic groups in Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe.

Pan and Pfeil (2002) count 87 distinct "peoples of Europe", of which 33 form the majority population in at least one sovereign state, while the remaining 54 constitute ethnic minorities. The total number of national minority populations in Europe is estimated at 105 million people, or 14% of 770 million Europeans.[1]

Overview

Further information: Demographics of Europe

There are eight peoples of Europe with more than 30 million members:

  1. the Russians (ca. 90 million settling in the European parts of Russia),[2]
  2. the Germans (ca. 76 million),,[3]
  3. the French (ca. 63 million[4])
  4. the Italians (ca. 53 million)[5]
  5. the English (45 million[6])
  6. the Spanish (ca. 42 million),[7]
  7. the Ukrainians (ca. 41 million),
  8. the Poles (ca. 38 million).

These eight groups between themselves account for some 460 million or about 63% of European population.

About 20-25 million residents (3%) are members of diasporas of non-European origin. The population of the European Union, with some five hundred million residents, accounts for two thirds of the European population.

Overview map of the peoples of Europe
Size and geographic distribution of the 87 peoples of Europe according to Pan & Pfeil (2004).[8]

Font size reflects population size (groups smaller than 2 million not to scale) Groups not shown due to lack of geographic concentration: Roma (3.8 million), Jews (1.3 million), Karaim (4,600). Small Caucasian groups (<0.2 million) not shown in map: Cherkes, Karachays, Lak, Tabasarans, Balkars, Nogais, Rutuls, Tats, Tsakhurs.



Ethno-linguistic classifications

Distribution of major languages of Europe.
Further information: Languages of Europe

Of the total population of Europe of some 730 million (as of 2005), over 80% or some 600 million fall within three large ethno-linguistic super-groups, viz., Slavic, Latin (Romance) and Germanic. The largest groups that do not fall within either of these are the Greeks and the Hungarians (about 12 million each).

phylum super-group ethno-linguistic group subgroups approx. number (millions)[9] notes
Indo-European Indo-European **641
Indo-Europeans Slavic Europe *226
Indo-Europeans Slavic, East Russians Pomors, presently Cossacks 90[10]
Indo-Europeans Slavic, West Poles 38
Indo-Europeans Slavic, East Ukrainians Rusyns[dubious ], Boykos, Hutsuls, Lemkos, Poleszuks 43
Indo-Europeans Slavic, West Czechs 10
Indo-Europeans Slavic, South Serbs 08
Indo-Europeans Slavic, East Belarusians 10
Indo-Europeans Slavic, South Bulgarians Pomaks 08
Indo-Europeans Slavic, South Croats 05
Indo-Europeans Slavic, West Slovaks 05
Indo-Europeans Slavic, South Macedonians 01.6
Indo-Europeans Slavic, South Bosniaks 01.6
Indo-Europeans Slavic, South Slovenes 02
Indo-Europeans Slavic, West Silesians 01.9
Indo-Europeans Slavic, South Montenegrins 0.6
Indo-Europeans Slavic, West Kashubs 0.5
Indo-Europeans Slavic, West Sorbs 0.06
Indo-Europeans Latin Europe *190
Indo-Europeans Latin, Western Francophonie French, Walloons, Romands, Provencals, Occitans, Aranese 61
Indo-Europeans Latin, Italo-Western Italians Sardinians, Furlans, Lombards, Venetians, Sicilians, Neapolitans, Corsicans 53
Indo-Europeans Latin, Western Spaniards Castilians; non-Castilian ethno-linguistic groups: Andalusians, Asturians, Aragonese, Catalans 38
Indo-Europeans Latin, Eastern Eastern Romance (Vlachs) Romanians, Moldovans, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians, Aromanians 23
Indo-Europeans Latin, Western Portuguese Galicians 12
Indo-Europeans Latin, Western Rhaeto-Romanics Romansh, Friulians, Ladins 0.6
Indo-Europeans Latin, Western Gibraltarians[dubious ] 0.03
Indo-Europeans Germanic Europe *180
Indo-Europeans Germanic, West, Continental German-speaking Europe Germans, Austrians, Alemannic Swiss, Luxembourgers, Alsatians, Lorrainers, German speakers of Bolzano-Bozen, German-speaking Belgians, North Schleswigers 89
Indo-Europeans Germanic, West, North Sea English 45[11] also subsumed under British or White British.
Indo-Europeans Germanic, North Scandinavians Norwegians, Swedes, Finland Swedes, Danes, Faroese, Icelanders 22
Indo-Europeans Germanic, West, Continental Netherlandish Dutch people, Flemish people 17
Indo-Europeans Germanic, West, North Sea Frisians 0.5
Indo-Europeans Celtic Europe *002-22 approx. 2 million speakers of Celtic languages, but depending on the definition, some 20 million may be considered "Celtic"
Indo-Europeans Anglo-Celtic, Goidelic Irish Gaeltacht 06 Some living in Northern Ireland can also subsumed under British or White British.
Indo-Europeans Anglo-Celtic, Goidelic Scots Gàidhealtachd 06 also subsumed under British or White British.
Indo-Europeans Anglo-Celtic, Brythonic Welsh 05[dubious ] also subsumed under British or White British.
Indo-Europeans Franco-Celtic, Brythonic Bretons 05[dubious ] also subsumed under French.
Indo-Europeans Anglo-Celtic, Brythonic Cornish 0.2[dubious ] also subsumed under English, British or White British.
Indo-Europeans Anglo-Celtic, Goidelic Manx 0.04[dubious ] also subsumed under British or White British.
Indo-Europeans Greek Greeks 12
Indo-Europeans Albanian Albanians 05
Indo-Europeans Baltic 04.5
Indo-Europeans Lithuanians 03.1
Indo-Europeans Latvians Latgalians 01.4
Indo-Europeans Indo-Iranian 04
Indo-Europeans Indo-Aryan Roma people 04[12]
Indo-Europeans Iranian Ossetians 0.4 depends on what part of the Caucasus is considered European, see below.
Indo-Europeans Iranian Tats 0.02
Turkic Turkic *025
Turkic peoples Turkic, Oghuz Turks 14 approx. 14 million in Turkish Thrace and Istanbul Province, with a large Turkish diaspora in other parts of Europe of over 3 million, principally in Germany[13][14][15] 57 million including Asian populations.
Turkic peoples Turkic, Kypchak Tatars Crimean Tatars, Tat Tatars, Yaliboyu Tatars, Noğay Tatars 6
Turkic peoples Turkic, Oghur Chuvash 02
Turkic peoples Turkic, Kypchak Bashkirs 01.4
Turkic peoples Turkic, Kypchak Kumyks 00.3
Turkic peoples Turkic, Kypchak Karachays 01.5
Turkic peoples Turkic, Oghuz Gagauz 0.2
Turkic peoples Turkic, Kypchak Balkars 0.08
Turkic peoples Turkic, Kypchak Nogais 0.07
Finno-Ugric Finno-Ugric *022
Finno-Ugric peoples Ugric Hungarians 12
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Finno-Lappic Finns Karelians, Sweden Finns, Ingrian Finns, Kven people 06
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Finno-Lappic Estonians Setos, Võros 01
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Volgaic Mordvins Erzya/Shoksha, Moksha, Teryukhan, Qaratay 1.1
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Permic Udmurts 0.7
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Volgaic Mari 0.6
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Permic Komi Komi-Izhemtsy, Komi-Permyaks 0.5
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Finno-Lappic Sami 0.1
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Finno-Lappic Veps 0.008
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Finno-Lappic Izhorians 0.001
Finno-Ugric peoples Finnic, Finno-Lappic Livonians 0.0001
Caucasian Caucasian *03 depends on what part of the Caucasus is considered European, see below.
Caucasian Northeast Caucasian Chechens 1
Caucasian Northeast Caucasian Avars 0.5
Caucasian Northeast Caucasian Dargin 0.4
Caucasian Northwest Caucasian Kabards 0.4
Caucasian Northeast Caucasian Lezgins 0.3
Caucasian Northeast Caucasian Ingushetians 0.2
Caucasian Northwest Caucasian Cherkes 0.2
Caucasian Northwest Caucasian Lak 0.1
Caucasian Northwest Caucasian Tabasarans 0.1
Caucasian Northeast Caucasian Rutuls 0.02
Caucasian Northeast Caucasian Tsakhur people 0.007
Basque Basque Basques 00.7
Semitic Semitic 2
Semitic Semitic, Hebrew Jews 1.3 also subsumed under various other, see below.
Semitic Semitic, Maltese Maltese 0.4 ethno-linguistic classification is difficult, since there is significant historical admixture of Italian, Sicilian, Siculo-Arabic and French influence.
Mongolic Mongolic Kalmyks 0.17

Europe has a population of about 2 million ethnic Jews (mostly also counted as part of the ethnic group of their respective home countries):