Ethnicity in Myanmar

Common card · No. 257915

Myanmar (Burma) is an ethnically diverse nation with 135 distinct ethnic groups officially recognised by the Burmese government, which are grouped into eight "major national ethnic races"—the Bamar, Kayin, Rakhine, Shan, Mon, Chin, Kachin, and Karenni. The Bamar (Burman) make up approximately 68% of the population, while the remainder belongs to various major and minor ethnic and linguistic groups. The "major national ethnic races" are grouped primarily according to geographic region rather than ethnolinguistic affiliation. For example, the Shan national race includes 33 ethnic groups that live in Shan State and speak languages in at least four language families. Myanmar's contemporary politics around ethnicity surround treating ethnicity as a minoritising discourse, pitting a "pan-ethnic" national identity against minority groups. Ethnic identities in practice are often flexible—sometimes as flexible as simply changing clothes—in part due to a lack of religious or ethnic stratification...

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