བོད་པ་ बोदप بودپا bod pa |
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Total population | |
7.8 million | |
Regions with significant populations | |
China | 7.5 million |
India | 120,000 |
Nepal | 20,000-40,000 |
United States | 9,000 |
Canada | 7,500 |
Pakistan | 7,600+ |
Bhutan | 5,000 |
Switzerland | 4,000 |
Australia | 1,000 |
Mongolia | 1,000 |
United Kingdom | 650 |
Languages | |
Tibetan languages | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Tibetan Buddhism; minorities of Bön, Islam and Christianity | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Qiang · Ngalop · Ladakhis · Baltis · Burig · Other Sino-Tibetan-speaking peoples |
Tibetan people | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chinese | 藏族 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tibetan name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tibetan | བོད་པ་ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Zàngzú |
Wu | |
Romanization | zaon zoh |
Hakka | |
Romanization | Tshông-tshu̍k |
Southern Min | |
Hokkien POJ | Chōng-cho̍k |
Teochew Peng'im | Tsăng-tsôk |
Eastern Min | |
Fuzhou BUC | Câung-cŭk |
Transcriptions | |
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Wylie | bod pa |
THL | bö pa |
The Tibetan people (Tibetan: བོད་པ་, Wylie: bod pa, THL: bö pa) are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet. They number an estimate of 7.8 million. Significant Tibetan minorities also live outside of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in China, and in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Tibetans speak the Tibetic languages, many varieties of which are mutually unintelligible. They belong to the Tibeto-Burman languages. The traditional, or mythological, explanation of the Tibetan people's origin is that they are the descendants of the human Pha Trelgen Changchup Sempa and rock ogress Ma Drag Sinmo. It is thought that most of the Tibeto-Burman-speakers in Southwest China, including the Tibetans, are direct descendants from the ancient Qiang. Most Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, though some observe the indigenous Bön religion and there is a small Muslim minority. Tibetan Buddhism influences Tibetan art, drama, and architecture, while the harsh geography of Tibet has produced an adaptive culture of Tibetan medicine and cuisine.