Six to seven million of Vietnam’s 73 million population comprise an estimated 54 ethnic groups divided into dozens of subgroups some with a mere hundred or so members, giving Vietnam the richest and most complex ethnic make-up in the whole of southeast Asia. Ethnic minority groups with members numbering upwards of 500,000 include the Tay (Tho), Tai (Thai), Hmong (Meo or Miao), Muong (Mol) and Nung. Other large tribes (over 250,000) include the Jarai (Gia Rai) and Ede (Rhade), while groups like the Bahnar (Ba-na), and Sedang (Xo-dang) have more than 100,000 members.
The vast majority of Vietnam’s minorities live in the hilly regions of the north, down the Truong Son mountain range, and in the central highlands – all areas which saw heavy fighting in recent wars. Several groups straddle today’s international boundaries, spreading across the Indochinese peninsula and up into southern China.