Lahu people

Name: Lahu people: census figures, languages and lineage
Creator: Genetik
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Лаху · Q750479

language area per Glottologcensus counts

499,167

China, census 2020 (national and/or ethnic group, UN)

526,518

sum of censuses in 3 countries, 2005-2020

Sino-Tibetan

language family (Glottolog)

In brief

The largest documented number lives in China: 499,167 people in the 2020 census.

Official figures exist for 3 countries; together they add up to 526,518. This is not an estimate of the world total: the censuses were held in different years (2005-2020) and define belonging differently, and countries without such data are not counted.

Main language: Lahu. Glottolog classifies it in the Sino-Tibetan family.

Where they live: census figures

Each figure comes from the country's official census. Censuses define belonging differently (self-identification, citizenship, mother tongue, ancestry); the type is given on each row.

China2020 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Lahu» · [1]

499,167

Lao People's Democratic Republic2005 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Lahu» · [2]

15,238

Vietnam2019 · national and/or ethnic group, UN · «Lahu» · [3]

12,113

Sum across 3 countries526,518

Languages and their lineage

Lahu

Sino-Tibetansino1245
Burmo-Qiangicburm1265
Lolo-Burmeselolo1265
Loloishlolo1267
Lahoidlaho1234
Lahulahu1253

People-to-language links: Wikidata (properties P103 and P2936), checked against ISO 639-3 codes. Language classification: Glottolog 5.3.

Peoples of the same language family

Han Chinese Hui people Tujia people Chinese people Tibetans Bai people Tamang people Hoa people Rai people Limbu people Qiang Jingpo people Sherpa Akha Dungans Pumi Nu people Mang people Bamar (Burmans)

Sources

United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. China, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Lao People's Democratic Republic, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). Demographic Yearbook, table 26: Population by national and/or ethnic group. Viet Nam, Census - de jure - complete tabulation, Final figure, complete. https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a26%3bsexCode%3a0%3bareaCode%3a0%3bcountr…
Hammarström H., Forkel R., Haspelmath M., Bank S. (2026). Glottolog 5.3. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. glottolog.org (CC BY 4.0)