Shan people

"Tai Yai" redirects here. Not to be confused with Tai Ya or Tayal. For other uses of Shan, see Shan.
Tai Shan
တႆး
Tai Yai
National flag of the Shan people
Shan woman from Lai-Hka, Shan State
Total population
c. 5 million + (est.)[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
 Myanmar
(mainly  Shan State)		5 million[a][2]
Languages
Shan, Burmese, Northern Thai, Thai
Religion
Majority: Theravada Buddhism, Tai folk religion, Minority: Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Zhuang, Chinese Shan, Tai Lao, Nung, Bouyei, Dong, Tai Thai, Tai Ahom,
This article contains Burmese script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.
1889 photograph of a Shan woman

The Shan people (Short name or simple name in Shan: တႆး, pronounced [taj˥], Real name တႆးလူင်, IPA taj˥.loŋ˨˦; Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး, pronounced [ʃáɰ̃ lùmjó]), also known as the Tai Long or Tai Yai, are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar)[3] and primarily live in the Shan State of this country, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Region, Kachin State, Kayah State, Sagaing Region and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China (Dai people), Laos, Assam and Meghalaya (Ahom people), Cambodia (Kula people), Vietnam and Thailand.[4] Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935, the Shan are estimated to number 4–6 million,[1] with CIA Factbook giving an estimate of five million spread throughout Myanmar[2] which is about 10% of the overall Burmese population.[3][5]

'Shan' is a generic term for all Tai-speaking peoples within Myanmar (Burma). The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi, the fifth-largest city in Myanmar with about 390,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw (Hsipaw), Lashio, Kengtung and Tachileik.

  1. ^ a b "The Shan People". The Peoples of the World Foundation. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
  2. ^ a b c "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Shan | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2020-10-04. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  4. ^ Sao Sāimöng, The Shan States and the British Annexation. Cornell University, Cornell, 1969 (2nd ed.)
  5. ^ "Factbox: The Shan, Myanmar's largest minority". Reuters. 2007-08-30. Archived from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2020-08-26.


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