 Distribution of Tai people | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Southeast Asia Myanmar (Tai Yai) Laos Thailand Vietnam South Asia India (Tai Khamti, Tai Ahom, Tai Kassay, Tai Phake, Tai Aiton, Tai Khamyang, Tai Turung, [1][2] and Tai Lai ) East Asia China (Dai people, Zhuang people, Bouyei people) | |
| Languages | |
| Tai languages | |
| Religion | |
| Majority Theravada Buddhism; Tai folk religion, Hinduism (Ekasarana Dharma • Vaishnavism) |
Tai peoples are the populations who speak (or formerly spoke) the Tai languages. There are a total of about 93 million people of Tai ancestry worldwide, with the largest ethnic groups being Dai, Thai, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan), Lao, Tai Ahom, Tai Kassay and some Northern Thai peoples.
The Tai are scattered through much of South China and Mainland Southeast Asia, with some (e.g. Tai Ahom, Tai Kassay, Tai Khamyang, Tai Khamti, Tai Phake, Tai Aiton) are inhabiting parts of Northeast India. Tai peoples are both culturally and genetically very similar and therefore primarily identified through their language.