Stateless nation

This article is about a nation lacking a nation state. For a community lacking a government, see Stateless society. For persons lacking state affiliation, see Statelessness.

A stateless nation is an ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own sovereign state.^[1] Use of the term implies that such ethnic groups has the right to self-determination, to establish an independent nation-state with its own government.^[2][3] Members of stateless nations may be citizens of the country in which they live, or they may be denied citizenship by that country. Stateless nations are usually not represented in international sports or in international organisations such as the United Nations. Nations without a state are classified as fourth-world nations.^[4][5][6] Some stateless nations have a history of statehood, while some were always stateless.

History

The term was coined in 1983 by political scientist Jacques Leruez in his book L'Écosse, une nation sans État about the peculiar position of Scotland within the British state. It was later adopted and popularized by Scottish scholars such as David McCrone, Michael Keating and T. M. Devine.^[7]

Ethnicities described as stateless nations can be dispersed across a number of states (for example, the Yoruba people found in the African states of Nigeria, Benin and Togo) or form the native population of a province within a larger state (such as the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region within the People's Republic of China). Some stateless nations historically had a state, which was absorbed by another; for example, Tibet's declaration of independence in 1913 was not recognized, and it was reunited in 1951 by the People's Republic of China - which claims that Tibet is an integral part of China, while the Tibetan government-in-exile maintains that Tibet is an independent state under an unlawful occupation.^[8][9] Some ethnic groups were once a stateless nation that later became a nation state (for example, the nations of the Balkans such as the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks, Slovenes, Montenegrins and Macedonians that were once part of the multinational state of Yugoslavia and gained independence during the breakup of Yugoslavia).^{[citation needed]}

Stateless nations can have large populations; for example, the Kurds have an estimated population of over 30 million people, which makes them one of the largest stateless nations.^[10]

Nation-states and nations without states

The symbiotic relationship between nations and states arose in Western Europe during the 18th century, and it was exported to the rest of the world through colonial rule. Whereas the Western European nation-states are at present relinquishing some of their powers to the European Union, many of the former colonies are now the zealous defenders of the concept of national statehood.^[3] However, not all peoples within multi-cultural states consider themselves stateless nations. As not all states are nation states, there are ethnic groups who live in multinational states that are not considered "stateless nations".

Only a small fraction of the world's national groups have associated nation states; the rest are distributed in one or more states. While there are over 3000 estimated nations in the world, there were only 193 member states of the United Nations as of 2011, of which fewer than 20 are considered to be ethnically homogeneous nation states. Thus nation states are not as common as often assumed, and stateless nations are the overwhelming majority of nations in the world.^[3]

Consequences of colonialism and imperialism

During the imperial and colonial era, powerful nations extended their influence outside their homeland; resulting in many colonized nations ceasing to be self-governing and being described as stateless nations thereafter.^[11] Some nations have been victims of "carve-outs" that left their homeland divided among several countries. Even today, the colonial boundaries form modern national boundaries. These boundaries often differ from cultural boundaries which results in situations wherein people who speak the same language or have the same culture are divided by national borders; for example, New Guinea is split into the regions of West Papua (a former Dutch colony) and Papua New Guinea (a former Australian colony).^[12] During decolonization, the colonial powers imposed a unified state structure irrespective of the ethnic differences and granted independence to their colonies as a multinational state. This led to successor states with many minority ethnic groups in them, which increased the potential for ethnic conflicts.^{[13][14][15][16]} Some of these minority groups campaigned for self-determination. Stateless nations were not protected in all countries and as a result, they became victims of atrocities such as discrimination, ethnic cleansing, genocide, forced assimilation, and the exploitation of labor and natural resources.^[17][18]

Nationalism and stateless nations

People with a common origin, history, language, culture, customs, or religion can turn into a nation through the awakening of national consciousness.^[19] A nation can exist without a state, as is exemplified by the stateless nations. Citizenship is not always the nationality of a person.^[20] In a multinational state different national identities can coexist or compete: for example, in Britain English nationalism, Scottish nationalism, and Welsh nationalism exist and are held together by British nationalism.^[21] Nationalism is often connected to separatism because a nation is considered to achieve completeness through its independence.^[22]

Throughout history, numerous nations declared their independence, but not all succeeded in establishing a state. Even today, there are active autonomy and independence movements around the world. The claim of the stateless nations to self-determination is often denied due to geopolitical interests and increasing globalization of the world.^{[23][24][25][26]} Stateless nations sometimes show solidarity with other stateless nations and maintain diplomatic relations.^[27][28]

Unionism vs separatism

Not all ethnic groups claim to be a nation or aspire to be a separate state. Some of them see themselves as part of the multinational state they are located in and believe that their interests are well represented in it. The favoring of a united single state is associated with unionism (such as Pakistani nationalism, Indian nationalism, and Belgian nationalism) ^{[citation needed]}). In many countries, unionism is also encouraged by governments and separatism is considered illegal.

List of stateless nations

The following is a list of ethnic and national groups where there exist notable independence movements as evidenced by standalone Wikipedia articles.

States made bold under the "homeland" column are countries of the respective ethnic groups which are native to them and still host the majority (more than half) of their population.

People	Flag	Languages	Language family[a]	Predominant religion	Population	Continent	States	Homeland[b]	Irredentist movement	Notes
Tamils[29][30][31][32]		Tamil language	Dravidian languages	Hinduism (mostly Shaivism)	77,000,000	Asia	India, Sri Lanka	Tamil Nadu and Tamil Eelam	Tamil nationalism, Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism, Greater Tamil Nadu, Sri Lankan Civil War, TNRT, TNLA, LTTE, TGTE, Vaddukoddai Resolution	Historically occupied Tamilakam, the Jaffna Kingdom and the Vanni chieftaincies. Seeks more regional autonomy for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu or form a sovereign nation as Dravida Nadu. Demand for autonomy in the Northern and Eastern Provinces or total secession from Sri Lanka.[33]
Adivasi[34][35]		Various tribal languages	Austroasiatic, Dravidian, Indo-Aryan	Indigenous religions, Hinduism, Christianity	104,000,000 (Scheduled Tribes in India)	Asia	India	Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, etc.	Autonomy movements in regions like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh	Indigenous tribes of India, with demands for land rights and greater political representation within the country and/or calls for independence.
Cantonese[36][37]		Cantonese	Sino-Tibetan languages	Chinese folk religion, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity (Protestantism and Roman Catholicism)	68,000,000	Asia	China	Guangdong	Cantonese nationalism	Historically occupied the Nanyue kingdom.
Kurds[38]		Kurdish languages, (originally) Arabic, Turkish, Persian (assimilation)	Iranian languages	Islam (Sunni, Shia, Alevi), Zoroastrianism, Yarsanism, Yazidism	30,000,000–45,000,000[39][40]	Asia	Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria (homeland), Germany (largest diaspora)	Kurdistan	Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish–Turkish conflict, Kurdish-Iranian conflict, Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, and Kurdish–Syrian conflict, 2017 Kurdistan Region independence referendum	Regional autonomy achieved in Iraqi Kurdistan and Rojava.[41] Data rough due to censuses not taking ethnicity in homeland countries.
Oromo people[42]		Oromo	Cushitic languages	Christian, Muslim, Waaqeffanna	41,693,650 [43]	Africa	Ethiopia, Kenya	Oromia	Oromo conflict
Yoruba people[38]		Yoruba language	Volta-Congo languages	Christianity, Islam, Yoruba religion	35,000,000[44][45]	Africa	Nigeria, Benin and Togo, Ghana	Yorubaland	Oodua Peoples Congress
Igbo people[46]		Igbo, English	Volta-Congo languages	Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism with significant Protestant minorities), Indigenous beliefs	30,000,000[47]	Africa	Nigeria (almost exclusively)	Igboland	Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, Indigenous People of Biafra	Attempted secession from Nigeria in 1967 sparked the Nigerian Civil war.
Shanghainese[48]		Shanghainese	Sino-Tibetan languages	Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Christianity (Protestantism and Roman Catholicism)	20,000,000	Asia	China	Shanghai	Shanghai National Party	Historically occupied the Shanghai International Settlement.
Occitan people[49]		Occitan, French, Italian, Spanish	Romance languages	Roman Catholicism	16,000,000	Europe	France, Monaco, Italy and Spain (Val d'Aran)	Occitania	Occitan nationalism (Occitan Party, Partit de la Nacion Occitana, Libertat)	Seek self-determination, greater autonomy or total secession from France.
Assamese people[50][51][52]		Assamese language	Indo-Aryan languages	Hinduism	15,000,000[53]	Asia	India	Assam	Assam separatist movements, ULFA Insurgency in Northeast India	Seeks greater regional autonomy for natives of Assam or total secession from India.[54]
Uyghur people[55][56]		Uyghur language	Turkic languages	Sunni Islam	15,000,000[57]	Asia	China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan	East Turkestan (Uyghuristan)	Irredentism is politically fragmented (East Turkestan Liberation Organization, East Turkestan independence movement)	Limited autonomy in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Hazaras		Hazaragi dialect of Persian Language	Iranian Languages	Islam mostly Shia	10,000,000-14,000,000	Asia	Afghanistan	Hazaristan	Persecution of Hazaras	Hazara nationalism
Zulu people ^[citation needed]		Zulu language	Volta-Congo languages	Christianity, Zulu religion	12,159,000	Africa	South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Eswatini	KwaZulu-Natal	Inkatha Freedom Party	Limited autonomy in the KwaZulu-Natal region, which maintains a traditional Zulu king.
Romani people[58]		Romani language	Indo-Aryan languages	Christianity, Islam, Hinduism	12,000,000[59]	Worldwide, mostly Eastern Europe and Americas		Originally North India;[60]Romanistan (proposed country)		The Romani people are a non-territorial nation.
Kongo people ^[citation needed]		Kongo language, Lingala, Portuguese, French	Volta-Congo languages	Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), African Traditional Religion	10,000,000	Africa	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Angola	Kongo	Kongo nationalism, Bundu dia Kongo	Historically occupied the independent Kingdom of Kongo.
Baloch people ^[citation needed]		Balochi	Iranian languages	Sunni Islam	10,000,000[61]	Asia	Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan	Balochistan	Balochistan conflict, Baloch nationalism	Seek to establish an independent sovereign state for the Baloch people, separate from Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Andalusians ^[citation needed]		Andalusian Spanish, English (in Gibraltar)	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	9,500,000	Europe	Spain, Gibraltar	Andalusia	Andalusian nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Catalans[62][63]		Catalan, Occitan	Romance languages	Roman Catholicism, Agnosticism	8,500,000[64]	Europe	Spain, Italy, Andorra and France	Catalan Countries	Catalan independence movement, Catalan nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Québécois[65]		French	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	8,215,000	North America	Canada	Quebec	Quebec sovereignty movement, Quebec nationalism	The total population of the Province of Quebec is 8.2 million, of which over 80% are French speakers.
Hongkongers[66][67][68]		Hong Kong Cantonese, Hong Kong English	Sino-Tibetan languages	Christianity (Protestantism and Roman Catholicism), Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Taoism, Islam	7,498,100[69]	Asia	China	Hong Kong	Hong Kong nationalism, Hong Kong independence movement	Limited autonomy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Maya peoples ^[citation needed]		Mayan languages	Mayan languages	Christianity (Catholicism), Maya religion	7,000,000	South America	Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador	Mesoamerica	Pan-Maya movement, Rigoberta Menchú, Zapatista Army of National Liberation	Historically occupied the Maya civilization.
Tibetan people ^[citation needed]		Tibetan language, Chinese language	Sino-Tibetan languages	Buddhism	7,000,000[70]	Asia	China, India, Nepal	Tibet	Tibetan independence movement	Limited autonomy in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Historically occupied the Tibetan Empire.
Riffian people ^[citation needed]		Riffian language, Arabic	Afroasiatic	Islam	6,000,000[71]	Africa	Morocco and Spain	Rif	Rif War, Rif Republic	95% of the land is controlled by Morocco with the rest being controlled by the Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla as autonomous cities.
Kashmiri people ^[citation needed]		Kashmiri language	Indo-Aryan languages	Islam	5,600,000	Asia	India, Pakistan and China	Kashmir	Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir	Administered by India (Kashmir Valley, Jammu, Ladakh), Pakistan (Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan) and China (Aksai Chin).
Valencians ^[citation needed]		Catalan, Spanish	Romance languages	Roman Catholicism[72]	5,111,706	Europe	Spain	Valencian Community	Valencian nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Moro people ^[citation needed]		Filipino language, other Philippine languages		Islam	5,100,000	Asia	Philippines	Muslim Mindanao	Moro autonomy	The Moro people of Muslim Mindanao has since been granted autonomy as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region with the adoption of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
Circassians ^[citation needed]		Circassian language, Russian	Circassian languages	Islam	5,000,000	Europe	Russia	Circassia	Russo-Circassian War, Circassian nationalism	95–97% of Circassians were killed or exiled by Russia during the Circassian genocide.[73]
Venetian people^[citation needed]		Venetian language	Romance languages	Catholicism	5,000,000 (est.)	Europe	Italy	Veneto	Venetian nationalism	Many groups seek for total independence from Italy, while some just want more autonomy and recognition of Venetian language and people. Historically occupied the independent Republic of Venice.
Sicilian people[74]		Sicilian, Italian, Gallo-Italic of Sicily, Arbëresh	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	5,000,000 (only Sicily)	Europe	Italy	Sicily	Sicilian nationalism, Sicilian Action Movement	Regional autonomy in Sicily.
Breton People		Breton, Gallo, French,	Celtic languages	Roman Catholicism	4,800,000	Europe	France	Brittany	Breton nationalism	Seek self-determination, greater autonomy or total secession from France.
Hmong people ^[citation needed]		Hmong language	Hmong-Mien Languages	Animism	4,000,000	Asia	Laos, China, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand	Hmong ChaoFa Federated State	Insurgency in Laos
Kabyle people ^[citation needed]		Kabyle language, Algerian Arabic	Berber languages	Islam	4,000,000[75]	Africa	Algeria	Kabylia	Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylie, Provisional Government of Kabylia
Rohingya ^[citation needed]		Rohingya language		Islam	3,600,000	Asia	Myanmar	Rohang State	Rohingya conflict Rohingya genocide	The Rohingyas are not recognized as a native ethnic group by Burmese government.[76]
Afrikaners ^[citation needed]		Afrikaans		Christianity (mainly Protestantism)	3,500,000	Africa	South Africa and Namibia	Western Cape, Volkstaat	Afrikaner Nationalism, Freedom Front, Cape independence, Cape Independence Party	Afrikaners are historically an ethno-racial group (although some today deracialize the identity to include Afrikaans-speaking Coloured people). Demand autonomy or total secession from South Africa. Historically occupied the Dutch Cape colony but did expand elsewhere into the once independent Boer republics.
Assyrians[77]		Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Turoyo, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic	Semitic languages	Christianity (Chaldean Catholicism Syriac Christianity)	3,300,000[78]	Asia	Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey	Assyria, Beth Nahrain (Mesopotamia)	Assyrian nationalism, Assyrian independence movement	Historically occupied the Assyrian empire.
Basque people[63]		Basque, French, Spanish	Language isolate	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	3,000,000[79]	Europe	France and Spain	Basque Country	Basque nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Bodos		Bodo	Sino-Tibetan languages	Hinduism, Christianity	3,000,000	Asia	India	Assam (Bodoland Territorial Region)	Bodoland movement	Seek a separate state or homeland (Bodoland) within India. Some factions demand independence.
Iraqi Turkmen people ^[citation needed]		Turkish language, Azerbaijani language		Islam	3,000,000	Asia	Iraq	Turkmeneli	Iraqi Turkmen Front	Not to be confused with Syrian Turkmen of Latakia or Central Asian Turkmens of Turkmenistan who share only their ethnonym.[80]
Welsh people[63]		Welsh, English	Celtic languages	Christianity (Protestantism, Catholic minority)	3,000,000	Europe	United Kingdom	Wales	Welsh independence, Welsh nationalism, Meibion Glyndŵr, Plaid Cymru	Regional autonomy in Wales. Historically occupied the independent kingdoms of Wales (Gwynedd, Powys, Dyfed, Seisyllwg, Morgannwg, and Gwent).
Galician people[63]		Galician language, Spanish	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	2,800,000	Europe	Spain	Galicia	Galician nationalism and Galician Regionalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain. Historically occupied the Kingdom of Galicia.
Aragonese people ^[citation needed]		Aragonese language, Spanish	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	2,278,000 (Spain only)^[citation needed]	Europe	Spain	Aragon	Aragonese nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain. Historically occupied the Kingdom of Aragon.
Meitei people ^[citation needed]		Meitei language	Sino-Tibetan languages	Hinduism	2,500,000	Asia	India	Imphal Valley, Manipur	UNLF, PLA, Insurgency in Manipur, Anglo-Manipur War	Historically occupied the Kingdom of Manipur.
Chechen people ^[citation needed]		Chechen language, Russian		Islam	2,000,000	Europe	Russia	Chechnya	Chechen insurgency, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria	Regional autonomy in Chechnya.
Naga people ^[citation needed]		Tibeto-Burman dialects / Nagamese creole		Christianity	2,000,000	Asia	India	Nagaland	Naga National Council, Insurgency in Northeast India	Seeks greater regional autonomy or complete separatation from India.
Pastusos [es][81]		Andean Spanish	Romance languages	Roman Catholicism	1,700,000-1,900,000	South America	Colombia and Ecuador	Estado Soberano del Sur [es]	Decimistas	Loyal to Spanish Monarchy during Colombian War of Independence; it annexed to Ecuador in 1830-1832 and 1840. It tried to establish a federal state in late 19th Century.
Sardinian people[82][83][49][84]		Sardinian, Corso-Sardinian, Italian, Catalan, Ligurian	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	1,661,521	Europe	Italy	Sardinia	Sardinian nationalism	National devolution, further autonomy or total secession from Italy. Sardinians are a recognised minority ethnic group in Italy.
Ryukyuan people ^[citation needed]		Ryukyuan, Japanese		Buddhism	1,600,000[85]	Asia	Japan	Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu independence movement	Historically occupied the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Frisians ^[citation needed]		Frisian, Dutch, German, Danish	Germanic Languages	Christianity and Paganism (Protestantism and Asatru)	1,125,000	Europe	Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany	Frisia	Frisian National Party, Groep fan Auwerk	The creation of a new Frisian state. Historically occupied the Frisian Kingdom.
Ahwazi Arabs ^[citation needed]		Arabic, Persian (assimilation)	Semitic languages	Shia Islam	1,320,000[86]	Asia	Iran	Al Ahwaz	Arab separatism in Khuzestan Democratic Solidarity Party of Ahwaz	Ahwazi includes 30 tribes which see themselves as a distinct Arab nation.[87] Seek self-determination, greater autonomy or total secession from Iran.
Friulian people^[citation needed]		Friulian	Romance languages	Catholicism	2,000,000 (est.)	Europe	Italy	Friuli	Friuli Movement	Friuli is an autonomous region of Italy, but there are also other views as to what status it should have. Friulians are a recognised minority ethnic group in Italy.
Tuareg people ^[citation needed]		Tuareg language		Islam	1,200,000	Africa	Mali and Niger	Azawad	National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, Tuareg rebellion (2012), Northern Mali conflict	National devolution, further autonomy or total secession from Mali.
Mapuche ^[citation needed]		Mapudungun		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	1,000,000[88]	South America	Argentina and Chile	Wallmapu	Mapuche authonomous movement
Asturian people ^[citation needed]		Asturian language, Spanish	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	1,925,000 (2020)	Europe	Spain and Portugal	Asturias	Asturian nationalism	See also Nationalisms and regionalisms of Spain.
Lezgins ^[citation needed]		Lezgian		Islam	800,000+	Europe	Russia, Azerbaijan	Lezgistan	Lezgin Nationalism	Unification of the Lezgin people in Azerbaijan and Dagestan (Russia).
Fur people ^[citation needed]		Fur, Arabic		Islam	800,000[89]	Africa	Sudan	Darfur	War in Darfur, SLM/A	Historically occupied the Sultanate of Darfur.
Māori people ^[citation needed]		Māori, English		Christianity with native	750,000	Oceania	New Zealand	New Zealand	Māori protest movement
Macanese[90]		Macanese Cantonese, Macanese Portuguese	Sino-Tibetan languages	Chinese folk religion, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism)	678,800	Asia	China	Macau	Macau independence movement	Limited autonomy in the Macau Special Administrative Region.
Karakalpaks ^[citation needed]		Karakalpak language		Islam	620,000	Asia	Uzbekistan	Karakalpakstan	Karakalpak Nationalism	Regional autonomy in Karakalpakstan.
Hawaiian people ^[citation needed]		Hawaiian language		Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism) with native	527,000	Oceania	United States	Hawaii	Hawaiian sovereignty movement	Historically occupied the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Moravians ^[citation needed]		Czech (Moravian), Slovak		Traditionally Roman Catholicism presently Irreligion	525,000[91][92]	Europe	Czech Republic and Slovakia	Moravia	Moravians	Historically occupied Great Moravia.
Silesian People		Silesian (includes Silesian German)German, Czech, Polish	Slavic languages	Catholicism	500,000	Europe	Germany, Poland, Czechia	Silesia	Silesian Autonomy Movement, Silesian Independence Movement	First appeared on maps around 100BC under Germanic tribes, later becoming Polish under Mieszko the 1st at around 1000AD and moving between The Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Germany, Czechia and Poland for the next 1000 years but were strongly Polonized due to heavy restrictions from Poland in the 20th Century. Further, forming separatist organizations could land you in jail for even 25 Years.
Ogoni people ^[citation needed]		Ogoni language		Christianity with native	500,000	Africa	Nigeria	Ogoniland	Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People
Crimean Tatars		Crimean Tatar, Russian, Ukrainian		Islam	500,000	Europe	Ukraine	Crimea	Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Tatars in Republic of Crimea Deportation of the Crimean Tatars	After Ukrainian independence in 1991, Crimea became an autonomous republic within Ukraine, after being invaded and annexed by Russia in 2014. The Crimean Tatars began seeking autonomy.[93]
Sahrawi people[94]		Hassaniya Arabic (native), Berber languages (native), Modern Standard Arabic (written only), and Spanish (lingua franca)		Islam (Sunni Islam (Maliki), Sufism)	500,000[95]	Africa	Morocco, Algeria, Mauretania	Western Sahara	Western Sahara conflict, Polisario Front, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	Partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and partially occupied by Morocco.
Chams ^[citation needed]		Cham language		Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism	400,000	Asia	Vietnam	South Central Coast	United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, Cham rights movement[96]	Historically occupied the Kingdom of Champa. The Cham in Vietnam are only recognized as a minority, and not as an indigenous people by the Vietnamese government their indigeneity to the region.
Corsican people ^[citation needed]		Corsican, French, Ligurian, Italian	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholicism	322,120	Europe	France	Corsica	Corsica Libera	Territorial collectivity in France.
Navajo ^[citation needed]		Navajo language, Navajo language, Navajo Sign Language		Navajo Traditional, Christianity (principally Roman Catholicism)	300,460	America	United States	Navajo Nation	Navajo Wars	Regional autonomy on the Navajo Nation.
Lakota people ^[citation needed]		Lakota, English		Christianity with native	170,000[97]	North America	United States	Lakotah	Sioux Wars, Lakota Freedom Movement	Live on several autonomous Native American reservations.
Sami people ^[citation needed]		Sami languages, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Russian		Christianity (principally Lutheran), Animism	80,000 (est.)[98]	Europe	Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden	Sapmi	Sámi politics	Have their own Parliaments in Norway, Sweden, and Finland but Sami groups usually seek more territorial autonomy.
Inuit ^[citation needed]		Inuit languages, Danish, English, Russian		Christianity with native	135,991	North America	Inuit Nunangat	Greenland Referendum	Semi-autonomous rule in Greenland with autonomy within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Yupik peoples ^[citation needed]		Yupik languages, English, Russian		Christianity with native	35,567 (est.)	Asia and America	Russia and the United States	Siberia and Alaska	Calista Corporation, Bristol Bay Native Corporation
Pamiris ^[citation needed]		Pamir languages		Islam	135,000[99]	Asia	Tajikistan, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan	Pamir	Pamiri nationalism, Lali Badakhshan party, Tajikistani Civil War	Regional autonomy in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region
Faroese people ^[citation needed]		Faroese language, Danish		Christianity (principally Lutheran)	66,000	Europe	Denmark	Faroe Islands	Faroese independence movement	Regional autonomy in Faroe Islands.
Sorbs ^[citation needed]		Sorbian language, German		Christianity (Roman Catholicism)	60,000–70,000 (est.)	Europe	Germany	Lusatia	Domowina	Divided into Upper Sorbs and Lower Sorbs.
Scanians		Skånska, Svenska, Danska	Germanic languages	Lutheran Christians	100,000	Europe	Sweden	Skåneland	Skånepartiet	Was an autonomous part of Danmark until 1658 when it became part of Sweden after the treaty of Roskilde.
Raizals		San Andrés–Providencia Creole, English	Germanic languages	Christianity (Baptism)	30,000	North America	Colombia	Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina	Archipelago Movement for Ethnic Native Self-Determination [es]
Lombard people		Lombard language	Romance languages	Christianity (Roman Catholic, Ambrosian Rite)	3,500,000 (est.)	Europe	Italy, Switzerland	Lombardy (historical region)	Lombard nationalism, Pro Lombardy Independence, Lombard League
Ladin people		Ladin language	Romance languages	Christianity (Catholic Church)	35,000	Europe	Italy	Ladinia		Recognised ethnic minority in Italy.
Karen (Kayin)		Karenic languages	Sino-Tibetan languages	Buddhism, Christianity	4000000	Asia	Myanmar, Thailand	Kayin State	Karen National Union
Shan		Shan language	Kra-Dai languages	Buddhism	5000000	Asia	Myanmar	Shan State	Restoration Council of Shan State Shan State Progressive Party Peace and Solidarity Committee	Historically occupied Federated Shan States
Arakanese (Rakhine)		Rakhine language	Sino-Tibetan languages	Buddhism	4000000	Asia	Myanmar	Rakhine State	United League of Arakan	Historically occupied Kingdom of Mrauk U
Mon		Mon language	Austroasiatic languages	Buddhism	2600000	Asia	Myanmar	Mon State		Historically occupied Hanthawaddy Kingdom
Chin		Kuki-Chin languages	Sino-Tibetan languages	Christianity	1500000	Asia	Myanmar, India	Chin State State of Chinland	Chin Brotherhood Alliance Chinland Council
Pa-O		Pa-O language	Sino-Tibetan languages	Buddhism	1200000	Asia	Myanmar	Shan State	Pa-O National Organization Pa-O National Liberation Organization
Jingpo (Kachin)		Jingpo language	Sino-Tibetan languages	Christianity	1500000[100]	Asia	Myanmar, China	Kachin State	Kachin Independence Organization
Palaung (Ta'ang)		Palaung language	Austroasiatic languages	Buddhism	557000	Asia	Myanmar	Shan State	Palaung State Liberation Front
Danu		Danu language	Sino-Tibetan languages	Buddhism	255477	Asia	Myanmar	Shan State
Lahu		Lahu language	Sino-Tibetan languages	Animism, Buddhism, Christianity	1000000	Asia	China, Myanmar, Thailand	Yunnan province
Karenni (Kayah)		Karenni language	Sino-Tibetan languages	Buddhism, Christianity	358000	Asia	Myanmar	Kayah State	Karenni State Interim Executive Council

See also

• Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum
• Diaspora
• Ethnic nationalism
• European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
• Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
• List of active autonomist and secessionist movements
• List of federally recognized tribes
• List of First Nations peoples
• List of organizations that self-identify as Native American tribes
• Local ethnic nationalism (China)
• Minzu (anthropology)
• Multinational state
• Non-FIFA international football
• Self-determination
• Sovereignty
• Stateless person
• Stateless society
• Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization

Notes

1. Can also help with understanding the cultural/ethnic proximity with other people of that paternal language group, but not necessarily. The largest language family is not recommended, as a large number of cells would contain similar content.
2. Proposed or historical homeland desired.

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Sources

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External links

• Map of European Stateless Nations, published by the advocacy group Eurominority
• United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities