Dai people
1962 photograph of a Dai girl weaving silk in Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 8 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Myanmar | 6,345,236 |
| Vietnam | 1,818,350 |
| China | 1,159,000 |
| Laos | 126,250 |
| Thailand | 145,236 |
| Languages | |
| Tai Lue, Tai Nuea, Tai Dam, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, Lao, Thai | |
| Religion | |
| Islam Theravada Buddhism and Dai folk religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Zhuang people, Shan people, Thai people, Lao people | |
The Dai people (Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; Tai Lü: ᨴᩱ/ᨴᩱ᩠ᨿ; Lao: ໄຕ; Thai: ไท; Shan: တႆး, [tai˥˩]; Tai Nüa: ᥖᥭᥰ, [tai˥]; Chinese: 傣族; pinyin: Dǎizú) are several Tai-speaking ethnic groups living in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of China's Yunnan Province. The Dai people form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. By extension, the term can apply to groups in Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar when Dai is used to mean specifically Tai Yai, Lue, Chinese Shan, Tai Dam, Tai Khao or even Tai in general. For other names, see the table below.