Editing Tibet Autonomous Region (section)

== Demographics ==
{{Further|Chinese settlements in Tibet}}{{Historical populations
|title       = Historical population
|footnote    = [[Xikang|Xikang Province]] / Chuanbian SAR was established in 1923 from parts of [[Tibet under Qing rule|Tibet]] / [[Lifan Yuan]]; dissolved in 1955 and parts were incorporated into Tibet AR.
|1912<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:1912年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo2.html|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032922/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo2.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>  |1,160,000
|1928<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:1928年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo3.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032924/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo3.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> |372,000
|1936–37<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:1936–37年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo4.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032925/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo4.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> |372,000
|1947<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:1947年全国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo5.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913053600/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo5.htm|archive-date=13 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> |1,000,000
|1954<ref name="census1954">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16767.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于第一次全国人口调查登记结果的公报|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805174810/http://www.stats.gov.cn/TJGB/RKPCGB/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16767.htm|archive-date=5 August 2009}}</ref> |1,273,969
|1964<ref name="census1964">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16768.htm |script-title=zh:第二次全国人口普查结果的几项主要统计数字|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914173158/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16768.htm|archive-date=14 September 2012}}</ref> |1,251,225
|1982<ref name="census1982">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16769.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九八二年人口普查主要数字的公报|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510075429/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16769.htm|archive-date=10 May 2012}}</ref> |1,892,393
|1990<ref name="census1990">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16772.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九九〇年人口普查主要数据的公报|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619002216/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16772.htm|archive-date=19 June 2012}}</ref> |2,196,010
|2000<ref name="census2000">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020331_15435.htm |script-title=zh:现将2000年第五次全国人口普查快速汇总的人口地区分布数据公布如下|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829052024/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020331_15435.htm|archive-date=29 August 2012}}</ref> |2,616,329
|2010<ref name="census2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722516.htm|title=Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727021210/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722516.htm|archive-date=27 July 2013}}</ref> |3,002,166
|2020<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/china-society-census-takeaways-idUSL4N2MY2I6|title = FACTBOX-Key takeaways from China's 2020 population census|work = Reuters|date = 11 May 2021}}</ref> |3,648,100
}}
With an average of about two people per square kilometer, Tibet has the lowest [[population density]] among any of the Chinese province-level administrative regions, mostly due to its harsh and rugged terrain.{{cn|date=January 2025}} In 2023, only 38.9 percent of Tibet's population was urban, with 61.1 being rural, amongst the lowest in China, though this is significantly up from 22.6 percent in 2011.<ref name="GDPdata" />

In 2020 the Tibetan population was three million.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2021-09-02 |title=How Much Does Beijing Control the Ethnic Makeup of Tibet? |url=https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/how-much-does-beijing-control-ethnic-makeup-of-tibet |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=ChinaFile |language=en}}</ref> The ethnic [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]], comprising 86.0% of the population,<ref name=":1" /> mainly adhere to [[Tibetan Buddhism]] and [[Bön]], although there is an [[Tibetan Muslims|ethnic Tibetan Muslim community]].<ref>Hannue, ''Dialogues Tibetan Dialogues Han''</ref> Other Muslim ethnic groups such as the [[Hui people|Hui]] and the [[Salar people|Salar]] have inhabited the region. There is also a tiny Tibetan [[Christians|Christian]] community in eastern Tibet. Smaller tribal groups such as the [[Monpa people|Monpa]] and [[Lhoba]], who follow a combination of [[Tibetan Buddhism]] and spirit worship, are found mainly in the southeastern parts of the region.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Historically, the population of Tibet consisted of primarily ethnic [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]]. According to tradition the original ancestors of the Tibetan people, as represented by the six red bands in the Tibetan flag, are: the Se, Mu, Dong, Tong, Dru and Ra. Other traditional ethnic groups with significant population or with the majority of the ethnic group reside in Tibet include [[Bai people]], [[Blang people|Blang]], [[Bonans|Bonan]], [[Dongxiang people|Dongxiang]], [[Han Chinese|Han]], [[Hui people]], [[Lhoba]], [[Lisu people]], [[Miao people|Miao]], [[Mongols]], [[Monguor people|Monguor (Tu people)]], [[Monpa people|Menba (Monpa)]], [[Mosuo]], [[Nakhi]], [[Qiang people|Qiang]], [[Nu people]], [[Pumi people|Pumi]], [[Salar people|Salar]], and [[Yi people]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

According to the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]] published between 1910 and 1911, the total population of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, including the lamas in the city and vicinity, was about 30,000, and the permanent population also included Chinese families (about 2,000).<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Lhasa |volume=16 |page=531 |first1=Henry |last1=Yule |authorlink1=Henry Yule  |first2=Laurence |last2=Waddell |authorlink2=Laurence Waddell }}</ref>

Most [[Han Chinese|Han people]] in the Tibet Autonomous Region (12.2% of the total population)<ref name=":1" /> are recent migrants, because all of the Han were [[population transfer|expelled]] from "Outer Tibet" ([[Ü-Tsang|Central Tibet]]) following the [[British invasion of Tibet|British invasion]] until the establishment of the PRC.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Grunfeld |first = A. Tom |title = The Making of Modern Tibet |pages = 114–119 |year = 1996  |publisher = East Gate Books}}</ref> As of 2010, only 8% of [[Han Chinese|Han people]] have [[Hukou system|household registration]] in TAR, others keep their [[Hukou system|household registration]] in place of origin.<ref name="西藏自治区常住人口超过300万">{{cite web |script-title=zh:西藏自治区常住人口超过300万 |url=http://www.xizang.gov.cn/rkmz/51886.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216101632/http://www.xizang.gov.cn/rkmz/51886.jhtml |archive-date=16 February 2013 |access-date=6 May 2011 |website=Xizang gov }}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=January 2025}}

Tibetan scholars and exiles claim that, with the 2006 completion of the [[Qingzang Railway]] connecting the Tibet Autonomous Region to Qinghai Province, there has been an "acceleration" of Han migration into the region.<ref>{{cite web |last = Johnson |first = Tim |url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/31913.html |title = Tibetans see 'Han invasion' as spurring violence &#124; McClatchy |publisher = Mcclatchydc.com |date = 28 March 2008 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091115110855/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/31913.html |archive-date = 15 November 2009 }}</ref> The [[Central Tibetan Administration|Tibetan government-in-exile]] based in northern India asserts that the PRC is promoting the migration of Han workers and soldiers to Tibet to marginalize and assimilate the locals.<ref name="fifth">{{cite web |url = http://www.tibet.net/en/print.php?id=236&articletype=articale |publisher = [[Central Tibetan Administration]] |title = Population Transfer Programmes |year = 2003 |access-date = 29 July 2010 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20100730030042/http://www.tibet.net/en/print.php?id=236&articletype=articale |archive-date = 30 July 2010 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Tibet}}

{{Bar box
|float = right
|title = Religion in Tibet (2012 estimates)<ref name="IRFR2012">[https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208434.pdf Internazional Religious Freedom Report 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328164846/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208434.pdf |date=28 March 2017 }}  by the US government. p. 20: «''Most ethnic Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, although a sizeable minority practices Bon, an indigenous religion, and very small minorities practice Islam, Catholicism, or Protestantism.  Some scholars estimate that there are as many as 400,000 Bon followers across the Tibetan Plateau.  Scholars also estimate that there are up to 5,000 ethnic Tibetan Muslims and 700 ethnic Tibetan Catholics in the TAR.''»</ref>
|bars =
{{Bar percent|[[Tibetan Buddhism]]|Yellow|78.5}}
{{Bar percent|[[Bon]]|SlateBlue|12.5}}
{{Bar percent|[[Chinese folk religion]]|FireBrick|8.58}}
{{Bar percent|[[Islam]]<ref name="2010-Islam">Min Junqing. ''The Present Situation and Characteristics of Contemporary Islam in China''. JISMOR, 8. [https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf 2010 Islam by province, page 29] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427140204/https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf |date=27 April 2017 }}. Data from: Yang Zongde, ''Study on Current Muslim Population in China'', Jinan Muslim, 2, 2010.</ref>|Green|0.4}}
{{Bar percent|[[Christianity]]|DodgerBlue|0.02}}
}}
[[File:Tibet-6048 - Largest Sitting Maitreya Buddha.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Maitreya]] Buddha statue of [[Tashilhunpo Monastery]] in [[Shigatse]]]]

The main religion in Tibet has been [[Buddhism]] since its introduction in the 8th century AD. Before the arrival of Buddhism, the main religion among Tibetans was an indigenous [[shamanism|shamanic]] and [[animism|animistic]] religion, [[Bon]], which now comprises a sizeable minority and influenced the formation of [[Tibetan Buddhism]].

According to estimates from the International Religious Freedom Report of 2012, most Tibetans (who comprise 91% of the population of the Tibet Autonomous Region) are adherents of Tibetan Buddhism, while a minority of 400,000 people are followers the native Bon or folk religions which share the image of [[Confucius]] ([[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]]: ''Kongtse Trulgyi Gyalpo'') with [[Chinese folk religion]], though in a different light.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Te-Ming TSENG |author2=Shen-Yu LIN |url=http://www.eastasia.ntu.edu.tw/chinese/data/4-2/4-2-7/4-2-7.pdf |trans-title=The Image of Confucius in Tibetan Culture |script-title=zh:《臺灣東亞文明研究學刊》第4卷第2期(總第8期) |date=December 2007 |pages=169–207 |website=[[National Taiwan University]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104518/http://www.eastasia.ntu.edu.tw/chinese/data/4-2/4-2-7/4-2-7.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016  }}</ref><ref>Shenyu Lin. ''[http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_07.pdf The Tibetan Image of Confucius] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913230941/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_07.pdf |date=13 September 2017 }}''. Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines.</ref> According to some reports, the government of China has been promoting the Bon religion, linking it with [[Confucianism]].<ref>China-Tibet Online: [http://eng.tibet.cn/2010zj/xw/201411/t20141105_2088487.html Confucius ruled as a "divine king" in Tibet]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 4 November 2014</ref>

Most of the [[Han Chinese]] who reside in Tibet practice their native [[Chinese folk religion]] ({{zh|labels=no |c=神道 |p=shén dào |l=Way of the Gods}}). There is a Guandi Temple of Lhasa ({{lang|zh-hans|拉萨关帝庙}}) where the Chinese god of war [[Guan Yu|Guandi]] is identified with the cross-ethnic Chinese, Tibetan, Mongol and Manchu deity [[Gesar]]. The temple is built according to both Chinese and Tibetan architecture. It was first erected in 1792 under the [[Qing dynasty]] and renovated around 2013 after decades of disrepair.<ref>World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2145 Lhasa, Tibet: Guandi temple was inaugurated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090522/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2145 |date=4 March 2016 }}.</ref><ref>China-Tibet Online: [http://eng.tibet.cn/2010wh/xw/201303/t20130313_1869432.html Tibet's largest Guandi Temple gets repaired]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 13 March 2013</ref>

Built or rebuilt between 2014 and 2015 is the Guandi Temple of Qomolangma ([[Mount Everest]]), on Ganggar Mount, in [[Tingri County]].<ref>World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2454 Dingri, Tibet: Cornerstone Laying Ceremony being Grandly Held for the Reconstruction of Qomolangma Guandi Temple] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107214706/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2454 |date=7 November 2017 }}.</ref><ref>World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2456 Wuhan, China: Yang Song Meets Cui Yujing to Discuss Qomolangma Guandi Temple] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094252/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2456 |date=4 March 2016 }}.</ref>

There are four mosques in the Tibet Autonomous Region with approximately 4,000 to 5,000 [[Islam|Muslim]] adherents,<ref name="IRFR2012" /> although a 2010 Chinese survey found a higher proportion of 0.4%.<ref name="2010-Islam" /> There is [[Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Yerkalo|a Catholic church]] with 700 parishioners, which is located in the traditionally [[Catholic]] community of Yanjing in the east of the region.<ref name="IRFR2012" />

The American advocacy group [[Freedom House]] ranked the Tibet Autonomous Region as "not free" in their 2025 annual world report, giving the region a rating of -2 out of 40 for political rights and 2 out of 60 for civil liberties. This gives the region a total score of 0 out of 100, positioning it as one of the least free places on earth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tibet: Freedom in the World 2025 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/tibet/freedom-world/2025 |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Freedom House |language=en}}</ref>