There are more than ten ethnic groups in Tibet, including Tibetan, Mongolian, Nu, Drung, Moinba, Lhoba, Hui, Naxi, Deng and Sherpa. Among them, Tibetans are the dominant inhabitants of Tibet, accounting for d92.2 percent of the local population.

The Tibetan ethnic group of China is noted for its diligence, bravery and long history. Tibetans live mainly in Tibet and also in some areas of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces. They have their own language and written script. Most Tibetan people are Buddhist. Their staple food is barley flour, and they like to drink butter tea, milk tea, barley wine, and eat beef and mutton. They do not eat odd-toed mammals. In ancient times Tibetan people buried their dead. Now they perform cremation, exposure burial and water burial.

The Moinba is an ancient ethnic group on the Tibet Plateau. Most Moinbas live in Moinyu in south Tibet, and he rest are scattered through Medog, Conag, Nyingchi and other counties. Moinbas have their own language but no written script, and the Tibetan language and script are widely used among them. Moinbas live on agriculture, but are also involved in animal husbandry, forestry, hunting and handicrafts. Their staple foods are rice, corn and buckwheat. Most Moinbas believe in Tibetan Buddhism. Primitive sorcery is also worshipped in some areas. Water burial is popular among Moinbas, ground burial, exposure burial and cremation are also conducted.

Most Lhoba people live in Lhoyu in southeastern Tibet, and a small number live in Mainling, Medog, Zayu and Lhunze. The Lhobas have their own language but no written script, although a small number know the Tibetan language and script. Lhobas live on agriculture. Their staple foods are corn, millet, rice and buckwheat.

The Hui people in Tibet are concentrated in Lhasa Xigaze and Qamdo. Most of them are engaged in trade, handicrafts and butchery. They use both Tibetan and Han characters in everyday life, and Urdu and Arabic for their religious rituals. Hui people are Islamic and have built mosques in Lhasa and other places.

The Deng people reside in Zayu County in Nyingchi Prefecture. They have their own language but no written script. The Dengs live on agriculture. Before liberation, the Dengs stills used the primitive slash-and-burn method. After liberation, with the help of the government most of them have moved out of forests and settled on the river valley.

The Sherpa people are concentrated in Lixin Township, Dinggye and Zhentang. They have their own language and use Tibetan script.

The emigration of Han people to Tibet can be date back to the Qing Dynasty. These days Han residents in Tibet are mostly technicians, workers, teachers, medical professionals and officials from other provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China.