The People’s Republic of China is a multi-ethnic unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. In addition to the 56 official nationalities, there are some Chinese who classify themselves as members of unrecognized nationalities.

In general, the system of 56 nationalities is applied only within mainland China although Taiwanese aborigines are classified as one of the 56 nationalities - Gaoshan. Hong Kong and Macau do not use this ethnic classification system, and figures by the PRC government do not include Hong Kong and Macau.

The official PRC point of view is that all of these above nationalities are part of a broader “civil ethnicity” known as Zhonghua Minzu.