Modern multinational or multiethnic states Multinational state

1 modern multinational or multiethnic states

1.1 americas

1.1.1 canada
1.1.2 bolivia


1.2 asia

1.2.1 india
1.2.2 indonesia
1.2.3 nepal
1.2.4 sri lanka
1.2.5 afghanistan
1.2.6 pakistan
1.2.7 malaysia
1.2.8 people s republic of china


1.3 europe

1.3.1 russian federation
1.3.2 belgium
1.3.3 bosnia , herzegovina
1.3.4 france
1.3.5 montenegro
1.3.6 norway
1.3.7 serbia
1.3.8 spain
1.3.9 united kingdom


1.4 africa

1.4.1 kenya
1.4.2 nigeria
1.4.3 south africa

modern multinational or multiethnic states

the cia world factbook provides list of ethnic makeup of every country in world.

americas
canada

whether canada should described multinational ongoing topic in academia , popular discourse. current policy of federal government canada bilingual—english , french both official languages—and multicultural. in 2006, house of commons of canada voted in favor of government business no. 11, states québécois form nation within united canada .

bolivia

since 2010, under presidency of evo morales, bolivia has been officially defined plurinational state, recognizes national distinctiveness of various indigenous peoples.

asia

many asian countries recognize multiple ethnic groups:

india

india has more 2,000 ethnic groups, , every major religion represented, 4 major language families (indo-european, dravidian, austroasiatic, , sino-tibetan) , language isolate (nihali).

each state , union territory of india has 1 or more official languages, , constitution of india recognizes in particular 21 scheduled languages . recognizes 212 scheduled tribal groups, constitute 7.5% of country s population.

india has muslim-majority state (jammu , kashmir) , muslim-majority union territory (lakshadweep); 3 christian-majority states (meghalaya, mizoram, , nagaland); , sikh-majority state (punjab). of states based on ethnicity, including tamil nadu (tamil), andhra pradesh (telugu), odisha (odia), west bengal (bengali), maharashtra (marathi), punjab (punjabi), haryana (haryanvi), kerala (malyali), , bihar (bihari).

furthermore, several indian states ethnically, religiously, , linguistically diverse. karnataka home tulu , kannada people; jammu , kashmir consists of hindu-majority jammu, muslim-majority kashmir, , buddhist-majority ladakh; , assam includes assamese, bodo, , karbi people.

indonesia

there on 300 ethnic groups in indonesia

nepal

nepal not have majority ethnic group, , society multiethnic, multireligious, , multilingual. aside country s indigenous people, nepalese descendants of migrants kashmir, greater nepal, tibet, india, , parts of myanmar , china s yunnan province.

khas , mongoloids populate hilly areas of nepal, while madhesis, diverse group of indian origin, live in southeast. indigenous tharu people first settlers of terai region, before arrival of madhesis. himalayas sparsely populated above 3,000 m (9,800 ft), north of mountains, in central , western nepal, ethnic sherpas , tamangs inhabit high, semi-arid valleys. kathmandu valley, in middle hill region, constitutes small fraction of nation s area densely populated, 5 percent of nation s population.

sri lanka

sri lanka inhabited sinhalese, sri lankan tamils, indian tamils, moors, veddas, burghers, , other small ethnic groups.

afghanistan

afghanistan has no ethnic majority, although pashtuns estimated account on 45% of population. under sovereign governance of pashtun rulers, term afghan changed ethnonym pashtuns demonym citizen of afghanistan, regardless of ethnic affiliation. change incorporated constitution, making resemble of multinational state. however, irredentist disputes on pakistan s pashtun lands have continued.

other ethnic groups in afghanistan include tajiks, hazaras, uzbeks, aimaqs, turkmens, , balochs. government gives equal status pashto , dari official languages.

pakistan

present-day pakistan arose out of pakistan movement, demanded separate state muslims of british raj. movement based on two-nation theory put forward muhammad ali jinnah: idea hindus , muslims in british india represented not different religious communities distinct nations, , hence that, in event of indian independence, should divided 2 nation states. jinnah (known in pakistan quaid-e-azm , meaning great leader ) outlined theory follows:

it extremely difficult appreciate why our hindu friends fail understand real nature of islam , hinduism. not religious in strict sense of word, are, in fact, different , distinct social orders, , dream hindus , muslims can ever evolve common nationality, , misconception of 1 indian nation has troubles , lead india destruction if fail revise our notions in time. hindus , muslims belong 2 different religious philosophies, social customs, literatures. neither intermarry nor interdine and, indeed, belong 2 different civilizations based on conflicting ideas , conceptions. aspect on life , of life different. quite clear hindus , mussalmans derive inspiration different sources of history. have different epics, different heroes, , different episodes. hero of 1 foe of other and, likewise, victories , defeats overlap. yoke 2 such nations under single state, 1 numerical minority , other majority, must lead growing discontent , final destruction of fabric may built government of such state.

this movement culminated in creation of pakistan in 1947 through partition of india. urdu promoted national language of south asian muslims. however, pakistan remains ethnically diverse. punjabis largest language group, @ 45 percent of population, not make absolute majority. furthermore, 8 percent of pakistanis speak national language, urdu, mother tongue. result, many nationalist movements oppose two-nation theory have emerged, arguing pakistan not linguistically diverse state multinational one, , that, therefore, each ethnolinguistic group of pakistan distinct nation. common grievances of these movements include idea punjabis dominate pakistan politically , economically, marginalizing other groups, , establishment of urdu country s sole official language form of cultural imperialism ignores heritage of pakistan s diverse peoples.

the successful of these movements bengali nationalism, led creation of bengali-speaking nation-state of bangladesh. movement asserted urdu s official status gave unfair advantage muhajirs (most of whom speak urdu mother tongue) , punjabis (whose mother tongue, punjabi, similar urdu, , many of whom educated in urdu under british rule). bengalis feared marginalized despite demographic strength as, @ time, largest ethnic group of pakistan. these grievances culminated in secession of east bengal (which had been part of administrative unit of east pakistan) , creation of bangladesh.

today, nationalist movements within pakistan include of sindhis, pashtuns, balochs, mohajirs, , kashmiris. members of these movements assert islam cannot considered sole basis nationhood, , pakistan therefore multinational state. demands range increased autonomy or transformation of pakistan federation, recognition of language rights non-urdu-speaking populations, outright secession.

despite fact punjabis seen dominant ethnic group in pakistan, both economically , politically, there small punjabi movement asserts punjabi language has been unfairly subordinated urdu , supports reestablishment of cultural , economic links east punjab in india.

malaysia

when formed on 16 september 1963, malaysia comprised 4 independent, self-governing nations: malaya, singapore, sabah, , sarawak. in 1965, singapore seceded federation. today, malaya, sabah, , sarawak each have own ethnic majority. generally, however, malaysia considered have 3 major ethnic groups: malays, chinese, , indians. iban people majority in sarawak, while sabah dominated kadazan-dusun, murut, , bajau peoples. malay primary national language, followed english. in sabah , sarawak, english official language, although many locals speak dialect of malay.

people s republic of china

although population of china dominated numerically han chinese, government recognizes 56 ethnic groups. fifty-five of 56 groups account less 10 percent of population.

europe

bosnia , herzegovina , montenegro european states no ethnic majority, many others have ethnic minorities form majority within province or region (see multilingual countries , regions of europe).

russian federation

russia has more 160 ethnic groups , indigenous peoples. largest population ethnic russians, slavs eastern orthodox religious traditions, while tatars , bashkirs predominantly muslim. russia home buddhist populations, such nomadic buryats , kalmyks; shamanistic peoples of siberia , far north; finno-ugric peoples of russian northwest , volga region; korean inhabitants of sakhalin; , peoples of north caucasus.

out of total of more 100 languages spoken in russia, 27 have status of official languages, spoken being russian. more 3 percent of population speaks tatar.

belgium

the territory of belgium equally divided between 2 nations of flanders , wallonia. led political unrest throughout 19th , 20th centuries, , in aftermath of difficult 2007–08 belgian government formation, belgian media envisaged partition of belgium potential solution.

bosnia , herzegovina

bosnia , herzegovina consists of federation of bosnia , herzegovina (fbih), republika srpska (rs), , brčko district (bd).

bosnia , herzegovina home 3 ethnic constituent peoples : bosniaks (50.11%), serbs (30.78%), , croats (15.43%). country s political divisions created dayton agreement, recognized second tier of government comprising 2 entities: federation of bosnia , herzegovina (mostly bosniaks , croats) , republika srpska (mostly serbs), each governing half of state s territory. third region, brčko district, governed locally. today, 3 ethnic groups have equal constitutional status on entire territory of bosnia , herzegovina. country has bicameral legislature , three-member presidency composed of 1 member of each major ethnic group.

france

in order maintain nation state, france not recognize national identity or language other french in territory. however, many of current , former territories—alsace, brittany, corsica, flanders, moselle, northern catalonia, occitania, savoy, , basque country—were not culturally french until francized in late 19th century. according wikileaks, former prime minister michel rocard told american ambassador france, craig roberts stapleton, in 2005, france created destroying 5 cultures: breton, occitan, alsatian, corsican, , flemish.

montenegro

a map showing predominant ethnic group in each municipality of montenegro of 2011.

montenegro multiethnic state in no ethnic group forms majority. preamble of constitution of montenegro identifies numerous nationalities—montenegrins, serbs, bosniaks, albanians, muslims, croats, , others—as citizens of civic , democratic state. largest ethnic groups montenegrins (45%), serbs (28.7%), bosniaks (8.6%), albanians (4.9%), , muslims (3.3%).

the official language montenegrin, serbian, bosnian, albanian, , croatian in official use. in 2011 census, serbian common mother tongue (42.88%), montenegrin second (36.97%), , bosnian third (5.33%).

norway

official policy states norway founded on territory of 2 peoples, norwegians , samis. in addition, forest finns, kvens, jews, romani, , norwegian , swedish travellers recognized national minorities.

serbia

nineteen ethnic groups officially recognized national minorities in serbia. serbs largest ethnic group in country, constituting 83.3 percent of population (excluding kosovo). largest national minorities hungarians, roma, , bosniaks, , there significant populations of croats, montenegrins, albanians, slovaks, romanians, vlachs, rusyns, gorani, macedonians, , bulgarians. since 2002, minorities have been entitled organize own national councils. through councils, members of national minorities can exercise rights in spheres of culture, education, information, , official use of own languages , scripts.

vojvodina multiethnic autonomous province in northern serbia, more 26 ethnic groups , 6 official languages.

spain

definitions of ethnicity , nationality in spain politically fraught, particularly since transition francoist spain kingdom of spain in 1970s, when local regionalisms , peripheral nationalisms became major part of national politics.

the term spanish people (spanish: pueblo español) defined in spanish constitution of 1978 political sovereign, i.e., citizens of kingdom of spain. same constitution, in preamble, speaks of peoples , nationalities of spain (pueblos y nacionalidades de españa) , respective cultures, traditions, languages, , institutions.

the cia world factbook (2011) describes spain s ethnic makeup composite of mediterranean , nordic types , instead of usual breakdown of ethnic composition. reflects formation of modern kingdom of spain accretion of numerous independent iberian realms: andalusia, aragon, asturias, castile, catalonia, galicia, león, majorca, navarre, , valencia. thus, today s spaniards include andalusians, aragonese, asturians, basques, cantabrians, castilians, catalans, galicians, leonese, , valencians, , individual members of these groups may or may not consider them distinct nations.

united kingdom

the 4 countries of united kingdom.

while office national statistics describes united kingdom nation state, other people, including former prime minister gordon brown, describe multinational state. term home nations used describe national teams represent 4 nations of united kingdom: england, northern ireland, scotland, , wales.

the kingdom of great britain created on 1 may 1707 political union of kingdom of england , kingdom of scotland. unification result of treaty of union, agreed on 22 july 1706 , ratified parliament of england , parliament of scotland in 1707 acts of union. 2 kingdoms, along kingdom of ireland, had been in personal union result of 1603 union of crowns, in james vi, king of scots, inherited kingdoms of england , ireland , moved court edinburgh london. however, until 1707, 3 had remained separate political entities separate political institutions.

prior acts of union, kingdoms of england , scotland both had minority populations of own called nations. wales , cornwall part of kingdom of england (wales had been officially incorporated england laws in wales acts 1535 , 1542, although had been de facto english territory since 13th century; cornwall had been conquered during anglo-saxon period). northern isles, norse-derived culture, part of scotland, having been pledged norway security against payment of dowry margaret of denmark , integrated in 1471. when kingdom of great britain created, many of inhabitants retained sense of english, scottish, or welsh identity. many of them spoke languages other english: principally scottish gaelic, scots, welsh, cornish, , norn.

almost century later, kingdom of ireland merged kingdom of great britain form united kingdom of great britain , ireland under 1800 acts of union. united kingdom became union of kingdoms of england, ireland, , scotland. eventually, disputes within ireland on terms of irish home rule led partition of island: irish free state received dominion status in 1922, while northern ireland remained part of uk. result, in 1927, formal title of uk changed current form, united kingdom of great britain , northern ireland.

political, ethnic, , religious tensions between irish , british groups in northern ireland culminated in troubles. period of armed conflict erupted in 1966 between loyalist paramilitaries, seeking maintain country s position in uk, , republican paramilitaries, seeking unify ireland 32-county independent republic. british army played key role. following deaths of on 3,500 people, peace treaty reached in 1998, although divisions remain high in areas , sporadic violence still occurs.

the end of 20th century brought major governing changes, establishment of devolved national administrations northern ireland, scotland, , wales following pre-legislative referendums.

the scottish national party, current party of government in scotland, committed goal of independent scotland within european union, opposed leadership of next 3 largest parties in scottish parliament. referendum on scottish independence held in september 2014, , electorate rejected it. plaid cymru, welsh party, has similar ambition wales. several parties in northern ireland, including second- , third-largest, seek establish independent united ireland, , have repeatedly called border polls. d hondt system used here means either first minister or deputy first minister 1 of these parties.

africa

most countries in sub-saharan africa former colonies and, such, not drawn along national lines, making them multinational states.

kenya

kenya home more 70 ethnic groups, populous of kikuyu, @ 20 percent of population. together, 5 largest groups—the kikuyu, luo, luhya, kamba, , kalenjin—account 70 percent of kenyans.

nigeria

the largest nation in nigeria hausa-fulani, accounts 29 percent of country s population. however, group encompasses 2 distinct ethnicities: hausa , fulani (or fulbe). while both ethnicities found in large areas of west africa, in nigeria classified single ethnic group political expediency.

south africa

present-day south africa successor state union of south africa, formed 4 british colonies in 1910.

south africa has eleven official languages (afrikaans, english, ndebele, pedi, sotho, swazi, tsonga, tswana, venda, xhosa, , zulu) , formally recognizes several other languages spoken minority nations. speakers of each language may of different nationality—for example, members of ndebele , tswana nations speak zulu, , groups such thembu , hlubi speak xhosa.

as case throughout africa, nations of south africa correspond specific regions. however, large cities such johannesburg home mixture of national groups, leading melting pot of cultures. government has continuously attempted unify country s various nationalities , foster south african identity.

many of nationalities found in south africa found in bordering countries, , in cases, more members live in south africa in country group originated. example, there more sotho, tswana, , swazi people living in south africa in bordering nation states of lesotho, botswana, , swaziland, respectively. in past, has led conflict. lesotho still claims large swathes of south africa, , attempts have been made cede south african territory botswana , swaziland. 3 states intended incorporated in union of south africa, plans never came fruition because of power struggles within apartheid governments.