Mongolic peoples

East Asian-originated ethnolinguistic groups Geographic distribution of the Mongolic languages A map of the places that Mongolic peoples live. The orange line shows the extent of the Mongol Empire in the late 13th century. The red areas are the places dominated by the Mongolic groups. The Mongolic peoples are a collection of East Asian-origin ethnic groups in East Asia, North Asia, and Eastern Europe, who speak Mongolic languages. Their ancestors are referred to as Proto-Mongols. The largest contemporary Mongolic ethnic group is the Mongols. Mongolic-speaking people, although distributed in a wide geographical area, show a high genetic affinity to each other, and display continuity with ancient Northeast Asians. List of ethnic groups Contemporary ethnic groups Ethnonym Population Primary regions Religion Mongols 10,000,000 Mongolia, Inner Mongolia (China), various Mongolian autonomous divisions (China) Tibetan Buddhism, Tengrism (Mongolian shamanism) Dongxiangs 775,000 Dongxiang Autonomous County, Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County (China) Sunni Islam Buryats 556,000 Buryatia, Agin-Buryat Okrug, Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug (Russia) Tibetan Buddhism, Orthodox Christian