Some Issues on Ethnic Composition and Classification in Our Country Today

Abstract

Ethnic clasification in our country was officially conducted since the late 60s of the
20th century, chaired by the Institute of Anthropology under the Social Sciences Committee (now
the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences). On December 22, 1978, the Vietnam Social Sciences
Committee and the Central Ethnic Committee submitted a report to the Prime Minister on the
results of ethnic clasification. Authorized by the Government Council, on March 2, 1979, the
General Director of the General Statistics Office signed Decision No. 121-CCTK/PPCĐ
promulgating the "List of Vietnamese ethnic compositions" for unified use in the 1979 Population
Census as well as in regular statistical work and related fields. The list of Vietnamese ethnic
compositions is a great contribution of the Vietnam Social Sciences Committee and the Central
Ethnic Committee, directly the Institute of Anthropology. However, due to some subjective and
objective factors, our country still raises some issues about the ethnic names and ethnic composition
of some ethnic groups and local groups. Therefore, this article returns to discuss some contents
related to the names, ethnic composition and the work of ethnic clasification in our country today.