Karen people

The Karen^{[lower-alpha 1]} (/kəˈrɛn/ (listen) kə-REN), also known as the Kayin, Kariang or Kawthoolese, are an ethnolinguistic group. They are an indigenous people of modern day south-east Myanmar and Thailand. Their languages trace their roots back to Proto-Sino-Tibetan, a direct ancestor of Mandarin.They are diverse in language and culture. Many of them follow Christianity, while others follow Buddhism. They are marginalised in Myanmar, where they are fighting against its armed forces for autonomy.

Karen

Karen woman in traditional attire, 1912
Total population
9,000,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Myanmar	3,604,000[2]
Thailand	1,000,000[3]
United States	215,000 (2018)[4]
Australia	11,000+[5]
Canada	4,515[6]–5,000[7]
India (Andaman and Nicobar Islands)	2,500[8]
Sweden	1,500
Languages
Karen languages, including S'gaw Karen, Pwo Karen, Karenni and Pa'O
Religion
Theravada Buddhism, Christianity, Animism, Karen folk religion

Notes

1. • S'gaw Karen: ကညီကလုာ်, pronounced [kɲɔklɯ]
   • Western Pwo: ၦဖျိၩ့ဆၨၩ
   • Eastern Pwo: ပ်ုဖၠုံဆိုဒ်
   • Burmese: ကရင်လူမျိုး, pronounced: [kəjɪ̀ɰ̃ lù mjó]
   • Thai: กะเหรี่ยง

References

1. "Karen Population world wide".
2. "Largest Ethnic Groups In Myanmar". Worldatlas.com. Reunion Technology. 18 July 2019.
3. "Karen people". Australian Karen Foundation. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
4. "Jobs and housing lure karen refugees to spread across minnesota". Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
5. "Burmese Community Profile" (PDF). dss.gov.au. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
6. Census Profile, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada, 8 February 2017
7. "Karen refugees find freedom, hope in Windsor". Archived from the original on 27 January 2015.
8. Maiti, Sameera. "The Karen – A Lesser Known Community of the Andaman Islands (India)". Man in India. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.517.7093.