China is the most populous nation on earth more than 1 billion people that live in China, according to the Asia Society, Many of the minority groups live in Outer China representing 56 ethnic minority groups, although the distribution has changed slightly over the years. The largest group is the Han Chinese, with about 900 million people. Other groups include the Tibetans, the Mongols, the Manchus, the Naxi, and the Hezhen, which is smallest group, with fewer than 2,000 people.