Laos has an area of 85,000 square miles (220,000 km2) and contains a population of 6.4 million. Almost all ethnic or "lowland" Lao (Lao Loum and Lao Lom) are followers of Theravada Buddhism; however, they constitute only 40-50% of the population. The remainder of the population belongs to at least 48 distinct ethnic minority groups. Most of these ethnic groups (30%) are practitioners of Satsana Phi ("deities' religion[s]"), with beliefs that vary greatly among groups.