There are more than ten ethnic groups in Tibet, including Tibetan, Moinba, Lhoba, Hui Sherpa and Han. Among them, Tibetans are the dominant inhabitants of Tibet, accounting for 92.2 percent of the whole population
Most Tibetans work as farmers and herdsmen. Tibetan Buddhism is the religion for the Tibetans. Tibetans traditionally wear long sleeved silk or cloth jackets which men top with loose robes and women with long sleeveless gowns which are tied at the waist with a sash. Married women frequently wear an apron with a multicolor design. Both women and men braid their hair and love wearing ornaments.
The Moinba have lived in Moinyu, Medog, Nyingchi and Cona counties. The Moinba do not have their language. Most Moinha people can speak and write Tibetan. They live on agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry, hunting and handicrafts-making. Both women and men dress in robes made of pulu (a woolen fabric). On their heads they wear a small brown-crowned, orange rimmed hat gapped in the front or a black felt cap. The women wear bracelets and earrings and other ornaments and men have a chopper hanging at their waists. Men and women alike enjoy drinking wine and dipping snuff. The Moinba diet is based on rice, corn, buckwheat and jizhaogu (glutinous highland millet) Most Moinha people adhere to Tibetan Buddhism; however, in some regions some people practice traditional shamanism.
The Lhoba people are mainly found in the Lhoyu region, Tibet. Most of the Lhoba are farmers. Men prefer wearing a wool woven sleeveless jacket that extends to the waist and round, helmet-like hat trimmed with bear fur. Women wear a short, round-collared, narrow-sleeved jacket and a tight tubular skirt that extends a little below the knee. From knee to ankle, the leg is wrapped d in cloth puttee. Corn, rice and buckwheat are staple foods.
Most of the Hui people living in Tibet today are descendants of the Muslims who moved from Gansu, Shaanzi, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces during the Qing Dynasty. Most Hui are the business people and handicrafts men. They speak and write Tibetan or Chinese fluently. The mosques can be mostly found in Lhasa.
The area like Zhangmu bordering with Nepal is densely populated by the Xiaerba who are noted for the gifted talent of high mountain climbing. They are the best guides for Mountain Everest climbing.
Many Han people started move to Tibet in the Qing Dynasty. Most of them were assimilated into the Tibetan ethnicity. Today, most Han people living in Tibet are technicians, teachers and the entrepreneurs of small business.