Ethnic distribution in Mekong river basin

Mekong River, the upper reaches of which are Lancang River in China, and the lower reaches are in Vietnam, which is called Jiulong River, because there are nine estuaries in Vietnam flowing out of the South China Sea.

With a total length of 4,908 kilometers, Mekong River is the most important transnational water system in Asia, the seventh largest river in the world and the fourth largest river in Asia. The main source is Zhaqu, which originated in Zaduo County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. It flows through Yunnan Province, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam in China and flows into the South China Sea south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Among them, 3 1km from Nan 'an estuary to Nanla estuary is the boundary river between China and Myanmar; Laos, the main stream of Mekong River in Laos is 777.4 kilometers; The border between Laos and Myanmar is 234 kilometers; The border river between Laos and Thailand is 976.3 kilometers; Cambodia 501.7 km; Vietnam Mekong Delta is 229.8 kilometers. Except China and Myanmar, this basin is a member of Mekong River Commission.

The downstream residents account for about 1/3 of the population of the four countries along the river. Almost all people are engaged in agriculture, and rice is the main crop. The most densely populated areas are the Delta and the Nakhon Ratchasima Plateau. The population of some cities has been growing rapidly, mainly through emigration to cities. There is no racial relationship between the populations in the basin. Ethnic minorities include Han and Tibetan in the upper Mekong River, including Karen and Miao, and Khmer, Zhan, Thai, Meng and Vietnamese in the lower Mekong River. Vietnamese are concentrated in the delta, while Khmer and Thai are widely distributed in the downstream.