The Tay/Thai is one of the largest language groups in Vietnam totalling about 3 million people. In the region they are related to the Shan in Myanmar and the Zhuang and Pu Yi in southern China in addition to the Thais and Laos.
The H'mong are the eighth largest ethnic minority in Vietnam with a total population of just under 600,000. Belonging to the Sino-Tibetan and specifically the H'mong-Dao language group, they settled widely over northern Vietnam but most densely along the Lao and Chinese borders.