The current borders of the Tibet Autonomous Region were generally established in the 18th century[9] and include about half of culturalTibet, which was at times independent and at times either under the Mongol-ledYuan dynasty orQing dynasty rule. The TAR spans more than 1,200,000 km2 (460,000 sq mi) and is the second-largestprovince-level division of China by area. Due to its harsh and rugged terrain, it has a total population of only 3.6 million people or approximately 3 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.8/sq mi).
In the 6th century, the 39'th Tibetan king,Namri Songtsen, began to annex neighboring tribes by force, he was later assassinated by a coup, and his sonSongtsen Gampo succeeded him and quelled rebellions in various regions. Songtsen Gampo inherited his father's will and successively conquered and annexed other kingdoms such as "Songbo" in theYushu area ofQinghai,Sumpa in the west, "Kangguo" (called "Dongnwu Kingdom" in theOld Book of Tang) in Qianduo (nowChamdo), "Fuguo (Chinese:附国)" inGanzi, "Fanlu (Chinese:蕃绿)" inLitang, andTuyuhun in Qinghai. Songtsen Gampo also led a large army to attackZhangzhung in 642. It took him three years to conquer Zhangzhung and sentKhyungpo Pungse Sutse as the governor of Zhangzhung. Zhangzhung then became a vassal state of the Tibetan Empire.
Yarlung kings founded theTibetan Empire in 618. By the end of the 8th century, the empire reached its greatest extent. After a civil war, the empire broke up in 842. The royal lineagefragmented and ruled over small kingdoms such asGuge andMaryul. The Mongolsconquered Tibet in 1244 and later ruled it under theYuan Dynasty but granted the region a degree of political autonomy. TheSakya lamaDrogön Chögyal Phagpa became a religious teacher toKublai Khan in the 1250s and was made the head of the Tibetan region administrationc. 1264.[citation needed]
From the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912 until 1950,Tibet wasde facto independent although still claimed by the successorRepublic of China. The Republican regime, preoccupied withwarlordism (1916–1928),civil war (1927–1949) andJapanese invasion (1937–1945), was not able to exert authority in Central Tibet. Other regions of ethno-cultural Tibet in easternKham andAmdo had been underde jure administration of the Chinese dynastic government since the mid-18th century;[19] they form parts of the provinces ofQinghai,Gansu,Sichuan andYunnan.[citation needed]
The Tibet Autonomous Region is located on theTibetan Plateau, the highest region on Earth. In northern Tibet elevations reach an average of over 4,572 metres (15,000 ft).Mount Everest is located on Tibet's border withNepal.
China's provincial-level areas ofXinjiang,Qinghai andSichuan lie to the north, northeast and east, respectively, of the Tibet AR. There is also a short border withYunnan Province to the southeast. The countries to the south and southwest areMyanmar,India,Bhutan, andNepal. China claimsArunachal Pradesh administered by India as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It also claims some areas adjoining the Chumbi Valley that are recognised as Bhutan's territory, and some areas of easternLadakh claimed by India. India and China agreed to respect theLine of Actual Control in a bilateral agreement signed onSeptember 7, 1993.[26][non-primary source needed]
Physically, the Tibet AR may be divided into two parts: the lakes region in the west and northwest and the river region, which spreads out on three sides of the former on the east, south and west. Both regions receive limited amounts of rainfall as they lie in therain shadow of theHimalayas; however, the region names are useful in contrasting theirhydrological structures, and also in contrasting their different cultural uses:nomadic in the lake region andagricultural in the river region.[27] On the south the Tibet AR is bounded by the Himalayas, and on the north by a broad mountain system. The system at no point narrows to a single range; generally there are three or four across its breadth. As a whole the system forms the watershed between rivers flowing to the Indian Ocean — theIndus,Brahmaputra andSalween and its tributaries — and the streams flowing into the undrained salt lakes to the north.[citation needed]
The lake region extends from thePangong Tso Lake inLadakh,Lake Rakshastal,Yamdrok Lake andLake Manasarovar near the source of theIndus River, to the sources of theSalween, theMekong and theYangtze. Other lakes includeDagze Co,Namtso, andPagsum Co. The lake region is a wind-swept Alpine grassland. This region is called theChang Tang (Byang sang) or 'Northern Plateau' by the people of Tibet. It is 1,100 km (680 mi) broad and covers an area about equal to that of France. Due to its great distance from the ocean it is extremely arid and possesses no river outlet. The mountain ranges are spread out, rounded, disconnected, and separated by relatively flat valleys.[citation needed]
The Tibet AR is dotted over with large and small lakes, generally salt oralkaline, and intersected by streams. Due to the presence ofdiscontinuous permafrost over the Chang Tang, the soil is boggy and covered with tussocks of grass, thus resembling the Siberiantundra. Salt and fresh-water lakes are intermingled. The lakes are generally without outlet, or have only a smalleffluent. The deposits consist ofsoda,potash,borax and commonsalt. The lake region is noted for a vast number ofhot springs, which are widely distributed between the Himalayas and 34° N, but are most numerous to the west of Tengri Nor (northwest of Lhasa). So intense is the cold in this part of Tibet that these springs are sometimes represented by columns of ice, the nearly boiling water having frozen in the act of ejection.[citation needed]
The river region is characterized by fertile mountain valleys and includes theYarlung Tsangpo River (the upper courses of theBrahmaputra) and its major tributary, theNyang River, theSalween, theYangtze, theMekong, and theYellow River. TheYarlung Tsangpo Canyon, formed by a horseshoe bend in the river where it flows aroundNamcha Barwa, is the deepest and possibly longest canyon in the world.[28] Among the mountains there are many narrow valleys. The valleys ofLhasa,Shigatse,Gyantse and the Brahmaputra are free from permafrost, covered with good soil and groves of trees, well irrigated, and richly cultivated.[citation needed]
TheSouth Tibet Valley is formed by the Yarlung Tsangpo River during its middle reaches, where it travels from west to east. The valley is approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) long and 300 km (190 mi) wide. The valley descends from 4,500 m (14,760 ft) above sea level to 2,800 m (9,190 ft). The mountains on either side of the valley are usually around 5,000 m (16,400 ft) high.[29][30] Lakes here includeLake Paiku andLake Puma Yumco.[citation needed]
Xikang Province / Chuanbian SAR was established in 1923 from parts ofTibet /Lifan Yuan; dissolved in 1955 and parts were incorporated into Tibet AR.
With an average of about two people per square kilometer, Tibet has the lowestpopulation density among any of the Chinese province-level administrative regions, mostly due to its harsh and rugged terrain.[citation needed] In 2023, only 38.9 percent of Tibet's population was urban, with 61.1 being rural, amongst the lowest in China, though this is significantly up from 22.6 percent in 2011.[3]
In 2020 the Tibetan population was three million.[49] The ethnicTibetans, comprising 86.0% of the population,[49] mainly adhere toTibetan Buddhism andBön, although there is anethnic Tibetan Muslim community.[50] Other Muslim ethnic groups such as theHui and theSalar have inhabited the region. There is also a tiny TibetanChristian community in eastern Tibet. Smaller tribal groups such as theMonpa andLhoba, who follow a combination ofTibetan Buddhism and spirit worship, are found mainly in the southeastern parts of the region.[citation needed]
According to theEncyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition published between 1910 and 1911, the total population of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, including the lamas in the city and vicinity, was about 30,000, and the permanent population also included Chinese families (about 2,000).[51]
Tibetan scholars and exiles claim that, with the 2006 completion of theQingzang Railway connecting the Tibet Autonomous Region to Qinghai Province, there has been an "acceleration" of Han migration into the region.[54] TheTibetan government-in-exile based in northern India asserts that the PRC is promoting the migration of Han workers and soldiers to Tibet to marginalize and assimilate the locals.[55]
The main religion in Tibet has beenBuddhism since its introduction in the 8th century AD. Before the arrival of Buddhism, the main religion among Tibetans was an indigenousshamanic andanimistic religion,Bon, which now comprises a sizeable minority and influenced the formation ofTibetan Buddhism.
According to estimates from the International Religious Freedom Report of 2012, most Tibetans (who comprise 91% of the population of the Tibet Autonomous Region) are adherents of Tibetan Buddhism, while a minority of 400,000 people are followers the native Bon or folk religions which share the image ofConfucius (Tibetan:Kongtse Trulgyi Gyalpo) withChinese folk religion, though in a different light.[58][59] According to some reports, the government of China has been promoting the Bon religion, linking it withConfucianism.[60]
Most of theHan Chinese who reside in Tibet practice their nativeChinese folk religion (神道;shén dào; 'Way of the Gods'). There is a Guandi Temple of Lhasa (拉萨关帝庙) where the Chinese god of warGuandi is identified with the cross-ethnic Chinese, Tibetan, Mongol and Manchu deityGesar. The temple is built according to both Chinese and Tibetan architecture. It was first erected in 1792 under theQing dynasty and renovated around 2013 after decades of disrepair.[61][62]
There are four mosques in the Tibet Autonomous Region with approximately 4,000 to 5,000Muslim adherents,[56] although a 2010 Chinese survey found a higher proportion of 0.4%.[57] There isa Catholic church with 700 parishioners, which is located in the traditionallyCatholic community of Yanjing in the east of the region.[56]
The mainly state-funded American advocacy groupFreedom House ranked the Tibet Autonomous Region as "not free" in their 2025 annual world report, giving the region a rating of −2 out of 40 for political rights and 2 out of 60 for civil liberties. This gives the region a total score of 0 out of 100, positioning it as one of the least free places on earth.[65]
From the 1951Seventeen Point Agreement to 2003, life expectancy in Tibet increased from thirty-six years to sixty-seven years with infant mortality and absolute poverty declining steadily.[66]
Before theannexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in 1951, Tibet was ruled by a theocracy[67] and had a caste-like social hierarchy.[68] Human rights in Tibet prior to itsincorporation into the People's Republic of China differed considerably from those in the modern era. Due to tight control ofpress in mainland China, including the Tibet Autonomous Region,[69] it is difficult to accurately determine the scope of human rights abuses.[70]
When General SecretaryHu Yaobang visited Tibet in 1980 and 1982, he disagreed with what he viewed as heavy-handedness.[24]: 240 Hu reduced the number of Han party cadre, and relaxed social controls.[24]: 240
Beginning in 2006, 280,000 Tibetans who lived in traditional villages and as nomadic herdsmen have been forcefully relocated into villages and towns. In those areas, new housing was built and existing houses were remodelled to serve a total of 2 million people. Those living in substandard housing were required to dismantle their houses and remodel them to government standards. Much of the expense was borne by the residents themselves,[79] often through bank loans. Thepopulation transfer program, which was first implemented inQinghai where 300,000 nomads were resettled, is called "Comfortable Housing", which is part of the "Build a New Socialist Countryside" program. Its effect on Tibetan culture has been criticized by exiles and human rights groups.[79] Finding employment is difficult for relocated persons who have only agrarian skills. Income shortfalls are offset by government support programs.[80] It was announced that in 2011 that 20,000CCP cadres will be placed in the new towns.[79]
In general,Autonomous regions of China have some of the highest per capita government spending onpublic goods and services.[85]: 366 Providing public goods and services in these areas is part of a government effort to reduce regional inequalities, reduce the risk of separatism, and stimulate economic development.[85]: 366 Tibet has the highest amount of funding from the central government to the local government as of at least 2019.[85]: 370–371 As of at least 2019, Tibet has the largest total per capita government expenditure of any region in China, including onhealth care, the highest per capita government expenditure on education, and the second highest per capita government expenditure onsocial security and employment.[85]: 367–369
The Tibetans traditionally depended upon agriculture for survival. Since the 1980s, however, other jobs such as taxi-driving and hotel retail work have become available in the wake ofChinese economic reform. By 2023, its gross domestic product (GDP) stood at nearly 239.3 billion yuan (about 33.6 billion U.S. dollars), adding that the growth rates of the region's major economic indicators, including per capita disposable income, fixed asset investment, and total retail sales of consumer goods, all ranked first in China. The added value of the service sector accounted for 54.1 percent and contributed a 57.6 percent share to economic growth. Investment in fixed assets also grew rapidly last year, with investment in infrastructure up by 34.8 percent and investment in areas related to people's livelihoods up by 31.8 percent.[86][non-primary source needed] The region's GDP grew by an annual average of 9.5 percent from 2012 to 2023, about 3 percentage points higher than the China's national average.[87][non-primary source needed]
By 2022, the GDP of the region surpassed 213 billion yuan (US$31.7 billion in nominal), while GDP per capita reached CN¥58,438 (US$8,688 in nominal).[3] In 2022, Tibet's GDP per capita ranked 25th highest in China, as well as higher than any South Asian country exceptMaldives.[88] In 2008, Chinese news media reported that the per capitadisposable incomes of urban and rural residents in Tibet averaged (CN¥12,482 (US$1,798) and CN¥3,176 (US$457) respectively.[89]
While traditional agriculture and animal husbandry continue to lead the area's economy, in 2005 thetertiary sector contributed more than half of its GDP growth, the first time it surpassed the area's primary industry.[90][91][better source needed]
The collection ofcaterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis, known in Tibetan asYartsa Gunbu) in late spring / early summer is in many areas the most important source of cash for rural households. It contributes an average of 40% to rural cash income and 8.5% to the Tibet Autonomous Region's GDP.[92]
The re-opening of theNathu La pass (on southern Tibet's border with India) should facilitate Sino-Indian border trade and boost Tibet's economy.[93]
TheChina Western Development policy was adopted in 2000 by the central government to boost economic development in western China, including the Tibet Autonomous Region.[85]: 133 Because the central government permits Tibet to have a preferentially low corporate income tax rate, many corporations have registered in Tibet.[85]: 146
Foreign tourists were first permitted to visit the Tibet Autonomous Region in the 1980s. While the main attraction is thePotala Palace inLhasa, there are many other popular tourist destinations including theJokhang Temple,Namtso Lake, andTashilhunpo Monastery.[95] Nonetheless, tourism in TAR is still restricted for non-Chinese passport holders (including citizens of the Republic of China from Taiwan), and foreigners must apply for a Tibet Travel Permit (TTP) to enter the region, as well as Alien's Travel Permit (ATP) if travelling elsewhere in TAR outsideLhasa andNagqu[96]
In 2024, more than 63.89 million domestic and foreign tourists visited Xizang.[97]
Announced in 2010,Nagqu Dagring Airport was expected to become the world's highest altitude airport, at 4,436 meters above sea level.[102] However, in 2015 it was reported that construction of the airport has been delayed due to the necessity to develop higher technological standards.[103]
TheQinghai–Tibet Railway fromGolmud to Lhasa was completed on October 12, 2005. It opened to regular trial service on July 1, 2006. Five pairs of passenger trains run between Golmud and Lhasa, with connections onward to Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xining and Lanzhou. The line includes theTanggula Pass, which, at 5,072 m (16,640 ft) above sea level, is the world's highest railway.[citation needed]
^西藏概况(2007年) [Overview of Tibet (2007)] (in Chinese). People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region. 11 September 2008. Archived fromthe original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved18 December 2015.
^"What is Tibet? – Fact and Fancy", Excerpt fromGoldstein, Melvyn, C. (1994).Change, Conflict and Continuity among a Community of Nomadic Pastoralist: A Case Study from Western Tibet, 1950–1990. pp. 76–87.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Stein, R. A.Tibetan Civilization (1922). English edition with minor revisions in 1972 Stanford University Press, pp. 30-31.ISBN0-8047-0806-1 (cloth);ISBN0-8047-0901-7.
^Wylie, Turrell V. (2003), "Lama Tribute in the Ming Dynasty", in McKay, Alex (ed.),The History of Tibet: Volume 2, The Medieval Period: c. AD 850–1895, the Development of Buddhist Paramountcy, New York: Routledge, p. 470,ISBN978-0-415-30843-4.
^Wang, Jiawei; Nyima, Gyaincain (1997),The Historical Status of China's Tibet, Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, pp. 1–40,ISBN978-7-80113-304-5.
^Huaiyin Li (13 August 2019).The Making of the Modern Chinese State: 1600–1950. Abingdon: Routledge.ISBN9780429777899. Retrieved20 November 2022.[...] in 1720 through two military expeditions, the Qing put Tibet under its direct control by stationing a permanent garrison in Lhasa and appointing an Imperial Commissioner in Tibet to supervise the newly organized government [...]
^Grunfeld, A. Tom, The Making of Modern Tibet, M.E. Sharpe, p. 245.
^Gyatso, Tenzin, Dalai Lama XIV, interview, 25 July 1981.
^Goldstein, Melvyn C.,A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951, University of California Press, 1989, p. 812–813.
^A. Tom Grunfeld (30 July 1996).The Making of Modern Tibet. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-0-7656-3455-9.
^Goldstein, Melvyn C. (2005).The snow lion and the dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama (5. pr ed.). Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.ISBN978-0-520-21951-9.
^abcInternazional Religious Freedom Report 2012Archived 28 March 2017 at theWayback Machine by the US government. p. 20: «Most ethnic Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, although a sizeable minority practices Bon, an indigenous religion, and very small minorities practice Islam, Catholicism, or Protestantism. Some scholars estimate that there are as many as 400,000 Bon followers across the Tibetan Plateau. Scholars also estimate that there are up to 5,000 ethnic Tibetan Muslims and 700 ethnic Tibetan Catholics in the TAR.»
^abMin Junqing.The Present Situation and Characteristics of Contemporary Islam in China. JISMOR, 8.2010 Islam by province, page 29Archived 27 April 2017 at theWayback Machine. Data from: Yang Zongde,Study on Current Muslim Population in China, Jinan Muslim, 2, 2010.
^Samten G. Karmay,Religion and Politics: commentary, September 2008: "from 1642 the Ganden Potrang, the official seat of the government in Drepung Monastery, came to symbolize the supreme power in both the theory and practice of a theocratic government. This was indeed a political triumph that Buddhism had never known in its history in Tibet."
^Winkler D. 2008 Yartsa gunbu (Cordyceps sinenis) and the fungal commodification of rural Tibet. Economic Botany 62.3. See also Hannue,Dialogues Tibetan Dialogues Han
^https://www.xizang.gov.cn/zwgk/zfsj/ndtjgb/202504/t20250410_472331.html 2024年西藏自治区国民经济和社会发展统计公报, 全年接待国内外游客6389.10万人次 Statistical Communiqué on National Economic and Social Development of Xizang Autonomous Region in 2024, (Xizang) received 63.891 million domestic and international tourists throughout the year.
Dialogues Tibetan dialogues Han. [Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar]: Hannü. 2008.ISBN978-988-97999-3-9., travelogue from Tibet – by a woman who's been travelling around Tibet for over a decade,
Wilby, Sorrel (1988).Journey Across Tibet: A Young Woman's 1900-Mile Trek Across the Rooftop of the World. Chicago: Contemporary Books.ISBN0-8092-4608-2., hardcover, 236 pages.
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