The Karen or Kayin people (Karen:Per Ploan Poe or Ploan in Poe Karen and Pwa Ka Nyaw or Kanyaw in Sgaw Karen; Burmese: ကညီကလုာ္; MLCTS: ka. rang lu myui:, pronounced: [kəjɪ̀ɴ lù mjó]; Thai: กะเหรี่ยง, Kariang or Yang), refer to a number of Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic groups which reside primarily in southern and southeastern Burma (Myanmar). The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people. A large number of Karen also reside in Thailand, mostly on the Thai–Burmese border.
The Karen are often confused with the Red Karen (or Karenni). The subgroup of the Karenni, the Padaung tribe from the border region of Burma and Thailand, are best known for the neck rings worn by the women of this group of people.
Some of the Karen, led primarily by the Karen National Union (KNU), have waged a war against the central Burmese government since early 1949. The aim of the KNU at first was independence. Since 1976 the armed group has called for a federal system rather than an independent Karen State.
The following contains a list of hill tribes of Thailand. Hill people live in the hills and mountains. There are hill people around the world, many of whom live in stone houses and herd goats, sheep or camelids or have small farms. Thailand is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. About 75% of the population is ethnically Thai, 14% is of Chinese origin, and 3% is ethnically Malay; the rest belong to minority groups including Mons, Khmers and various hill tribes.