View source for Tibet Autonomous Region

{{Short description|Autonomous region of China}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Tibet Autonomous Region
| native_name             = 
| settlement_type         = [[Autonomous regions of China|Autonomous region]]
| translit_lang1          = Chinese
| translit_lang1_type     = {{nobold|[[Simplified Chinese characters|Simplified Chinese]]}}
| translit_lang1_info     = {{lang|zh-Hans-CN|西藏自治区}}
| translit_lang1_type1    = {{nobold|[[Hanyu pinyin]]}}
| translit_lang1_info1    = {{transliteration|zh|Xīzàng Zìzhìqū}}
| translit_lang1_type2    = {{nobold|Abbreviation}}
| translit_lang1_info2    = XZ / {{lang|zh-Hans-CN|藏}} ({{transliteration|zh|Zàng}})
| translit_lang2          = Tibetan
| translit_lang2_type     = {{nobold|[[Tibetan script]]}}
| translit_lang2_info     = {{bo-textonly|བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས།}}
| translit_lang2_type1    = {{nobold|[[Tibetan pinyin]]}}
| translit_lang2_info1    = {{transliteration|bo|Poi Ranggyong Jong}}
| translit_lang2_type2    = {{nobold|[[Wylie transliteration|Wylie translit.]]}}
| translit_lang2_info2    = {{transliteration|bo|bod rang skyong ljongs}}
| image_skyline           = 布达拉宫.jpg
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = The [[Potala Palace]] in [[Lhasa]]
| image_map               = Tibet in China (claimed hatched) (+all claims hatched).svg
| mapsize                 = 275px
| map_caption             = Location of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China (territory claimed by China but controlled by India is striped)
| named_for               = 
| seat_type               = Capital<br />{{nobold|and largest city}}
| seat                    = [[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]]
| seat1_type              = 
| seat1                   = 
| parts_type              = Divisions<br />&nbsp;- [[Prefecture-level divisions of China|Prefecture-level]]<br />&nbsp;- [[County-level division|County-level]]<br />&nbsp;- [[Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Township level|Township-<br />level]]
| parts                   = <br />[[List of administrative divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region|7 prefectures]]<br />74 counties<br />699 towns and subdistricts
| government_type         = [[Autonomous regions of China|Autonomous region]]
| governing_body          = [[Tibet Autonomous Region People's Congress]]
| leader_title            = [[Party Secretary of Tibet|Party Secretary]]
| leader_name             = [[Wang Junzheng]]
| leader_title1           = Congress Chairman
| leader_name1            = [[Losang Jamcan]]
| leader_title2           = [[Chairman of Tibet|Government Chairman]]
| leader_name2            = [[Garma Cedain]]
| leader_title3           = [[Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference|Regional CPPCC]] Chairman
| leader_name3            = [[Pagbalha Geleg Namgyai]]
| leader_title4           = [[National People's Congress]] Representation
| leader_name4            = 24 deputies
| area_footnotes          = <ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.xizang.gov.cn/zrdl/51648.jhtml |date = 11 September 2008 |script-title = zh:西藏概况(2007年) |language = zh-Hans-CN|trans-title = Overview of Tibet (2007) |publisher = People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region |access-date = 18 December 2015 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222133742/http://www.xizang.gov.cn/zrdl/51648.jhtml |archive-date = 22 December 2015 }}</ref>
| area_total_km2          = 1228400
| area_rank               = [[List of Chinese administrative divisions by area|2nd]]
| elevation_max_m         = 8,848
| elevation_max_point     = [[Mount Everest]]
| population_total        = 3,648,100
| population_as_of        = 2020<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 May 2021|title=Communiqué of the Seventh National Population Census (No. 3)|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817188.html|access-date=11 May 2021|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]}}</ref>
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_rank         = [[List of Chinese administrative divisions by population|32nd]]
| population_density_rank = [[List of Chinese administrative divisions by population density|33rd]]
| demographics_type1      = Demographics
| demographics1_footnotes = <!-- for references: use <ref> tags -->
| demographics1_title1    = Ethnic composition
| demographics1_info1     = 86.0% [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]]<div style="padding-left: 0.5em;">12.2% [[Han Chinese|Han]]<br />0.8% others</div>
| demographics1_title2    = Languages and dialects
| demographics1_info2     = [[Standard Tibetan|Tibetan]], [[Mandarin Chinese]]

| demographics_type2      = [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] {{normal|(2023)}}<ref name="GDPdata">{{cite web|url=https://data.stats.gov.cn/english/easyquery.htm?cn=E0103|title=National Data|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China|China NBS]]|date=March 2024|access-date=June 22, 2024}} see also {{cite web|url=https://www.xizang.gov.cn/zwgk/zfsj/ndtjgb/202405/t20240509_415635.html|title=zh: 2023年西藏自治区国民经济和社会发展统计公报|publisher=xizang.gov.cn|date=9 May 2024|access-date=12 June 2024}} The average exchange rate of 2023 was CNY 7.0467 to US$1 {{cite press release | url=https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202402/t20240228_1947918.html| title=Statistical communiqué of the People's Republic of China on the 2023 national economic and social development| publisher=China NBS|date=February 29, 2024|access-date=June 22, 2024}}</ref>
| demographics2_title1    = Total
| demographics2_info1     = [[CN¥]] 239,267 million ([[List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP|31th]])
<br />[[US$]] 33,954 million
| demographics2_title2    = Per capita
| demographics2_info2     = CN¥ 65,642 ([[List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP per capita|22th]])
<br />US$ 9,315
| iso_code                = CN-XZ
| blank4_name_sec2        = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2022)
| blank4_info_sec2        = 0.648<ref name="SHDI">{{cite web |title=Human Development Indices (8.0)- China |url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/CHN/?levels=1+4&years=2022&interpolation=0&extrapolation=0 |access-date=23 September 2024 |website=Global Data Lab}}</ref> ([[List of Chinese administrative divisions by HDI|31st]]) – {{color|#FFA500|medium}}
| website                 = {{Official URL}} {{in lang|zh}}
| footnotes               = 
| official_name           = Xizang Autonomous Region
| subdivision_name        = [[China]]
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| title      = Tibet
| pic        = Tibet_(Chinese_and_Tibetan).svg
| piccap     = "Tibet" in Chinese (top) and Tibetan (bottom)
| picupright = 0.5
| c          = {{linktext|lang=zh|西藏}}
| l          = "Western [[Ü-Tsang|Tsang]]"
<!--Mandarin-->
| p          = Xīzàng
| w          = {{tone superscript|Hsi1-tsang4}}
| mi         = {{IPAc-cmn|x|i|1|.|z|ang|4}}
| gr         = Shitzanq
| bpmf       = ㄒㄧ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄗㄤˋ
| myr        = Syīdzàng
| xej        = ثِ‌زَانْ
<!--Yue/Cantonese-->
| j          = sai1 zong6
| y          = Sāi-johng
| ci         = {{IPAc-yue|s|ai|1|-|z|ong|6}}
<!--Others zh-->
| wuu        = Si<sup>平</sup>zaon<sup>去</sup>
| poj        = Se-chōng
| buc        = Să̤-câung
| teo        = Sai-tsăng
| h          = Sî-tshông
<!--Tibetan-->
| tib        = {{bo-textonly|བོད་}}
| wylie      = bod
| zwpy       = Poi
| lhasa      = {{IPA|bo|pʰø̀ʔ|}}
| order      = st
| altname    = Tibet Autonomous Region
| s2         = {{linktext|西藏自治区}}
| t2         = {{linktext|西藏自治區}}
<!--Mandarin-->
| p2         = Xīzàng Zìzhìqū
| w2         = {{tone superscript|Hsi1-tsang4 Tzu4-chih4-chʻü1}}
| gr2        = Shitzanq Tzyhjyhchiu
| mi2        = {{IPAc-cmn|x|i|1|.|z|ang|4|-|zi|4|.|zhi|4|.|qu|1}}
| bpmf2      = {{unbulleted list|ㄒㄧ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄗㄤˋ|ㄗˋ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄓˋ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄑㄩ}}
| myr2       = Syīdzàng Dz̀jr̀chyū
| xej2       = ثِ‌زَانْ زِجِ‌کِیُوِ
<!--Others zh-->
| j2         = sai1 zong6 zi6 zi6 keoi1
| wuu2       = Si<sup>平</sup>zaon<sup>去</sup> Zy<sup>去</sup>zy<sup>去</sup>chiu<sup>平</sup>
| poj2       = Se-chōng Chū-tī-khu
| buc2       = Să̤-câung Cê̤ṳ-dê-kṳ̆
| teo2       = Sai-tsăng Tsĕu-tī-khu
| h2         = Sî-tshông Tshṳ-tshṳ-khî
<!--Tibetan-->
| tib2       = {{bo-textonly|བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས།}}
| wylie2     = bod-rang-skyong-ljongs
| zwpy2      = Poi Ranggyong Jong
| showflag   = p
| mnc        = ᠸᠠᡵᡤᡳ<br />ᡩᡯᠠᠩ
| mnc_rom    = wargi Dzang
| t          = 
| s          = 
| lang1      = Mongolian
| lang1_content = {{MongolUnicode|ᠲᠢᠪᠧᠲ|style=max-height:5em; word-wrap:normal}}<br />Tibyet
| tp         = Sizàng
| tp2        = Sizàng Zìhjhìhcyu
| ci2        = {{IPAc-yue|s|ai|1|-|z|ong|6|-|z|i|6|-|z|i|6|-|k|eoi|1}}
}}
{{Contains special characters|Tibetan}}

The '''Tibet Autonomous Region''' ('''TAR'''),<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-01-07 |title=Tibet profile |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-16689779 |access-date=2025-04-16 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> often shortened to '''Tibet''' in English or '''Xizang''' in [[Pinyin|Hanyu Pinyin]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Top French museum apologises, agrees to restore name 'Tibet' in place of 'Xizang' |url=https://www.tibetanreview.net/top-french-museum-apologises-agrees-to-restore-name-tibet-in-place-of-xizang/ |access-date=21 February 2025 |work=[[Tibetan Review]] |date=26 September 2024}}</ref>{{NoteTag|{{zh|c=西藏|p=Xīzàng|l=Western [[Ü-Tsang|Tsang]]}}; {{bo|t=བོད་|z=Poi|w=bod}}, {{IPA|bo|pʰø̀ʔ}}{{pb}} "Xizang" has been the Chinese transliteration of [[Ü-Tsang|Ü-Tsang]] since the [[Qing dynasty]]. In December 2023, PRC government documents began using "Xizang" instead of "Tibet" as the English name for the autonomous region in order to distinguish it from the broader cultural [[Tibet]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Wong|first=Chun Han|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-doesnt-want-you-to-say-tibet-anymore-dd41cbb9|title=China Doesn't Want You to Say 'Tibet' Anymore|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|place=New York City|date=2024-01-05|access-date=2024-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Dang|first=Yuanyue|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3244176/chinese-state-media-drops-tibet-xizang-after-release-beijing-white-paper|title=Chinese state media drops 'Tibet' for 'Xizang' after release of Beijing white paper|newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|place=Hong Kong|date=2023-12-10}}</ref>}} is an [[Autonomous regions of China|autonomous region]] of the [[China|People's Republic of China]]. It was established in 1965 to replace the [[Tibet Area (administrative division)|Tibet Area]], a former administrative division of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]].

The current borders of the Tibet Autonomous Region were generally established in the 18th century<ref>"What is Tibet? – Fact and Fancy", Excerpt from {{cite book |last = Goldstein |first = Melvyn, C. |title = Change, Conflict and Continuity among a Community of Nomadic Pastoralist: A Case Study from Western Tibet, 1950–1990 |year = 1994 |pages = 76–87}}</ref> and include about half of [[Tibet|cultural Tibet]], which was at times independent and at times under Mongol or Chinese rule. The TAR spans more than {{convert|1200000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and is the second-largest [[Administrative divisions of China|province-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 {{convert|3|PD/km2|PD/sqmi}}.

==Names and etymologies==
{{Main|Etymology of Tibet}}
Tibet Autonomous Region is often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Hanyu Pinyin. The earliest official record of the word Xizang in the [[Qing Dynasty]] was in 1663 AD (eighth month of the second year of Kangxi). In the late [[Ming Dynasty]], there were also records of Xizang in Zheng Luo's memorials, the first of which was written during the Wanli period, and the second was written between 1590 AD and 1591 AD (the eighteenth and nineteenth years of Wanli). The term Xizang (西藏) was officially used in 1724 AD when the [[Imperial Stele Inscriptions of the Pacification of Tibet]] was erected in [[Lhasa]]. The inscriptions were writteen in Han (Xizang), Tibetan (Bod), Mancu (Wargi Dzang), and Mongol (Tobed) languages. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/125527070 | title=《御制平定西藏碑》The Imperial Stele Inscriptions of the Pacification of Tibet in Four Languages | work=西北民族论丛Northwest Ethnology Series | date=January 2015 | last1=Yangang | first1=S. H. I. }}</ref> The first known use of the noun Tibet is in 1827 which is after the publishment of the [[29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet]] in 1793. <ref>https://www.oed.com/dictionary/tibet_n The earliest known use of the noun Tibet is in the 1820s. OED's earliest evidence for Tibet is from 1827, in the writing of Walter Scott, poet and novelist.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%AC%BD%E5%AE%9A%E8%97%8F%E5%85%A7%E5%96%84%E5%BE%8C%E7%AB%A0%E7%A8%8B|website=zh.wikisource.org|title=欽定藏內善後章程/欽定藏內善後章程二十九條}}</ref>

== History ==
{{History of Tibet}}
{{Main|History of Tibet}}

[[Yarlung dynasty|Yarlung]] kings founded the [[Tibetan 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 lineage [[Era of Fragmentation|fragmented]] and ruled over small kingdoms such as [[Guge]] and [[Maryul]]. The Mongols [[Mongol conquest of Tibet|conquered Tibet]] in 1244 and later ruled it under the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan Dynasty]] but granted the region a degree of political autonomy. The [[Sakya (Tibetan Buddhist school)|Sakya]] lama [[Drogön Chögyal Phagpa]] became a religious teacher to [[Kublai Khan]] in the 1250s and was made the head of the Tibetan region administration {{circa | 1264}}.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

From 1354 to 1642, Central Tibet ([[Ü-Tsang]]) was ruled by a succession of dynasties from [[Nêdong (village)|Nêdong]], [[Shigatse]] and [[Lhasa]]. In 1642, the [[Ganden Phodrang]] court of the [[5th Dalai Lama]] was established by [[Güshi Khan]] of the [[Khoshut Khanate]], who was enthroned as King of Tibet. The Khoshuts ruled until 1717, when they were overthrown by the [[Dzungar Khanate]]. Despite [[Tibetan sovereignty debate|politically charged historical debate]] concerning the nature of Sino-Tibetan relations,<ref name="wylie 2003 470">{{citation |surname= Wylie |given= Turrell V. |chapter= Lama Tribute in the Ming Dynasty | title = The History of Tibet: Volume 2, The Medieval Period: c. AD 850–1895, the Development of Buddhist Paramountcy |editor-given= Alex |editor-surname= McKay |location= New York |publisher= Routledge |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-0-415-30843-4 |postscript=. |page= 470}}</ref><ref name="wang nyima 1997 1 40">{{citation |surname1= Wang |given1= Jiawei |surname2= Nyima |given2= Gyaincain |title= The Historical Status of China's Tibet |location= Beijing |publisher= China Intercontinental Press |year= 1997 |isbn= 978-7-80113-304-5 |postscript= . |pages= 1–40}}</ref><ref name="laird 2006 106 107">{{harvp|Laird|2006|pp= 106–107}}</ref> some historians{{who|date=February 2021}} posit that Tibet under the Ganden Phodrang (1642–1951) was an independent state, albeit under various foreign suzerainties for much of this period, including by the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644). The Dzungar forces were in turn expelled by the 1720 [[Chinese expedition to Tibet (1720)|expedition to Tibet]] during the [[Dzungar–Qing Wars]]. This began a period of [[Tibet under Qing rule|direct Qing rule]] over Tibet.<ref>
{{cite book
 |author1              = Huaiyin Li
 |date                 = 13 August 2019
 |title                = The Making of the Modern Chinese State: 1600–1950
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=p-yoDwAAQBAJ
 |publication-place    = Abingdon
 |publisher            = Routledge
 |isbn                 = 9780429777899
 |access-date          = 20 November 2022
 |quote                = [...] 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 [...]
}}
</ref>

From the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912 until 1950, the [[Tibet (1912–1951)|State of Tibet]] was ''de facto'' independent, as were other regions claimed by the successor [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]. The Republican regime, preoccupied with [[Warlord Era|warlordism]] (1916–1928), [[Chinese Civil War|civil war]] (1927–1949) and [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Japanese invasion]] (1937–1945), did not exert authority in Tibet. Other regions of ethno-cultural Tibet in eastern [[Kham]] and [[Amdo]] had been under ''de jure'' administration of the Chinese dynastic government since the mid-18th century;<ref>Grunfeld, A. Tom, The Making of Modern Tibet, M.E. Sharpe, p. 245.</ref> they form parts of the provinces of [[Qinghai]], [[Gansu]], [[Sichuan]] and [[Yunnan]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

In 1950, following the [[proclamation of the People's Republic of China]] the year before, the [[People's Liberation Army]] entered Tibet and defeated the Tibetan army in [[Battle of Chamdo|a battle]] fought near the city of [[Chamdo]]. In 1951, Tibetan representatives signed the [[Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet]] with the [[Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China (1949–54)|Central People's Government]] affirming China's [[sovereignty]] over Tibet and the [[annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China]]. The [[14th Dalai Lama]] ratified the agreement in October 1951.<ref>Gyatso, Tenzin, Dalai Lama XIV, interview, 25 July 1981.</ref><ref>Goldstein, Melvyn C., ''A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951'', University of California Press, 1989, p. 812–813.</ref><ref>A. Tom Grunfeld (30 July 1996). ''The Making of Modern Tibet''. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-0-7656-3455-9.</ref> After the failure of a [[1959 Tibetan uprising|violent uprising]] in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India and renounced the Seventeen Point Agreement. During the 1950s and 1960s, Western-dispatched insurgents were parachuted into Tibet, almost all of whom were captured and killed.<ref name=":05" />{{Rp|page=238}} The establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965 made Tibet a provincial-level division of China.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Tibet}}{{See also|Southwestern China}}
The Tibet Autonomous Region is located on the [[Tibetan Plateau]], the highest region on Earth. In northern Tibet elevations reach an average of over {{convert|4572|m|ft}}. [[Mount Everest]] is located on Tibet's border with [[Nepal]].

China's provincial-level areas of [[Xinjiang]], [[Qinghai]] and [[Sichuan]] lie to the north, northeast and east, respectively, of the Tibet AR. There is also a short border with [[Yunnan|Yunnan Province]] to the southeast.  The countries to the south and southwest are [[Myanmar]], [[India]], [[Bhutan]], and [[Nepal]]. China claims [[Arunachal 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 eastern [[Ladakh]] claimed by India. India and China agreed to respect the [[Line of Actual Control]] in a bilateral agreement signed on [[Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement, 1993|7 September 1993]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas {{!}} UN Peacemaker |url=https://peacemaker.un.org/chinaindia-borderagreement93 |access-date=2022-12-01 |publisher=United Nations |language=en}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=December 2022}}

[[File:Everest North Face toward Base Camp Tibet Luca Galuzzi 2006 edit 1.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Mount Everest]]]]

Physically, the Tibet AR may be divided into two parts: the lakes region in the west and north-west 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 the [[rain shadow]] of the [[Himalayas]]; however, the region names are useful in contrasting their [[hydrology|hydrological]] structures, and also in contrasting their different cultural uses: [[nomad]]ic in the lake region and [[agriculture|agricultural]] in the river region.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.tew.org/geography/t2000.agricultural.html |title = Tibet: Agricultural Regions |access-date = 6 August 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070824153940/http://www.tew.org/geography/t2000.agricultural.html |archive-date = 24 August 2007 }}</ref> 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 — the [[Indus River|Indus]], [[Brahmaputra River|Brahmaputra]] and [[Salween River|Salween]] and its tributaries — and the streams flowing into the undrained salt lakes to the north.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The lake region extends from the [[Pangong Tso|Pangong Tso Lake]] in [[Ladakh]], [[Lake Rakshastal]], [[Yamdrok Lake]] and [[Lake Manasarovar]] near the source of the [[Indus River]], to the sources of the [[Salween]], the [[Mekong]] and the [[Yangtze River|Yangtze]]. Other lakes include [[Dagze Co]], [[Namtso]], and [[Pagsum Co]]. The lake region is a wind-swept Alpine grassland. This region is called the [[Chang Tang]] (Byang sang) or 'Northern Plateau' by the people of Tibet. It is {{convert|1100|km|-1|abbr=on}} 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|date=February 2025}}

The Tibet AR is dotted over with large and small lakes, generally salt or [[alkaline]], and intersected by streams. Due to the presence of [[discontinuous permafrost]] over the Chang Tang, the soil is boggy and covered with tussocks of grass, thus resembling the Siberian [[tundra]]. Salt and fresh-water lakes are intermingled. The lakes are generally without outlet, or have only a small [[effluent]]. The deposits consist of [[Sodium carbonate|soda]], [[potash]], [[borax]] and common [[salt]]. The lake region is noted for a vast number of [[hot spring]]s, which are widely distributed between the Himalaya and 34° N, but are most numerous to the west of Tengri Nor (north-west 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|date=February 2025}}

The river region is characterized by fertile mountain valleys and includes the [[Yarlung Tsangpo River (Tibet)|Yarlung Tsangpo River]] (the upper courses of the [[Brahmaputra]]) and its major tributary, the [[Nyang River]], the [[Salween]], the [[Yangtze]], the [[Mekong]], and the [[Yellow River]]. The [[Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon]], formed by a horseshoe bend in the river where it flows around [[Namcha Barwa]], is the deepest and possibly longest canyon in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/185555.htm |title = The World's Biggest Canyon |publisher = china.org |access-date = 29 June 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071012120238/http://china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/185555.htm |archive-date = 12 October 2007 |url-status = live }}</ref> Among the mountains there are many narrow valleys. The valleys of [[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]], [[Xigazê]], [[Gyantse]] and the Brahmaputra are free from permafrost, covered with good soil and groves of trees, well irrigated, and richly cultivated.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The [[South Tibet Valley]] is formed by the Yarlung Tsangpo River during its middle reaches, where it travels from west to east. The valley is approximately {{convert|1200|km|-1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|300|km|-1|abbr=on}} wide. The valley descends from {{convert|4500|m|-1|abbr=on}} above sea level to {{convert|2800|m|-1|abbr=on}}. The mountains on either side of the valley are usually around {{convert|5000|m|-1|abbr=on}} high.<ref>{{cite book |title = Tibetan Geography |pages = 30–31 |publisher = China Intercontinental Press |isbn = 978-7-5085-0665-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4q_XoMACOxkC&q=%22South+Tibet+Valley%22&pg=PA30 |last1 = Yang |first1 = Qinye |last2 = Zheng |first2=Du |year=2004}}</ref><ref>Zheng Du, Zhang Qingsong, Wu Shaohong: ''Mountain Geoecology and Sustainable Development of the Tibetan Plateau'' (Kluwer 2000), {{ISBN|0-7923-6688-3}}, p. 312;</ref> Lakes here include [[Lake Paiku]] and [[Lake Puma Yumco]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

== Politics ==
{{See also|People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region|List of modern political leaders of Tibet|List of current Chinese provincial leaders}}

The Tibet Autonomous Region is a province-level entity of the People's Republic of China. Chinese law nominally guarantees some autonomy in the areas of education and language policy. Like other subdivisions of China, routine administration is carried out by a [[People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region|People's Government]], headed by a [[Chairman of Tibet|chairman]], who has been an ethnic Tibetan except for an interregnum during the [[Cultural Revolution]]. As with other Chinese provinces, the chairman carries out work under the direction of the [[Party Secretary of Tibet|regional secretary]] of the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. The standing committee of the [[Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|regional Communist Party Committee]] serves as the top rung of political power in the region. The current chairman is [[Garma Cedain]] and the current party secretary is [[Wang Junzheng]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main list|List of administrative divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region|List of township-level divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region}}

The Autonomous Region is divided into seven [[Administrative divisions of China#Prefectural level|prefecture-level divisions]]: six [[Prefecture-level city|prefecture-level cities]] and one [[Prefectures of the People's Republic of China|prefecture]].

These in turn are subdivided into a total of 66 [[County (People's Republic of China)|counties]] and 8 [[District of China|districts]] ([[Chengguan District, Lhasa|Chengguan]], [[Doilungdêqên District|Doilungdêqên]], [[Dagzê District|Dagzê]], [[Samzhubzê District|Samzhubzê]], [[Karub District|Karub]], [[Bayi District|Bayi]], [[Nêdong District|Nêdong]], and [[Seni District|Seni]]).

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto; font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"
! colspan="9" |Administrative divisions of Tibet Autonomous Region
|-
| colspan="9" style="font-size:larger;" | <div style="position: relative" class="center">
{{Image label begin|image=Administrative Division Tibet (PRC claimed).svg|width={{{1|825}}}|link=|font-size=85%}}
{{Image label|x=900|y=555|scale={{{1|825}}}/1500|text='''[[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]]'''}}
{{Image label|x=580|y=620|scale={{{1|825}}}/1500|text='''[[Shigatse|Xigazê]]'''}}
{{Image label|x=1280|y=500|scale={{{1|825}}}/1500|text='''[[Chamdo|Qamdo]]'''}}
{{Image label|x=1185|y=600|scale={{{1|825}}}/1500|text='''[[Nyingchi]]'''}}
{{Image label|x=890|y=680|scale={{{1|825}}}/1500|text='''[[Shannan, Tibet|Shannan]]'''}}
{{Image label|x=730|y=330|scale={{{1|825}}}/1500|text='''[[Nagqu]]'''}}
{{Image label|x=285|y=290|scale={{{1|825}}}/1500|text='''[[Ngari Prefecture|Ngari<br>Prefecture]]'''}}
{{Image label|x=900|y=100|scale={{{1|825}}}/1500|text=<span style="color: red;">☐</span> <span style="color: grey;">'''Areas disputed with India or Bhutan (see [[Sino-Indian border dispute]] and [[Bhutanese enclaves]])'''</span>}}
{{Image label end}}
</div>
|-
!! scope="col" rowspan="2" | [[Administrative division codes of the People's Republic of China|Division code]]<ref>{{cite web |language=zh-Hans-CN |url=http://files2.mca.gov.cn/cws/201502/20150225163817214.html |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国县以上行政区划代码 |publisher=[[Ministry of Civil Affairs]] |access-date=7 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402113603/http://files2.mca.gov.cn/cws/201502/20150225163817214.html |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
!! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Division
!! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Area in km<sup>2</sup><ref name="nj2013">{{zh}}{{cite book |language=zh-Hans-CN |author=Shenzhen City Bureau of Statistics |publisher=[[:zh:中国统计出版社|China Statistics Print]] |script-title=zh:《深圳统计年鉴2014》 |url=http://www.sztj.gov.cn/nj2014/indexce.htm |access-date=29 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512184740/http://www.sztj.gov.cn/nj2014/indexce.htm |archive-date=12 May 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
!! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Population 2020<ref>{{cite book |editor1 = Census Office of the State Council |editor2 = Population and Employment Statistics Division of the [[National Bureau of Statistics of China|National Bureau of Statistics]] |script-title = zh:中国2010人口普查分乡、镇、街道资料 |year=2012 |publisher=[[:zh:中国统计出版社|China Statistics Print]] |location=Beijing |isbn=978-7-5037-6660-2 |edition=1st }}</ref>
!! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Seat
!! scope="col" colspan="3" | Divisions<ref>{{cite book |language=zh-Hans-CN |author=Ministry of Civil Affairs |script-title=zh:《中国民政统计年鉴2014》 |date=August 2014 |publisher=[[:zh:中国统计出版社|China Statistics Print]] |isbn= 978-7-5037-7130-9 |author-link=Ministry of Civil Affairs }}</ref>
|-
!! scope="col" width="45" | [[District (China)|Districts]]
!! scope="col" width="45" | [[Counties of the People's Republic of China|Counties]]
!! scope="col" width="45" | [[County-level city|CL cities]]
|- style="font-weight: bold"
! 540000 !! Tibet Autonomous Region
| 1,228,400.00 || 3,648,100 || [[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]] city || 8 || 64 || 2
|-
! 540100 !! [[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]] city
| 29,538.90 || 867,891 || [[Chengguan District, Lhasa|Chengguan District]] || 3 || 5 ||bgcolor="grey"| 
|-
! 540200 !! [[Shigatse|Shigatse / Xigazê]] city
| 182,066.26 || 798,153 || [[Samzhubzê District]] || 1 || 17 ||bgcolor="grey"| 
|-
! 540300 !! [[Chamdo|Chamdo / Qamdo]] city
| 108,872.30 || 760,966 || [[Karuo District]] || 1 || 10 ||bgcolor="grey"| 
|-
! 540400 !! [[Nyingchi]] city
| 113,964.79 || 238,936 || [[Bayi District]] || 1 || 5 || 1
|-
! 540500 !! [[Shannan, Tibet|Shannan / Lhoka]] city
| 79,287.84 || 354,035 || [[Nêdong District]] || 1 || 10 || 1
|-
! 540600 !! [[Nagqu]] city
| 391,816.63 || 504,838 || [[Seni District]] || 1 || 10 ||bgcolor="grey"| 
|-
! 542500 !! [[Ngari Prefecture]]
| 296,822.62 || 123,281 || [[Gar County]] ||bgcolor="grey"|  || 7 ||bgcolor="grey"| 
|}
[[File:IMG 1565 Yamdrok Tso.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Yamdrok Lake]]]]
[[File:NamTso scene.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Namtso Lake]]]]
{|class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed" style="text-font:90%; width:auto; text-align:center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
! colspan="6" |Administrative divisions in Tibetan, Chinese, and varieties of romanizations
|-
! English !! Tibetan !! Tibetan Pinyin !! Wylie transliteration !! Chinese !! Pinyin
|-
| '''Tibet Autonomous Region''' || {{bo-textonly|བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས།}} || '''Poi Ranggyongjong''' || '''bod rang skyong ljongs''' || {{lang|zh|西藏自治区}} || '''Xīzàng Zìzhìqū'''
|-
| [[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]] city || {{bo-textonly|ལྷ་ས་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།}} || Lhasa Chongkyir || lha sa grong khyer || {{lang|zh|拉萨市}} || Lāsà Shì
|-
| [[Shigatse|Xigazê]] city || {{bo-textonly|གཞིས་ཀ་རྩེ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།}} || Xigazê Chongkyir || ggzhis ka rtse grong khyer || {{lang|zh|日喀则市}} || Rìkāzé Shì
|-
| [[Chamdo|Qamdo]] city || {{bo-textonly|ཆབ་མདོ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།}} || Qamdo Chongkyir || chab mdo grong khyer || {{lang|zh|昌都市}} || Chāngdū Shì
|-
| [[Nyingchi]] city || {{bo-textonly|ཉིང་ཁྲི་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།}} || Nyingchi Chongkyir || nying khri grong khyer || {{lang|zh|林芝市}} || Línzhī Shì
|-
| [[Shannan, Tibet|Shannan]] city || {{bo-textonly|ལྷོ་ཁ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།}} || Lhoka Chongkyir || lho kha grong khyer || {{lang|zh|山南市}} || Shānnán Shì
|-
| [[Nagqu]] city || {{bo-textonly|ནག་ཆུ་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།}} || Nagqu Chongkyir || nag chu grong khyer || {{lang|zh|那曲市}} || Nàqū Shì
|-
| [[Ngari Prefecture]] || {{bo-textonly|མངའ་རིས་ས་ཁུལ།}} || Ngari Sakü || mnga' ris sa khul || {{lang|zh|阿里地区}} || Ālǐ Dìqū
|}

====Urban areas====
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size:90%;"
! colspan=5 | Population by urban areas of prefecture & county cities
|-
! # !! Cities !! style="background-color: #aaaaff;"| 2020 Urban area<ref name="2020PRCcensus">{{cite book |author=国务院人口普查办公室、国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司编 |date=2022 |script-title=zh:中国2020年人口普查分县资料 |location=Beijing |publisher=[[:zh:中国统计出版社|China Statistics Print]] |isbn=978-7-5037-9772-9}}</ref> !! style="background-color: #aaaaff;"| 2010 Urban area<ref name="2010PRCcensus">{{cite book |author=国务院人口普查办公室、国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司编 |date=2012 |script-title=zh:中国2010年人口普查分县资料 |location=Beijing |publisher=[[:zh:中国统计出版社|China Statistics Print]] |isbn=978-7-5037-6659-6}}</ref> !! style="background-color: #ffaaaa;" | 2020 City proper
|-
|1||'''[[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]]'''||551,802||199,159{{efn|name=Lhasa|New districts established after census: [[Doilungdêqên District|Doilungdêqên (Doilungdêqên County)]], [[Dagzê District|Dagzê (Dagzê County)]]. These new districts not included in the urban area & district area count of the pre-expanded city.}} ||867,891
|-
|2||[[Shigatse|Xigazê]]||94,464||63,967{{efn|name=Xigazê|Xigazê Prefecture is currently known as Xigazê PLC after census; Xigazê CLC is currently known as [[Samzhubzê District|Samzhubzê]] after 2010 census.}} ||798,153
|-
|3||[[Nyingchi]]||60,696||bgcolor="lightgrey"|{{efn|name=Nyingchi|NyingchiPrefecture is currently known as Nyingchi PLC after census; Nyingchi County is currently known as [[Bayi District|Bayi]] after 2010 census.}}||238,936
|-
|4||[[Shannan, Tibet|Shannan]]||54,188||bgcolor="lightgrey"|{{efn|name=Shannan|Shannan Prefecture is currently known as Shannan PLC after census; Nêdong County is currently known as [[Nêdong District|Nêdong]] after census.}}||354,035
|-
|5||[[Chamdo|Qamdo]]||50,127||bgcolor="lightgrey"|{{efn|name=Qamdo|Qamdo Prefecture is currently known as Qamdo PLC after census; Qamdo County is currently known as [[Karuo District|Karuo]] after census.}}||760,966
|-
|6||[[Nagqu]]||31,436||bgcolor="lightgrey"|{{efn|name=Nagqu|Nagqu Prefecture is currently known as Nagqu PLC after census; Nagqu County is currently known as [[Seni District|Seni]] after 2010 census.}}||504,838
|- bgcolor="lightyellow"
|(7)||[[Mainling]]||5,915{{efn|name=Mainling|Mainling County is currently known as Mainling CLC after 2020 census.}}||bgcolor="lightgrey"| ||{{small|''see Nyingchi''}}
|- bgcolor="lightyellow"
|(8)||[[Tsona|Cona]]||2,871{{efn|name=Cona|Cona County is currently known as Cona CLC after 2020 census.}}||bgcolor="lightgrey"| ||{{small|''see Shannan''}}
|}
{{Notelist}}

== Demographics ==
{{Further|Chinese settlements in Tibet}}{{Historical populations
|title       = Historical population
|footnote    = [[Xikang|Xikang Province]] / Chuanbian SAR was established in 1923 from parts of [[Tibet under Qing rule|Tibet]] / [[Lifan Yuan]]; dissolved in 1955 and parts were incorporated into Tibet AR.
|1912<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:1912年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo2.html|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032922/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo2.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>  |1,160,000
|1928<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:1928年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo3.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032924/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo3.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> |372,000
|1936–37<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:1936–37年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo4.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032925/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo4.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> |372,000
|1947<ref>{{cite web|script-title=ja:1947年全国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo5.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913053600/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo5.htm|archive-date=13 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> |1,000,000
|1954<ref name="census1954">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16767.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于第一次全国人口调查登记结果的公报|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805174810/http://www.stats.gov.cn/TJGB/RKPCGB/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16767.htm|archive-date=5 August 2009}}</ref> |1,273,969
|1964<ref name="census1964">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16768.htm |script-title=zh:第二次全国人口普查结果的几项主要统计数字|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914173158/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16768.htm|archive-date=14 September 2012}}</ref> |1,251,225
|1982<ref name="census1982">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16769.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九八二年人口普查主要数字的公报|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510075429/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16769.htm|archive-date=10 May 2012}}</ref> |1,892,393
|1990<ref name="census1990">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16772.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九九〇年人口普查主要数据的公报|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619002216/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16772.htm|archive-date=19 June 2012}}</ref> |2,196,010
|2000<ref name="census2000">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020331_15435.htm |script-title=zh:现将2000年第五次全国人口普查快速汇总的人口地区分布数据公布如下|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829052024/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020331_15435.htm|archive-date=29 August 2012}}</ref> |2,616,329
|2010<ref name="census2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722516.htm|title=Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census|publisher=[[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727021210/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722516.htm|archive-date=27 July 2013}}</ref> |3,002,166
|2020<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/china-society-census-takeaways-idUSL4N2MY2I6|title = FACTBOX-Key takeaways from China's 2020 population census|work = Reuters|date = 11 May 2021}}</ref> |3,648,100
}}
With an average of about two people per square kilometer, Tibet has the lowest [[population density]] among any of the Chinese province-level administrative regions, mostly due to its harsh and rugged terrain.{{cn|date=January 2025}} 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.<ref name="GDPdata" />

In 2020 the Tibetan population was three million.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2021-09-02 |title=How Much Does Beijing Control the Ethnic Makeup of Tibet? |url=https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/how-much-does-beijing-control-ethnic-makeup-of-tibet |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=ChinaFile |language=en}}</ref> The ethnic [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]], comprising 86.0% of the population,<ref name=":1" /> mainly adhere to [[Tibetan Buddhism]] and [[Bön]], although there is an [[Tibetan Muslims|ethnic Tibetan Muslim community]].<ref>Hannue, ''Dialogues Tibetan Dialogues Han''</ref> Other Muslim ethnic groups such as the [[Hui people|Hui]] and the [[Salar people|Salar]] have inhabited the region. There is also a tiny Tibetan [[Christians|Christian]] community in eastern Tibet. Smaller tribal groups such as the [[Monpa people|Monpa]] and [[Lhoba]], who follow a combination of [[Tibetan Buddhism]] and spirit worship, are found mainly in the southeastern parts of the region.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Historically, the population of Tibet consisted of primarily ethnic [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]]. According to tradition the original ancestors of the Tibetan people, as represented by the six red bands in the Tibetan flag, are: the Se, Mu, Dong, Tong, Dru and Ra. Other traditional ethnic groups with significant population or with the majority of the ethnic group reside in Tibet include [[Bai people]], [[Blang people|Blang]], [[Bonans|Bonan]], [[Dongxiang people|Dongxiang]], [[Han Chinese|Han]], [[Hui people]], [[Lhoba]], [[Lisu people]], [[Miao people|Miao]], [[Mongols]], [[Monguor people|Monguor (Tu people)]], [[Monpa people|Menba (Monpa)]], [[Mosuo]], [[Nakhi]], [[Qiang people|Qiang]], [[Nu people]], [[Pumi people|Pumi]], [[Salar people|Salar]], and [[Yi people]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

According to the [[Encyclopædia 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).<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Lhasa |volume=16 |page=531 |first1=Henry |last1=Yule |authorlink1=Henry Yule  |first2=Laurence |last2=Waddell |authorlink2=Laurence Waddell }}</ref>

Most [[Han Chinese|Han people]] in the Tibet Autonomous Region (12.2% of the total population)<ref name=":1" /> are recent migrants, because all of the Han were [[population transfer|expelled]] from "Outer Tibet" ([[Ü-Tsang|Central Tibet]]) following the [[British invasion of Tibet|British invasion]] until the establishment of the PRC.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Grunfeld |first = A. Tom |title = The Making of Modern Tibet |pages = 114–119 |year = 1996  |publisher = East Gate Books}}</ref> As of 2010, only 8% of [[Han Chinese|Han people]] have [[Hukou system|household registration]] in TAR, others keep their [[Hukou system|household registration]] in place of origin.<ref name="西藏自治区常住人口超过300万">{{cite web |script-title=zh:西藏自治区常住人口超过300万 |url=http://www.xizang.gov.cn/rkmz/51886.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216101632/http://www.xizang.gov.cn/rkmz/51886.jhtml |archive-date=16 February 2013 |access-date=6 May 2011 |website=Xizang gov }}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=January 2025}}

Tibetan scholars and exiles claim that, with the 2006 completion of the [[Qingzang Railway]] connecting the Tibet Autonomous Region to Qinghai Province, there has been an "acceleration" of Han migration into the region.<ref>{{cite web |last = Johnson |first = Tim |url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/31913.html |title = Tibetans see 'Han invasion' as spurring violence &#124; McClatchy |publisher = Mcclatchydc.com |date = 28 March 2008 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091115110855/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/31913.html |archive-date = 15 November 2009 }}</ref> The [[Central Tibetan Administration|Tibetan 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.<ref name="fifth">{{cite web |url = http://www.tibet.net/en/print.php?id=236&articletype=articale |publisher = [[Central Tibetan Administration]] |title = Population Transfer Programmes |year = 2003 |access-date = 29 July 2010 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20100730030042/http://www.tibet.net/en/print.php?id=236&articletype=articale |archive-date = 30 July 2010 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Tibet}}

{{Bar box
|float = right
|title = Religion in Tibet (2012 estimates)<ref name="IRFR2012">[https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208434.pdf Internazional Religious Freedom Report 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328164846/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208434.pdf |date=28 March 2017 }}  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.''»</ref>
|bars =
{{Bar percent|[[Tibetan Buddhism]]|Yellow|78.5}}
{{Bar percent|[[Bon]]|SlateBlue|12.5}}
{{Bar percent|[[Chinese folk religion]]|FireBrick|8.58}}
{{Bar percent|[[Islam]]<ref name="2010-Islam">Min Junqing. ''The Present Situation and Characteristics of Contemporary Islam in China''. JISMOR, 8. [https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf 2010 Islam by province, page 29] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427140204/https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf |date=27 April 2017 }}. Data from: Yang Zongde, ''Study on Current Muslim Population in China'', Jinan Muslim, 2, 2010.</ref>|Green|0.4}}
{{Bar percent|[[Christianity]]|DodgerBlue|0.02}}
}}
[[File:Tibet-6048 - Largest Sitting Maitreya Buddha.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Maitreya]] Buddha statue of [[Tashilhunpo Monastery]] in [[Shigatse]]]]

The main religion in Tibet has been [[Buddhism]] since its introduction in the 8th century AD. Before the arrival of Buddhism, the main religion among Tibetans was an indigenous [[shamanism|shamanic]] and [[animism|animistic]] religion, [[Bon]], which now comprises a sizeable minority and influenced the formation of [[Tibetan 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 of [[Confucius]] ([[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]]: ''Kongtse Trulgyi Gyalpo'') with [[Chinese folk religion]], though in a different light.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Te-Ming TSENG |author2=Shen-Yu LIN |url=http://www.eastasia.ntu.edu.tw/chinese/data/4-2/4-2-7/4-2-7.pdf |trans-title=The Image of Confucius in Tibetan Culture |script-title=zh:《臺灣東亞文明研究學刊》第4卷第2期(總第8期) |date=December 2007 |pages=169–207 |website=[[National Taiwan University]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104518/http://www.eastasia.ntu.edu.tw/chinese/data/4-2/4-2-7/4-2-7.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016  }}</ref><ref>Shenyu Lin. ''[http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_07.pdf The Tibetan Image of Confucius] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913230941/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_07.pdf |date=13 September 2017 }}''. Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines.</ref> According to some reports, the government of China has been promoting the Bon religion, linking it with [[Confucianism]].<ref>China-Tibet Online: [http://eng.tibet.cn/2010zj/xw/201411/t20141105_2088487.html Confucius ruled as a "divine king" in Tibet]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 4 November 2014</ref>

Most of the [[Han Chinese]] who reside in Tibet practice their native [[Chinese folk religion]] ({{zh|labels=no |c=神道 |p=shén dào |l=Way of the Gods}}). There is a Guandi Temple of Lhasa ({{lang|zh-hans|拉萨关帝庙}}) where the Chinese god of war [[Guan Yu|Guandi]] is identified with the cross-ethnic Chinese, Tibetan, Mongol and Manchu deity [[Gesar]]. The temple is built according to both Chinese and Tibetan architecture. It was first erected in 1792 under the [[Qing dynasty]] and renovated around 2013 after decades of disrepair.<ref>World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2145 Lhasa, Tibet: Guandi temple was inaugurated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090522/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2145 |date=4 March 2016 }}.</ref><ref>China-Tibet Online: [http://eng.tibet.cn/2010wh/xw/201303/t20130313_1869432.html Tibet's largest Guandi Temple gets repaired]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 13 March 2013</ref>

Built or rebuilt between 2014 and 2015 is the Guandi Temple of Qomolangma ([[Mount Everest]]), on Ganggar Mount, in [[Tingri County]].<ref>World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2454 Dingri, Tibet: Cornerstone Laying Ceremony being Grandly Held for the Reconstruction of Qomolangma Guandi Temple] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107214706/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2454 |date=7 November 2017 }}.</ref><ref>World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2456 Wuhan, China: Yang Song Meets Cui Yujing to Discuss Qomolangma Guandi Temple] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094252/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2456 |date=4 March 2016 }}.</ref>

There are four mosques in the Tibet Autonomous Region with approximately 4,000 to 5,000 [[Islam|Muslim]] adherents,<ref name="IRFR2012" /> although a 2010 Chinese survey found a higher proportion of 0.4%.<ref name="2010-Islam" /> There is [[Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Yerkalo|a Catholic church]] with 700 parishioners, which is located in the traditionally [[Catholic]] community of Yanjing in the east of the region.<ref name="IRFR2012" />

The American advocacy group [[Freedom 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tibet: Freedom in the World 2025 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/tibet/freedom-world/2025 |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Freedom House |language=en}}</ref>

==Human rights==
{{Main|Human rights in Tibet}}
[[File:Chinese army moving from Golmud to Lhasa.jpg|thumb|200px|Chinese army division moving from Golmud to Lhasa]]
From the 1951 [[Seventeen 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Chun |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/63178961 |title=The transformation of Chinese socialism |date=2006 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8223-3785-0 |location=Durham [N.C.] |pages=103 |oclc=63178961}}</ref>

Before the [[annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China]] in 1951, Tibet was ruled by a theocracy<ref>Samten G. Karmay, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160305233421/http://www.tibetwrites.org/?religion-and-politics-commentary 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."</ref> and had a caste-like social hierarchy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fjeld|first= Heidi|title=Commoners and Nobles:Hereditary Divisions in Tibet |publisher= Nordic Institute of Asian Studies|year=2003|page=5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0V5lV_M-SYC|isbn= 9788791114175}}</ref> Human rights in Tibet prior to its [[Incorporation of Tibet into the People's Republic of China|incorporation]] into the People's Republic of China differed considerably from those in the modern era. Due to tight control of [[Media of the People's Republic of China|press in mainland China]], including the Tibet Autonomous Region,<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">Regions and territories: Tibet bbc http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/4152353.stm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422064415/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/4152353.stm|date=2011-04-22}}</ref> it is difficult to accurately determine the scope of human rights abuses.<ref name="statedept09">US State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090226175344/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119037.htm#tibet 2008 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)]'', February 25, 2009</ref>

When General Secretary [[Hu Yaobang]] visited Tibet in 1980 and 1982, he disagreed with what he viewed as heavy-handedness.<ref name=":05">{{Cite book |last=Lampton |first=David M. |title=Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-5381-8725-8 |location=Lanham, MD |pages= |author-link=David M. Lampton}}</ref>{{Rp|page=240}} Hu reduced the number of Han party cadre, and relaxed social controls.<ref name=":05" />{{Rp|page=240}}

Critics of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) say the CCP's official aim to eliminate "the three evils of separatism, [[terrorism]] and religious extremism" is used as a pretext for human rights abuses.<ref>Simon Denyer, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/08/china-party-dissent-xinjiang-tibet China cracks down on aggrieved party cadres in Xinjiang and Tibet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229201516/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/08/china-party-dissent-xinjiang-tibet |date=2016-12-29 }}, The Guardian, 8 December 2015.</ref> A 1992 [[Amnesty International]] report stated that judicial standards in the Tibet Autonomous Region were not up to "international standards". The report charged the CCP<ref name="aiamnesty">Amnesty International, [http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/un/un8annex2.1.html Amnesty International: "China – Amnesty International's concerns in Tibet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912004834/http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/un/un8annex2.1.html |date=2009-09-12 }}, Secretary-General's Report: Situation in Tibet, E/CN.4/1992/37</ref> government with keeping [[political prisoners]] and [[prisoners of conscience]]; ill-treatment of detainees, including [[torture]], and inaction in the face of ill-treatment; the use of the death penalty; [[Extrajudicial killing|extrajudicial executions]];<ref name="aiamnesty" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hrweb.org/ai/aidoc.html |title=Amnesty International Documents |publisher=Hrweb.org |access-date=2012-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315090003/http://www.hrweb.org/ai/aidoc.html |archive-date=15 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[forced abortion]] and [[forced sterilization|sterilization]].<ref name="Goldstein 1991 285–303">{{Cite journal|title=China's Birth Control Policy in the Tibet Autonomous Region|journal=[[Asian Survey]]|author-link=Melvyn Goldstein|first1=Melvyn|last1=Goldstein|first2=Beall|last2=Cynthia|date=March 1991|volume=31|issue=3|pages=285–303|jstor=2645246|doi=10.2307/2645246}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2000/06/13/human-rights-violations-tibet|title=Human Rights Violations in Tibet|date=13 June 2000|publisher=Human Rights Watch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.12/China_CFT2_NGO_Report.pdf|title=Database of NGO Reports presented to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.|publisher=Archive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119081639/http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.12/China_CFT2_NGO_Report.pdf|archive-date=19 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/11/424662-china-must-urgently-address-rights-violations-tibet-un-senior-official|title=China must urgently address rights violations in Tibet – UN senior official|date=2 November 2012|publisher=UN News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f7f1f1e0-e8ae-4670-9d03-ba50b01d12fe/|title=European Parliament resolution of 10 April 2008 on Tibet|date=10 April 2008|publisher=Publications Office of the EU}}</ref>

== Towns and villages in Tibet ==
<!-- [[File:TibetanPlateau.jpg|thumb|250x250px|The Tibet Autonomous Region is located on the [[Tibetan Plateau]], the world's highest region.]] -->
{{Further|List of populated places in the Tibet Autonomous Region}}

=== Comfortable Housing Program ===
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,<ref name="they-say-we">{{Cite web|date=2013-06-27|title=They Say We Should Be Grateful|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/06/27/they-say-we-should-be-grateful/mass-rehousing-and-relocation-programs-tibetan|access-date=2020-08-14|publisher=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref> often through bank loans. The [[population transfer]] program, which was first implemented in [[Qinghai]] 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.<ref name="they-say-we" /> Finding employment is difficult for relocated persons who have only agrarian skills. Income shortfalls are offset by government support programs.<ref name="NYT62713">{{cite news |title = Rights Report Faults Mass Relocation of Tibetans |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/world/asia/rights-report-faults-mass-relocation-of-tibetans.html |access-date = 28 June 2013 |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 27 June 2013 |author-link = Andrew Jacobs (journalist) |first = Andrew |last = Jacobs |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130627170328/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/world/asia/rights-report-faults-mass-relocation-of-tibetans.html |archive-date = 27 June 2013 |url-status = live }}</ref> It was announced that in 2011 that 20,000 [[Cadre system of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP cadres]] will be placed in the new towns.<ref name="they-say-we" />

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Tibet}}

{| class="wikitable" align="right"
|+ Development of GDP<ref name="data1995-2019">Historical GDP of Provinces {{cite press release | url = https://data.stats.gov.cn/english/easyquery.htm?cn=E0103 | title = Home – Regional – Annual by Province | publisher=China NBS |date=31 January 2020 | access-date=31 January 2020 }}</ref>
|- bgcolor=eeeeee
| Year
| align="right" |GDP in<br />billions of yuan
|-
|1995
|align="right" | 5.61
|-
|2000
|align="right" | 11.78
|-
|2005
|align="right" | 24.88
|-
|2010
|align="right" | 50.75
|-
|2015
|align="right" | 102.64
|-
|2021
|align="right" | 208.18<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021年西藏GDP达2080.17亿元 同比增长6.7%_中国经济网——国家经济门户 |url=http://district.ce.cn/zg/202202/07/t20220207_37310694.shtml |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=district.ce.cn}}</ref>
|-
|2022
|align="right" |213<ref>"National Data". [[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.</ref>
|-
|2023
|align="right" |239.3<ref> Tibet's GDP up 9.5 percent in 2023, https://www.macaubusiness.com/tibets-gdp-up-9-5-percent-in-2023/, January 24, 2024.</ref>
|}

In general, [[Autonomous regions of China|China's minority regions]] have some of the highest per capita government spending [[Public good (economics)|public goods]] and services.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=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.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=366}} Tibet has the highest amount of funding from the central government to the local government as of at least 2019.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|pages=370–371}}As of at least 2019, Tibet has the highest total per capita government expenditure of any region in China, including the highest per capita government expenditure on [[Healthcare in China|health care]], the highest per capita government expenditure on education, and the second highest per capita government expenditure on [[Social security in China|social security]] and employment.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|pages=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 of [[Chinese 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/statistics/202401/23/content_WS65afbd1ac6d0868f4e8e36bf |title=Xizang's GDP up 9.5 percent in 2023 |date=January 23, 2024 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=January 2025}} 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tibet's annual GDP growth reaches 9.5% over 10 years. |url=http://english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2022-10/08/content_78454461.htm |date=October 8, 2022}}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=January 2025}}

By 2022, the GDP of the region surpassed 213 billion yuan (US$31.7 billion in nominal), while GDP per capita reached {{CNY|58,438}} ({{US$|8,688}} in nominal).<ref name="GDPdata" /> In 2022, Tibet's GDP per capita ranked 25th highest in China, as well as higher than any South Asian country except [[Maldives]].<ref name=":5">{{cite web| author = International Monetary Fund| url = https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April| title = World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023| publisher = [[International Monetary Fund]]}}</ref> In 2008, Chinese news media reported that the per capita [[disposable income]]s of urban and rural residents in Tibet averaged ({{CNY|12,482}} ({{US$|1,798}}) and {{CNY|3,176}} ({{US$|457}}) respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.nen.com.cn/guoneiguoji/280/3349280.shtml |title = Tibetans report income rises |publisher = news.nen.com.cn |access-date = 11 October 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721172024/http://news.nen.com.cn/guoneiguoji/280/3349280.shtml |archive-date = 21 July 2011 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

While traditional agriculture and animal husbandry continue to lead the area's economy, in 2005 the [[tertiary sector]] contributed more than half of its GDP growth, the first time it surpassed the area's primary industry.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/31/content_4121797.htm |title = Xinhua – Per capita GDP tops $1,000 in Tibet |agency = Xinhua News Agency |date = 31 January 2006 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110609200828/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/31/content_4121797.htm |archive-date = 9 June 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/31/content_4121796.htm |title = Tibet posts fixed assets investment rise |agency = Xinhua News Agency |date = 31 January 2006 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110609200853/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/31/content_4121796.htm |archive-date = 9 June 2011 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=January 2025}}

The collection of [[Cordyceps sinensis|caterpillar fungus]] (''Cordyceps sinensis'', known in Tibetan as ''Yartsa 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.<ref>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''</ref>

The re-opening of the [[Nathu La]] pass (on southern Tibet's border with India) should facilitate Sino-Indian border trade and boost Tibet's economy.<ref>{{cite news |author = Maseeh Rahman in New Delhi |url = https://www.theguardian.com/china/story/0,,1801322,00.html |title = China and India to trade across Himalayas  |newspaper = The Guardian |date = 19 June 2006 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |location = London}}</ref>

The [[China Western Development]] policy was adopted in 2000 by the central government to boost economic development in western China, including the Tibet Autonomous Region.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=133}} Because the central government permits Tibet to have a preferentially low corporate income tax rate, many corporations have registered in Tibet.<ref name=":02" />{{Rp|page=146}}

== Education ==
There are 4 universities and 3 special colleges in Tibet,<ref>{{Cite web |title=全国高等学校名单 – 中华人民共和国教育部政府门户网站 |url=http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xxgk/s5743/s5744/A03/202206/t20220617_638352.html |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=moe.gov.cn}}</ref> including [[Tibet University]], [[Tibet University for Nationalities]], [[Tibet Tibetan Medical University]], [[Tibet Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College]], [[Lhasa Teachers College]], [[Tibet Police College]] and [[Tibet Vocational and Technical College]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

As of at least 2019, Tibet is the region of China with the largest per capita government spending on [[Education in China|education]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Shuanglin |title=China's Public Finance: Reforms, Challenges, and Options |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-009-09902-8 |edition= |location=New York, NY |doi=10.1017/9781009099028}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=367-369}}

== Tourism ==
{{seealso|Visa policy of mainland China#Tibet Autonomous Region}}
Foreign tourists were first permitted to visit the Tibet Autonomous Region in the 1980s. While the main attraction is the [[Potala Palace]] in [[Lhasa (prefecture-level city)|Lhasa]], there are many other popular tourist destinations including the [[Jokhang|Jokhang Temple]], [[Namtso|Namtso Lake]], and [[Tashilhunpo|Tashilhunpo Monastery]].<ref>[[Birgit Zotz]], ''Destination Tibet''. Hamburg: Kovac 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-8300-4948-7}} {{URL|http://d-nb.info/999787640/04}} {{Cite web |url = http://d-nb.info/999787640/04 |title=Archived copy |access-date=27 October 2011 |archive-date=17 January 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120117194517/http://d-nb.info/999787640/04 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> 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 outside [[Lhasa]] and [[Nagqu]]<ref name="tibet">{{cite web|url=https://www.travelchinaguide.com/faq/tibet-travel-permit/|title=FAQs on Tibet Travel Permit, Document}}</ref>

==Transportation==
A 2019 [[white paper]] from [[State Council Information Office|The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China]] reported Tibet's road system has achieved a total of 118,800&nbsp;km.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Full Text: Tibet Since 1951: Liberation, Development and Prosperity |url=https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/whitepaper/202105/21/content_WS60a724e7c6d0df57f98d9da2.html |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=english.www.gov.cn}}</ref>

=== Airports ===
The civil airports in Tibet are [[Lhasa Gonggar Airport]],<ref>{{cite web|url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/12/content_11357826.htm|title = Gongkhar Airport in Tibet enters digital communication age|agency = [[Xinhua News Agency]]|date = 12 May 2009|access-date = 12 December 2010|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101215123315/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/12/content_11357826.htm|archive-date = 15 December 2010|df = dmy-all}}</ref> [[Qamdo Bangda Airport]], [[Nyingchi Airport]], and the [[Gunsa Airport]].

[[Gunsa Airport]] in [[Ngari Prefecture]] began operations on 1 July 2010, to become the fourth civil airport in China's Tibet Autonomous Region.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-07/01/c_13378773.htm |title = Tibet's fourth civil airport opens |agency = [[Xinhua News Agency]] |date = 1 July 2010 |access-date = 11 December 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101214214139/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-07/01/c_13378773.htm |archive-date = 14 December 2010 }}</ref>

The [[Peace Airport]] for [[Xigazê]] was opened for civilian use on 30 October 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/26/content_11773529.htm |title = Tibet to have fifth civil airport operational before year end 2010 |agency = [[Xinhua News Agency]] |date = 26 July 2010 |access-date = 12 December 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101215143139/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/26/content_11773529.htm |archive-date = 15 December 2010 }}</ref>

Announced in 2010, [[Nagqu Dagring Airport]] was expected to become the world's highest altitude airport, at 4,436 meters above sea level.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/12/content_12796690.htm |title=World's highest-altitude airport planned on Tibet |agency=[[Xinhua News Agency]] |date=12 January 2010 |access-date=12 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101215143150/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/12/content_12796690.htm |archive-date=15 December 2010 }}</ref> However, in 2015 it was reported that construction of the airport has been delayed due to the necessity to develop higher technological standards.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-04/24/content_20533131.htm |title=China to stop building extremely high plateau airports |work=[[China Daily]] |date=24 April 2015 |access-date=17 September 2021 }}</ref>

=== Railway ===
The [[Qinghai–Tibet Railway]] from [[Golmud]] to Lhasa was completed on 12 October 2005. It opened to regular trial service on 1 July 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 the [[Tanggula Pass]], which, at 5,072&nbsp;m (16,640&nbsp;ft) above sea level, is the world's highest railway.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

The [[Lhasa–Xigazê Railway]] branch from Lhasa to [[Xigazê]] was completed in 2014. It opened to regular service on 15 August 2014. The planned [[China–Nepal railway]] will connect Xigazê to [[Kathmandu]], capital of [[Nepal]], and is expected to be completed around 2027.<ref name="KP">{{cite news |last1=Giri |first1=A |last2=Giri |first2=S |title = Nepal, China agree on rail study |url = http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-08-24/nepal-china-agree-on-rail-study.html |access-date=22 September 2018 |newspaper = The Kathmandu Post |date=24 August 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180922211439/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-08-24/nepal-china-agree-on-rail-study.html |archive-date=22 September 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

The construction of the [[Sichuan–Tibet Railway]] began in 2015. The line is expected to be completed around 2025.<ref>{{cite web |last = Chu |title = China Approves New Railway for Tibet |url = http://english.cri.cn/12394/2014/10/31/3685s850380.htm |website = english.cri.cn |publisher = CRI |access-date = 9 November 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141109220511/http://english.cri.cn/12394/2014/10/31/3685s850380.htm |archive-date = 9 November 2014 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Geography|Asia|China}}
{{col div |colwidth = 40em }}
* [[China Tibetology Research Center]]
* [[Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China]]
* [[History of Tibet (1950–present)]]
* [[Kazara]]
* [[List of prisons in the Tibet Autonomous Region]]
* [[List of universities and colleges in Tibet]]
* [[Tibet Area (administrative division)]]
* [[Tibetan independence movement]]
* [[Sinicization of Tibet]]
* [[Shigatse Photovoltaic Power Plant]]
{{colend}}

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Laird |first=Thomas |title = The Story of Tibet : Conversations with the Dalai Lama |url = https://archive.org/details/storyoftibetconv00lair |url-access=registration |year=2006 |publisher=Grove Press |location = New York |isbn=978-0-8021-1827-1 |edition=1st }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |title=Dialogues Tibetan dialogues Han |date=2008 |publisher=Hannü |location=[Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar] |isbn=978-988-97999-3-9}}, travelogue from Tibet – by a woman who's been travelling around Tibet for over a decade,
* {{cite book |last1=Wilby |first1=Sorrel |title=Journey Across Tibet: A Young Woman's 1900-Mile Trek Across the Rooftop of the World |date=1988 |publisher=Contemporary Books |location=Chicago |isbn=0-8092-4608-2}}, hardcover, 236 pages.
* {{cite journal |last1=Hillman |first1=Ben |title=China's many Tibets: Diqing as a model for 'development with Tibetan characteristics?' |journal=Asian Ethnicity |date=1 June 2010 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=269–277 |doi=10.1080/14631361003779604 |s2cid=145011878 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631361003779604 |access-date=30 April 2021 |issn=1463-1369|url-access=subscription }}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|Tibet Autonomous Region}}
{{Commons|Tibet}}
{{Wikivoyage|Tibet|Tibet Autonomous Region}}
* {{Official website}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508074448/http://www.xizang.gov.cn/ |date=8 May 2021 }}.
* [https://case.edu/affil/tibet/tibetanSociety/documents/TAR-Census2.pdf Population Structure and Changes in the Tibet Autonomous Region]

{{Clear}}
{{Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China}}
{{Tibet Autonomous Region}}
{{Tibetan autonomy in the People's Republic of China}}
{{Tibet related articles}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tibet Autonomous Region| ]]
[[Category:Autonomous regions of China]]
[[Category:Tibetan autonomous areas]]
[[Category:Tibet|~]]
[[Category:Western China]]
[[Category:1965 establishments in China]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1965]]
[[Category:Tibetan Plateau]]