Zhejiang is a province where ethnic minorities are scattered. Although the total population of ethnic minorities is small, the ethnic composition is relatively complicated. According to the "Fifth Census", there are 53 ethnic minorities in our province (with only the De’ang and Bao’an ethnic groups missing), an increase of 4 from the "Fourth Census". The total population of ethnic minorities amounts to 399,700, an increase of 182,600 from the "Fourth Census" at a rate of 85.84%, which is much higher than the growth rate of the province's total population and the national minorities. There are 7 ethnic minorities with a population of more than 10,000: She (170,993), Tujia (55310), Miao (53418), Buyi (21457), Hui (19609), Zhuang (18,998), and Dong (17960). The ethnic minorities which have lived in Zhejiang since ancestral time are the She, the Hui, and the Manchus. Most of the other ethnic minorities moved to Zhejiang after the founding of New China in 1949, especially since the reform and opening up, due to work, business or marriage.

The ethnic minorities in Zhejiang Province are dominated by the She population and the rural population as the main body, scattered widely throughout the province in compact communities. They are mainly distributed in Wenzhou City (28.63%), Lishui City (19.42%), Hangzhou City (11.37%), Jinhua City (9.26%), Ningbo City (8.53%). The rest 22.79% are distributed in other cities. Jingning She Autonomous County, the only She Nationality autonomous place in the country, has 18 She Nationality townships (towns), where more than 400 administrative villages have a minority population of 30%.

The 18 She nationality townships (towns) are: Laozhu She Nationality Town and Lixin She Nationality Township in Lishui City, Wuxi She Nationality Township and Anxi She Nationality Township in Yunhe County, Sanren She Nationality Township in Suichang County, Zhuyang She Nationality Township in Longquan City, Banqiao She Nationality Township in Songyang County, Fengyang She Nationality Township and Dailing She Nationality Township in Cangnan County, Siqian She Nationality Township and Zhuli She Nationality Township in Taishun County, Xikeng She Nationality Town and Zhoushan She Nationality Township in Wencheng County, Qingjie She Nationality Township in Pingyang County, Liucheng She Nationality Town in Wuyi County, Shuiting She Nationality Township in Lanxi City, Muchen She Nationality Township in Longyou County, and Eshan She Nationality Township in Tonglu County. The total population of the 18 She townships and towns amounts to 162,568, of whom 36,368 are She. The ethnic minority population of Jingning She Autonomous County and 18 She ethnicity townships (towns) totals 52,300, accounting for only a quarter of the province's total ethnic minority population.

The gender ratio of the ethnic minority population is lower than the average level of the province, the population age structure is relatively young, the degree of aging is also lower than the overall level of the province, and the level of education has increased significantly. There are more than 5,900 ethnic minority cadres in the province, accounting for 0.55% of the total number of cadres. With the development of the market economy and the increase of inter-ethnic exchanges, the migrant and floating populations of ethnic minorities are on the rise, and urban ethnic work has become a new focus of ethnic work in Zhejiang Province.