The Miao are one of 55 ethnic groups that inhabit the People's Republic of China. There are 9,426,007 Miao in China, 787,604 in Vietnam, 460,000 in Laos, 209,866 in the United States, 151,000 in Thailand, and 13,000 in France, with a total of 12,000,000 people; the reason for the spreading of their population was the 1975 communist takeover of Laos, with many fleeing to Western countries, while China maintains a huge population of them (the largest). Their religion is Ua Dab Animism, with minorities of Taoism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Their language is Hmong.