The Va nationality (Chinese: 佤族 Wǎzú; own names: Va, Ava, Parauk, i.e. Ba rāog in official orthography) lives mainly in compact communities in the Ximeng , Cangyuan , Menglian , Gengma , Lancang , Shuangjiang , Zhenkang and Yongde counties in southwestern Yunnan Province of China. Its population is 0.351 million.
The Va people's language belongs to Mon-Khmer of the Austroasiatic family. A written language was created for the Wa people in 1957.
The Va form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They also live in Myanmar.
Wa (倭) was also an early name in China for Japan. See Wokou and Fusang.
