"Like many ethnic classifications in Burma, ?Karenni? is a collective term constructed during the colonial era that does not represent a single ethnic group. Karenni, sometimes also known as the Red Karen (so-called because it was a favoured colour in traditional clothing) or Kayah, actually refers to a Karen grouping which includes a number of ethnic groups that speak related Tibeto-Burman languages such as Kekhu, Bre, Kayah, Yangtalai, Geba, Zayein and Paku. Their exact numbers are difficult to assert because of the absence of reliable statistics: one plausible estimate is that they may number some 250,000 people. In Kayah State where many Karenni are concentrated, sandwiched between Shan State to the north-west and Karen State to the south-west, the Karenni represented some 56 per cent of the state population of about 259,000 in the official census of 1983 (which is deemed unreliable by many observers). There is also a sizeable Kayah-speaking population in Shan State. It is generally thought that most Karennis are Christians, though a large percentage of the population is Buddhist. ..."