The tribes of Chhattisgarh can be divided into 3 parts geographically and culturally:-

• North Cultural Zone (Surguja Division) :- This region can include tribes of Surguja, Surajpur, Balrampur, Korea, Jashpur district and hill areas of Raigarh, Korba district. This area is covered with dense forests and hills. The area mainly inhabits tribes like Oraon, Kanwar, Munda, Nagesia, Korwa, Bhuinhar, Bhumia, Dhanwar, Saunta, Biar, Majhwar, Majhi, Kharia, Savra, Birhor, Kondh, Khairwar, Gond, Baiga, Agaria.
• Central Cultural Area (Bilaspur, Raipur, Durg Division) :- This region can include the tribes of Bilaspur, Janjgir-Champa, Mungeli, Raigarh and Korba districts, Mahasamund, Raipur, Gariaband, Dhamtari, Durg, Balod, Rajnandgaon, Kawardha (Kabirdham) etc. This area consists of flat plains, forest and hills. In this region Gond, Halba, Kamar, Bhujia, Agariya, Baiga, Kondh, Savra, Kanwar, Shikari Pardhi, Binjhwar, Dhanwar, Saunta, Bhaina, Pardhan etc are inhabited.
• Southern Cultural Zone (Bastar Division) :- The region may include tribes of Dantewada, Bijapur, Sukma, Kondagaon, Bastar, Narayanpur and Kanker districts. This area is covered with dense forests and hills. The tribes of Halba, Abujhmadia, Gadba, Parja, Dorla, Bhatra, Muria, Madia, Gond etc. reside in this area.

The tribes of Chhattisgarh can be classified as follows on the basis of their Economic Life:-

• Food Collectors and Predator Tribes :- The tribes of this group mainly collect kandamul, fruits, wild bhaji and hunt rabbit, deer, goh, fox etc. Birhor and Pahari Korwa fall in this category.
• Primitive cultivators, hunters, food gathering tribes :- The tribes of this group, besides harvesting, collecting fruits, hunting, fishing, also cut and burn forest trees and do primitive agriculture on it. In this group, tribes like Baiga, Abujhmadia, Kamar, Majhi, Pandas etc. are included. The Baiga and Pando tribes call it "Bevara" and Kamar and Abujhmadia call it "Penda"
• cultivator tribes :- The tribes of this group do sustainable agriculture, wild produce collection and hunting. This category includes Bingjhwar, Savra, Gond, Muria, Halba, Bhatra, Bhanjia, Bhumia, Biara, Kanwar, Majhwar, Munda, Bhaina, Nagesia etc.
• Advanced Agricultural Tribes :- There are tribes in this class who were Jagirdars, Malguzars etc. in the past. The tribes of this group include the Gond tribes residing along with other castes in the villages of the plain plains of the district of Tanwar, Rajgond, Bilaspur, Raipur, Dhamtari, Gariaband, Mahasamund, Durg, Balod, Bemetra, Kawardha, Janjgir-Champa etc
• Craftsman tribes :- The tribes of this class do wild produce collections, hunting, primitive agriculture as well as they make baskets, "Jhaunha", "Soupa" from bamboo. Tribes include Kamar, Kandra, Dhanwar, Saunta, Baiga, Majhi, Dorla etc. Pardhi tribes make brooms, mats, baskets, etc. with sticks. Birhor and Khond tribes make rope from Mohline bark and from Urai. Agaria make agricultural implements from iron obtained by dissolving iron stone (ore).
• Tribes engaged in arts - skills and other works :- The subcastes of the Gonds like Pardhan demand alms at the homes of other by singing folk songs, playing kinnari. Ojha plays the folk songs of Mahadev ji by playing Gond dahki and asks for alms at the house of other Gond tribe. Ojha Gond women perform tattooing. The people of Khairwar tribe make kattha from Khairvriksha.

On the basis of development, the tribes of Chhattisgarh can be classified into the following four classes:-

• Undeveloped Tribes : The tribes in this group are far behind in terms of social and economic development. Tribes such as Kamar, Abujhmadia, Pahari Korwa, Baiga, Birhor, Pando etc. are included in this category.
• Least Developed Tribes : The tribes of this group are moving towards social and economic development, but their development has not yet progressed to a less developed state. This category includes Muria, Madia, Agariya, Bhatra, Bhumia, Dhanwar, Kharia, Majhi, Majhwar, Nagesia, Pardhi Shikari, Parja, Bhujia, Saunta etc.
• Developing (near developmental) Tribes : The tribes coming in this group are developing and making proper use of government facilities. Their social, economic and educational status has reached the equivalent of many castes of other backward classes. Kanwar, Bhaina, Gond, Pardhan, Savara, Gadba, Kondh, Munda etc. fall in this category.
• Developed Tribes : The tribes coming in this group have developed more than the other tribes mentioned above by taking advantage of government, economic development programs, education, external contact etc. Most of the people of this group are working in posts reserved for tribes in government services. Rajgond, Tanwar, Halba, Oraon etc. fall in this category.

Scheduled tribes of Chhattisgarh can be classified into three main parts on linguistic basis :-

• The dialect of the Arya language family : This group consists of tribes who forget their traditional native dialect and speak local regional dialect or mixed form of regional and native dialect. In this category, Chhattisgarhi speaking tribes like Kanwar, Binjhwar, Bhujia, Dhanwar, Bhaina, Baiga, Halba etc.
• The dialect of the Austric language family : This group consists of dialect tribes of the Kolarian and Mundari language groups. Such as - Munda (Mundari Boli), Korwa (Korwa Boli), Majhi (Majhi Boli), Kharia (Kharia Boli), Gadba (Gadba Boli), Birhor and Savra etc.
• The dialect of the Dravidian language family : Some tribes speak the dialect of this language group. Such as - Gond (Gondi or Koya), Oraon (Kudukha Boli), Kondh (Kui Boli), Dorla (Dorli Boli), Parja (Parji Boli) etc.

• Proto-Australoid racial traits are found in all the scheduled tribes of Chhattisgarh. This symptom is more pronounced in the tribes of Munda, Uraon, Baiga, Gond etc.

Based on the population of Census 2011, the tribes of Chhattisgarh can be classified into the following groups :-