The word people means a collective group of human beings belonging to a particular/specific nation, community or ethnicity. The word peoples, on the other hand, means the same as ‘people’ but it’s used to denote groups of people belonging to different communities, ethnicities, religions, nationalities, etc.

Most of the time, people is the correct word to choose as a plural for person. Persons is archaic, and it is safe to avoid using it, except in legal writing, which has its own traditional language. Peoples is only necessary when you refer to distinct ethnic groups (for example, within the same region).

People’s is the singular possessive form of people. Peoples’ is the plural possessive form of People. Peoples or People’s or Peoples’ are all pronounced the same way. Because “Peoples” is usually singular, people’s’ is usually correct.

“People” is the plural form, making “people’s” the plural possessive form. “Peoples” is only used when referring to the plural of a group of people within a country or community. It’s rare to ever come across “peoples'” as the plural possessive form. If in doubt, use “people’s.”

People’s and peoples’ are possessive noun forms. While people’s is the possessive of the word people, peoples’ is the possessive of the word peoples – the plural of people. Use people’s when implying ownership of a collective group of humans belonging to a particular nation, community, or ethnicity.