List of African cultural groups

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Main article: African cultural groups

File:Africa ethnic groups 1996.jpg

Ethnic groups in Africa.

Ethnic groups in Africa number in the hundreds, each generally having its own language (or dialect of a language) and culture.

Many ethnic groups and nations of Sub-Saharan Africa qualify, although some groups are of a size larger than a tribal society. These mostly originate with the Sahelian kingdoms of the medieval period, such as that of the Igbo of Nigeria, deriving from the Kingdom of Nri (11th century).^[1]

Overview[]

For more details on this topic, see Demographics of Africa.

The following ethnic groups number 10 million people or more:

Arab, up to ca. 100 million, see Demographics of the Arab League
Berber ca. 65 million
Hausa in Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Chad, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire and Sudan (ca. 30 million)
Yoruba in Nigeria and Benin (ca. 30 million)
Oromo in Ethiopia and Kenya (ca. 30 million)
Igbo in Nigeria and Cameroon (ca. 30 million)^[2]
Fula in Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Chad, Sudan, Togo and Côte d'Ivoire (ca. 27 million)
Akan in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire (ca. 20 million)
Amhara in Ethiopia (ca. 20 million)
Somali in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya (ca. 15-17 million)
Hutu in Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo (ca. 16 million)
Ijaw in Nigeria (ca. 14 million)
Mandinka in The Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Niger, Mauritania, Chad (ca. 13 million)
Kongo in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and Republic of the Congo (ca. 10 million)
Shona in Zimbabwe and Mozambique (ca. 10 million)
Zulu in South Africa (ca. 10 million)

The official population count of the various ethnic groups in Africa has, in some instances, been controversial because certain groups believe populations are fixed to give other ethnicities numerical superiority, such as in the case of Nigeria and the Igbo people.^[3]^[4]^[5] The same is true in Senegal as well as The Gambia. The Wolof people, Toucouleur people and Lebou people all trace their descend to Serer people and are therefore not an independent ethnic group particularly the Wolof. Yet the Wolof are seen as the largest ethnic group in Senegal and third largest in The Gambia. Other ethnic groups who have assimilated with the Wolof are counted as Wolof when in fact, they are not. Certain organisations are pushing this generally referred to as Wolofization.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]

List[]

Central Africa[]

Name	Phylum	Language	Region	Country	Population (million)	Notes
Aka	Nilo-Saharan, Pygmy	Aka	Central/Northern	Western Central African Republic, Northwest Congo		The Aka are one of three groups of pygmies, collectively called BaMbuti, of the Ituri Rainforest
Baka	Pygmy	Baka	Central/Northern	Western Equatoria in South Sudan	0.25	There is also another ethnic group called Baka living across West Africa.
Chewa	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Chichewa	Central/Southern	Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe	9
Chokwe	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Chokwe	Central	Angola, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia	1.1
Efé	Nilo-Saharan, Pygmy	Efe	Central/Northern	Ituri Rainforest of Congo		The Efe are one of three groups of pygmies, collectively called BaMbuti, of the Ituri Rainforest
Kongo	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Kongo	Central	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Republic of the Congo	10
Lingala	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Lingala	Central	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Angola, Central African Republic
Luba	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Luba-Kasai, Luba-Katanga	Central	Democratic Republic of the Congo	2
Mbundu	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Kimbundu	Central	Angola	2.4
Zande	Niger–Congo, Ubangian	Zande	Central/Northern	Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Central African Republic	1-4
Ovimbundu	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Umbundu	Central	Angola	4.6
Sua	Nilo-Saharan, Pygmy	Sua	Central/Northern	Ituri Rainforest of Congo		The Sua are one of three groups of pygmies, collectively called BaMbuti, of the Ituri Rainforest

East Africa[]

Name	Phylum	Language	Region	Country	Population (million)	Notes
Alur	Nilotic, Luo	Alur	East/Central	Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ganda	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Ganda	East, Great Lakes	Uganda	3
Hutu	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Rwanda-Rundi	East, Great Lakes	Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo	16
Kamba	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Kamba	East	Kenya
Kalenjin	Highland Nilotes	Kalenjin	East	Kenya	3
Kikuyu	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Gikuyu	East	Kenya	5.3
Kwama	Nilo-Saharan	Kwama	East/Northern	Ethiopia, Sudan
Luo	River-Lake Nilotes	Luo	East	Kenya
Luhya	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Luhya	East	Kenya	5.4
Maasai	Plains Nilotes	Maasai	East	Kenya, Tanzania	0.9
Makonde	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Makonde	East/Southern	Tanzania, Mozambique	1.3
Ameru	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Meru	East	Kenya
Tutsi	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Rwanda-Rundi	East Africa, Great Lakes	Rwanda, Burundi, Congo,	3
Great Lakes Twa (Batwa)	Pygmy	Rundi, Kiga	Great Lakes	Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Eastern Congo	0.8

Horn of Africa[]

Name	Phylum	Language	Region	Country	Population (million)	Notes
Afar	Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic	Af Afar	Horn of Africa	Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea	1.5
Agaw	Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic	Agaw	Horn of Africa	Ethiopia, Eritrea	1
Amhara	Afro-Asiatic, Semitic	Amharic	Horn of Africa	Ethiopia	20
Beja	Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic	Beja	Horn of Africa	Sudan, Eritrea	2
Gurage	Afro-Asiatic, Semitic	Gurage	Horn of Africa	Ethiopia	1.9
Oromo	Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic	Afan Oromo	Horn of Africa	Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Kenya	30
Saho	Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic	Saho	Horn of Africa	Eritrea, Ethiopia	0.2
Sidama	Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic	Af Sidama	Horn of Africa	Ethiopia	3
Somali	Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic	Somali	Horn of Africa	Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya	20
Tigray	Afro-Asiatic, Semitic	Tigrinya	Horn of Africa	Ethiopia, Eritrea	6.7
Tigre	Afro-Asiatic, Semitic	Tigre	Horn of Africa	Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia	1.5

North Africa[]

Name	Phylum	Language	Region	Country	Population (million)	Notes
Egyptians, Arabs	Afro-Asiatic, Semitic	Egyptian Arabic (Masri)	North Africa	Egypt	83
Berbers, Arabs	Afro-Asiatic, Berber	Berber, Arabic languages	Maghreb	Morocco, Algeria , Libya	75
Dinka	Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic	Dinka language	central/northeastern	South Sudan	5
Nubians	Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic	Nobiin	Northeast Africa	Sudan, Egypt	0.5
Nuer	Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic	Nuer language	eastern	South Sudan	5

Southern Africa[]

Name	Phylum	Language	Region	Country	Population (million)	Notes
Afrikaner	Indo-European	Afrikaans	South	South Africa, Namibia	3.0	descendants of early northwestern European settlers
San (Bushmen)	Khoisan	Khoisan	South	South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, Angola	0.09
Ambo (Ovambo, Owambo)	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Ovambo	South	Namibia	0.9
Bemba	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Bemba language	South	Zambia	0.2
Herero	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Herero	South	Namibia, Botswana, Angola	0.2		Wayeyi]]	Niger-Congo, Bantu	[[Shiyeyi language\|	South	Namibia, Botswana, Angola	0.3
Himba	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Otjihimbo (Herero dialect)	South	Namibia	0.05
Khoikhoi	Khoisan	Khoekhoegowab	South		-
Makua	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Makua	South/East	Mozambique, Tanzania	1.1
North Ndebele	Bantu, Nguni	Sindebele	South	Zimbabwe	1.5
South Ndebele	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Southern Ndebele	South	South Africa	.7
Shona	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Shona	South/East	Mozambique, Zimbabwe	10.6
Swazi	Bantu, Nguni	Swazi	South	Swaziland, South Africa, Mozambique	3.5
Venda	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Venda	South	South Africa, Zimbabwe	1
Xhosa	Bantu, Nguni	Xhosa	South	South Africa	7.9
Zulu	Bantu, Nguni	Zulu	South	South Africa	10.6

West Africa[]

Name	Phylum	Language	Region	Country	Population (million)	Notes
Akan	Niger–Congo, Kwa	Akan	West	Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire	20+	a group of eight related sub-ethnicities
Aku	(Creole)	Aku	West	Gambia	0.01
Ashanti	Niger–Congo, Kwa	Twi (Akan dialect)	West	Ghana	5
Baka	Ubangi	Baka	West/Central	Southeastern Cameroon, Northern Congo, Northern Gabon	0.3-0.4	The Baka are also known as Bebayaka, Bebayaga, or Bibaya, or (along with the other Mbenga peoples) the derogatory Babinga.
Bambara	Niger–Congo, Mande	Bambara	West	Mali	3
Basaa	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Basaa	West	Cameroon	0.2
Bassa	Niger–Congo, Kru	Bassa	West	Liberia	0.3
Edo (also called Bini or Benin)	Niger–Congo, Edo	Edo	West	Nigeria
Efik	Niger–Congo, Cross River	Ibibio-Efik	West	Nigeria, Cameroon, Southern Cameroons
Eket	Niger–Congo, Cross River	Eket (Ibibio dialect)	West Africa	Nigeria, Cameroon, Southern Cameroons
Ewe	Niger–Congo, Gbe	Ewe	West	Ghana, Togo, Benin	6
Beti-Pahuin	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Ewondo, Fang, Bulu	West	Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe	3.3	group of 20 sub-ethnicities
Fante	Niger–Congo, Kwa	Fante (Akan dialect)	West	Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire	3
Fulani	Niger–Congo, Senegambian	Fula	West	Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Chad, Mauritania, Sudan, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire	27
Ga	Niger–Congo, Kwa	Ga, Ga-Adangme	West	Ghana, Togo	2
Gwari			West	Nigeria
Hausa	Afro-Asiatic, Chadic	Hausa	West/Northern	Nigeria, Niger, Ghana, Chad, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Sudan	30-35
Igbo (Ibo)	Niger–Congo, Volta–Niger	Igbo	West	Nigeria, Cameroon, Southern Cameroons	30^[2]	Includes various subgroups.
Esan	Niger–Congo, Kwa	Esan	West	Nigeria
Ijaw	Niger–Congo, Ijoid	Ijaw	West	Nigeria	14 ^[10]	Sub-groups include Andoni, Ibani, Kalabari, Nembe, Ogbia and Okrika.
Jola	Niger–Congo, Senegambian	Jola, Kriol	West	Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau	.5
Mandinka	Niger–Congo, Mande	Mandingo	West/Central	The Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Niger, Mauritania, Chad	13
Marka	Niger–Congo, Mande	Marka	West/Northern	Mali
Meta also Metta	Widikum, Bantu, Semi-Bantu, Bantoid	Meta	West, Central	Cameroon, Southern Cameroons
Mende	Niger–Congo, Mande	Mende	West	Sierra-Leone	2
Serer	Niger–Congo, Senegambian	Serer	West	Found mostly in Senegal and The Gambia. Small number Mauritania. Also found in the West.	over 1.8^[11]^[12]^[13]	The Serer people include: Serer-Sine, Serer-Safene, Serer-Ndut, Serer-Palor, Serer-Niominka, Serer-Laalaa, Serer-Noon. Serer-Sine is the proper and standard language of the Serer people. The others are dialects of the Serer-Sine language and known as Cangin languages
Songhai	Nilo-Saharan	Songhai	West	Mali	1.5
Tiv	Niger–Congo, Bantu	Tiv	West	Nigeria, Cameroon	2
Urhobo	Niger–Congo, Volta–Niger	Urhobo	West	Nigeria	1-1.5
Wolof	Niger–Congo, Senegambian	Wolof	West	Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania	4
Yoruba	Niger–Congo, Volta–Niger	Yoruba	West	Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Togo	30+

References[]

↑ Achebe, Chinua (2000). Home and Exile, Oxford University Press US. "...Igbo people would score very poorly indeed on the Oxford dictionary test for tribe... Now, to call them a nation... This may not be perfect for the Igbo, but it is close."
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Sources vary widely about the population. Mushanga, p. 166, says "over 20 million"; Nzewi (quoted in Agawu), p. 31, says "about 15 million"; Okafor, p. 86, says "about twenty-five million"; Okpala, p. 21, says "around 30 million"; and Smith, p. 508, says "approximately 20 million".
↑ includeonly>Onuah, Felix. "Nigeria gives census result, avoids risky details", Reuters, 29 December 2006. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
↑ Lewis, Peter (2007). Growing Apart: Oil, Politics, and Economic Change in Indonesia and Nigeria, University of Michigan Press. URL accessed 2008-11-23.
↑ Suberu, Rotimi T. (2001). Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria, US Institute of Peace Press. URL accessed 2008-12-18.
↑ Ebou Momar Taal. "Senegambian Ethnic Groups: Common Origins and Cultural Affinities Factors and Forces of National Unity, Peace and Stability". 2010
↑ Cheikh Anta Diop. Nations nègres et culture: de l'antiquité nègre égyptienne aux problèmes culturels de l'Afrique noire d'aujourd'hui. 1954
↑ Makhtar Diouf. Sénégal, les ethnies et la nation. Nouvelles Éditions Africaines du Sénégal. Dakar. (1998).
↑ African Census Analysis Project (ACAP). University of Pennsylvania. Ethnic Diversity and Assimilation in Senegal: Evidence from the 1988 Census by Pierre Ngom, Aliou Gaye and Ibrahima Sarr. 2000
↑ https://www.cia.gov/library/publcations/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html
↑ Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie. In Senegal alone, estimated figure for 2007 is 1,840,712.1
↑ Gambia keep poor records of its ethnic minorities. Estimated Gambian figure is 31,900 (2006) Ethnologue.com
↑ Mauritania (2006 estimate) 3500. Joshua Project

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[1] Achebe, Chinua (2000). Home and Exile, Oxford University Press US. "...Igbo people would score very poorly indeed on the Oxford dictionary test for tribe... Now, to call them a nation... This may not be perfect for the Igbo, but it is close."

[igbo-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Sources vary widely about the population. Mushanga, p. 166, says "over 20 million"; Nzewi (quoted in Agawu), p. 31, says "about 15 million"; Okafor, p. 86, says "about twenty-five million"; Okpala, p. 21, says "around 30 million"; and Smith, p. 508, says "approximately 20 million".

[3] udeonly>Onuah, Felix. "Nigeria gives census result, avoids risky details", Reuters, 29 December 2006. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.

[4] Lewis, Peter (2007). Growing Apart: Oil, Politics, and Economic Change in Indonesia and Nigeria, University of Michigan Press. URL accessed 2008-11-23.

[5] Suberu, Rotimi T. (2001). Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria, US Institute of Peace Press. URL accessed 2008-12-18.

[6] Ebou Momar Taal. "Senegambian Ethnic Groups: Common Origins and Cultural Affinities Factors and Forces of National Unity, Peace and Stability". 2010

[7] Cheikh Anta Diop. Nations nègres et culture: de l'antiquité nègre égyptienne aux problèmes culturels de l'Afrique noire d'aujourd'hui. 1954

[8] Makhtar Diouf. Sénégal, les ethnies et la nation. Nouvelles Éditions Africaines du Sénégal. Dakar. (1998).

[9] African Census Analysis Project (ACAP). University of Pennsylvania. Ethnic Diversity and Assimilation in Senegal: Evidence from the 1988 Census by Pierre Ngom, Aliou Gaye and Ibrahima Sarr. 2000

[10] ttps://www.cia.gov/library/publcations/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html

[11] Agence Nationale de la Statistique et de la Démographie. In Senegal alone, estimated figure for 2007 is 1,840,712.1

[12] Gambia keep poor records of its ethnic minorities. Estimated Gambian figure is 31,900 (2006) Ethnologue.com

[13] Mauritania (2006 estimate) 3500. Joshua Project

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