Ethnic groups in Africa number in the hundreds, each generally having its own language (or dialect of a language) and culture.
The various ethnic groups and nations of Africa have almost always been identified as tribes, although some scholars such as Nigerian author Chinua Achebe have challenged this because of its possible wrong definition for some groups (in his case, the Igbo of Nigeria) and possible negative connotations.[1]
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The following ethnic groups number 10 million people or more:
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]
Name | Phylum | Language | Region | Country | Population (million) | Notes |
Cewa | Niger-Congo, Bantu | Chichewa language | Central/Southern | 9 | ||
Chokwe | Niger-Congo, Bantu | Central | Angola, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia | 1.1 | ||
Ganda | - | |||||
Kongo | 10 | |||||
Lingala | 2 | |||||
Luba | ||||||
Mbundu | ||||||
Zande | ||||||
Ovimbundu | 4.6 |
Name | Phylum | Language | Region | Country | Population (million) | Notes |
Alur | ||||||
Baganda | Niger-Congo, Bantu | Luganda language | East, Great Lakes | Uganda | 3 | |
Busoga | Niger-Congo, Bantu | Lusoga language | East, Great Lakes | Uganda | ||
Hutu | Niger Congo, Bantu | Kinyarwanda/Kirundi | East, Great Lakes | Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo | 16 | |
Kamba | Kenya | |||||
Kalenjin | Kenya | |||||
Kikuyu | Kenya | |||||
Kwale | ||||||
Luo | Kenya | |||||
Luhya | Kenya | |||||
Maasai | Kenya | |||||
Makonde | ||||||
Samburu | Kenya | |||||
Tutsi | Niger-Congo, Bantu | Kinyarwanda/Kirundi | East Africa, Great Lakes | Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo | 3 |
Name | Phylum | Language | Region | Country | Population (million) | Notes |
Afar | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | Afar | Horn of Africa | Eritrea, Ethiopia | 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 | Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt | 2 | |
Gurage | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | Gurage | Horn of Africa | Ethiopia | 1.9 | |
Oromo | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | Oromo | Horn of Africa | Ethiopia, Kenya | 30 | |
Saho | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | Saho | Horn of Africa | Eritrea, Ethiopia | 0.2 | |
Somali | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | Somali | Horn of Africa | Somalia | 20 | |
Tigray | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | Tigrinya | Horn of Africa | Eritrea, Ethiopia | 6.7 | |
Tigre | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | Tigre | Horn of Africa | Eritrea, Sudan | 1.5 |
Name | Phylum | Language | Region | Country | Population (million) | Notes |
Egyptians | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | Arabic | North Africa | Egypt | 83 | |
Berbers | Afro-Asiatic, Berber | Berber | Maghreb | Morocco, Algeria , Libya | 73 | |
Dinka | Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic | Dinka language | Southern Sudan | Sudan | 1 | |
Nubians | Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic | Nobiin | Northeast Africa | Sudan, Egypt | 0.5 |
Name | Phylum | Language | Region | Country | Population (million) | Notes |
Afrikaner | Indo-European | Afrikaans | South Africa, Namibia | 3.0 | descendants of early northwestern European settlers | |
San (Bushmen) | 0.09 | |||||
Ambo (Ovambo, Owambo, Kwanyama) | Namibia | 0.9 | ||||
Bemba | Niger-Congo, Bantu | Bemba language | Southern | Zambia | 0.2 | |
Herero | 0.2 | |||||
Himba | 0.05 | |||||
Khoi Khoi (Hottentot) | - | |||||
Makua | 1.1 | |||||
Ndebele | Bantu, Nguni | Ndebele | 5 | |||
Shona | Shona | 10.6 | ||||
Swazi | Bantu, Nguni | Swazi | 1.1 | |||
Venda | Bantu | Venda | 1 | |||
Xhosa | Bantu, Nguni | Xhosa | 7.9 | |||
Zulu | Bantu, Nguni | Zulu | 10.6 |
Name | Phylum | Language | Region | Country | Population (million) | Notes |
Akan | Niger-Congo, Kwa | Akan languages | West | Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire | a group of eight related sub-ethnicities | |
Aku | (Creole) | Aku language | West | Gambia | 0.01 | |
Ashanti | Niger-Congo, Kwa, Akan | Twi | West | Ghana | 5 | |
Asua (Aka) | Mali | |||||
Bambara | Niger-Congo, Mande | Bambara language | West | Mali | 3 | |
Basaa | Niger-Congo, Bantu | Basaa language | West | Cameroon | 0.2 | |
Bassa | Niger-Congo, Kru | Bassa language | West | Liberia | 0.3 | |
Bini (also called, Edo or Benin) | Nigeria | |||||
Edo (also called Bini or Benin) | ||||||
Efik | Niger-Congo | Efik language | West Africa | Nigeria, Cameroon, Southern Cameroons | ||
Eket | Niger-Congo | West Africa | Nigeria, Cameroon, Southern Cameroons | |||
Ewe | ||||||
Ewondo | ||||||
Fanti | ||||||
Fulani | ||||||
Ga | ||||||
Gwari | ||||||
Hausa | ||||||
Igbo (Ibo) | Niger-Congo | Igbo language, Igboid languages | West Africa | Nigeria, Cameroon, Southern Cameroons | 30[2] | Includes various different subgroups. |
Ishan | ||||||
Ijaw | Niger-Congo | Ijo, Ijoid languages | West Africa | Nigeria | 14 [6] | Sub-groups include Andoni, Ibani, Kalabari, Nembe, Ogbia and Okrika. |
[Jaba (Ham)]Jola | ||||||
Mandinka | ||||||
Marka also Maraka | ||||||
Meta also Metta | Widikum, Bantu, Semi-Bantu, Bantoid | Meta | West, Central | Cameroon, Southern Cameroons | ||
Mende | ||||||
Songhai | ||||||
Tiv | ||||||
Urhobo | ||||||
Wolof | ||||||
Yoruba |
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