The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each population generally having its own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Saharan populations.
The official population count of the various ethnic groups in Africa is highly uncertain, both due to limited infrastructure to perform censuses and due to the rapid population growth. There have also been accusations of deliberate misreporting in order to give selected ethnicities numerical superiority (as in the case of Nigeria's Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo peoples). [1] [2] [3]
A 2009 genetic clustering study, which genotyped 1327 polymorphic markers in various African populations, identified six ancestral clusters. The clustering corresponded closely with ethnicity, culture and language. [4] A 2018 whole genome sequencing study of the world's populations observed similar clusters among the populations in Africa. At K=9, distinct ancestral components defined the Afroasiatic-speaking populations inhabiting North Africa and Northeast Africa; the Nilo-Saharan-speaking populations in Northeast Africa and East Africa; the Ari populations in Northeast Africa; the Niger-Congo-speaking populations in West-Central Africa, West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa; the Pygmy populations in Central Africa; and the Khoisan populations in Southern Africa. [5]
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As a first overview, the following table lists major groups by ethno-linguistic affiliation, with rough population estimates (as of 2016):[ citation needed ]
Phylum | Region | Major groups | Pop. (millions) (2016)[ citation needed ] | Number of groups |
---|---|---|---|---|
Afro-Asiatic | North Africa, Horn of Africa, Sahel | Amhara, Hausa, Oromo, Somali, Tigrayan | 200 | 200-300 [6] |
Niger-Congo | West Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa | Akan, Fula, Igbo, Kongo, Mandé, Mooré, Shona, Yoruba, Zulu | 900 | 1650 [6] |
Nilo-Saharan | Nile Valley, Sahel, East Africa | Dinka, Kanuri, Luo, Maasai, Nuer, Songhai | 60 | 80 [6] |
Khoisan | Southern Africa, Tanzania | Nama, San, Sandawe | 1 | 40-70 [6] |
Austronesian | Madagascar | Malagasy | 20 | 1 [7] |
Indo-European | Central Africa, East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa | Afrikaners, British, French | 6 | 3 [8] |
Total | Africa | 1.2 billion (UN 2016) | c. 2,000 [9] | |
The following is a table of major ethnic groups (10 million people or more):
Major ethnic groups | Region | Countries | Language family | Pop. (millions) (year) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Akan | West Africa | Ghana, Ivory Coast | Niger–Congo, Kwa | 20[ year needed ] |
Amhara | Horn of Africa | Ethiopia | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | 22 (2007) |
Arabs | North Africa | Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | 100+ (2013) [10] |
Berbers | North Africa | Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania | Afro-Asiatic, Berber | 36 (2016) [11] [12] [13] |
Chewa | Central Africa | Malawi, Zambia | Niger–Congo, Bantu | 12 (2007) |
Fulani | West Africa | Mauritania, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Central African Republic, Ghana, Togo, Sierra Leone | Niger–Congo, Senegambian | 20[ year needed ] |
Hausa | West Africa | Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan | Afro-Asiatic, Chadic | 78 (2019) [14] |
Hutu | Central Africa | Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo | Niger–Congo, Bantu | 15[ year needed ] |
Igbo | West Africa | Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon | Niger–Congo, Volta–Niger | 34 (2017) |
Kanuri | Central Africa | Nigeria, [15] Niger, [16] Chad, [17] Cameroon [18] | Nilo-Saharan, Saharan | 10 |
Kongo | Central Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Republic of the Congo | Niger–Congo, Bantu | 10[ year needed ] |
Luba | Central Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Niger–Congo, Bantu | 15[ year needed ] |
Mongo | Central Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Niger–Congo, Bantu | 15[ year needed ] |
Mossi | West Africa | Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Niger, Ghana, Mali, Togo | Niger–Congo, Bantu | 11[ year needed ] |
Nilotes | Nile Valley, East Africa, Central Africa | South Sudan, Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia | Nilo-Saharan, Nilotic | 22 (2007) |
Oromo | Horn of Africa | Ethiopia, Kenya | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | 42 (2022) |
Shona | East Africa | Zimbabwe and Mozambique | Niger–Congo, Bantoid | 15 (2000) |
Somali | Horn of Africa | Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | 20 (2009) |
Songhai | West Africa | Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Algeria | Nilo-Saharan | 8 (2019) |
Yoruba | West Africa | Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone | Niger–Congo, Volta–Niger | 40[ year needed ] |
Zulu | Southern Africa | South Africa | Niger–Congo, Bantu | 12 (2016) |
The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 150 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and northern Cameroon. By far the most widely spoken Chadic language is Hausa, a lingua franca of much of inland Eastern West Africa, particularly Niger and the northern half of Nigeria.
Niger–Congo is a hypothetical language family spoken over the majority of sub-Saharan Africa. It unites the Mande languages, the Atlantic-Congo languages, and possibly several smaller groups of languages that are difficult to classify. If valid, Niger-Congo would be the world's largest in terms of member languages, the third-largest in terms of speakers, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area. It is generally considered to be the world's largest language family in terms of the number of distinct languages, just ahead of Austronesian, although this is complicated by the ambiguity about what constitutes a distinct language; the number of named Niger–Congo languages listed by Ethnologue is 1,540.
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by somewhere around 70 million speakers, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers, including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of the Nile meet. The languages extend through 17 nations in the northern half of Africa: from Algeria to Benin in the west; from Libya to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the centre; and from Egypt to Tanzania in the east.
The number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated at between 1,250 and 2,100, and by some counts at over 3,000. Nigeria alone has over 500 languages, one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world. The languages of Africa belong to many distinct language families, among which the largest are:
The Bantu expansion is a hypothesis about the history of the major series of migrations of the original Proto-Bantu-speaking group, which spread from an original nucleus around Central Africa. In the process, the Proto-Bantu-speaking settlers displaced, eliminated or absorbed pre-existing hunter-gatherer and pastoralist groups that they encountered.
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Middle Africa is an analogous term used by the United Nations in its geoscheme for Africa and consists of the following countries: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe. These eleven countries are members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Six of those countries are also members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and share a common currency, the Central African CFA franc.
The Kanuri people are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former Kanem and Bornu Empires in Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon. As well as a diaspora community residing in Sudan. Those generally termed Kanuri include several subgroups and dialect groups, some of whom identify as distinct from the Kanuri. Most trace their origins to ruling lineages of the medieval Kanem-Bornu Empire, and its client states or provinces. In contrast to the neighboring Toubou or Zaghawa pastoralists, Kanuri groups have traditionally been sedentary, engaging in farming, fishing the Chad Basin, trade, and salt processing.
Mali is a multilingual country of about 21.9 million people. The languages spoken there reflect ancient settlement patterns, migrations, and its long history. Ethnologue counts more than 80 languages. Of these, Bambara, Bobo, Bozo, Dogon, Fula, Hassaniya, Kassonke, Maninke, Minyanka, Senufo, Songhay languages, Soninke and Tamasheq are official languages. French is the working language.
The Languages of Africa is a 1963 book of essays by the linguist Joseph Greenberg, in which the author sets forth a genetic classification of African languages that, with some changes, continues to be the most commonly used one today. It is an expanded and extensively revised version of his 1955 work Studies in African Linguistic Classification, which was itself a compilation of eight articles which Greenberg had published in the Southwestern Journal of Anthropology between 1949 and 1954. It was first published in 1963 as Part II of the International Journal of American Linguistics, Vol. 29, No. 1; however, its second edition of 1966, in which it was published as an independent work, is more commonly cited.
The Rendille are a Cushitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting the northern Eastern Province of Kenya.
Kenya is a multilingual country. The two official languages of Kenya, Swahili and English are widely spoken as lingua francas; however, including second-language speakers, Swahili is more widely spoken than English. Swahili is a Bantu language native to East Africa and English is inherited from British colonial rule.
There are over 525 native languages spoken in Nigeria. The official language and most widely spoken lingua franca is English, which was the language of Colonial Nigeria. Nigerian Pidgin – an English-based creole – is spoken by 30 million people in Nigeria.
The population of Africa has grown rapidly over the past century and consequently shows a large youth bulge, further reinforced by a low life expectancy of below 50 years in some African countries. Total population as of 2020 is estimated to be more than 1.3 billion, with a growth rate of more than 2.5% p.a. The total fertility rate for Africa is 4.7 as of 2018, the highest in the world according to the World Bank. The most populous African country is Nigeria with over 206 million inhabitants as of 2020 and a growth rate of 2.6% p.a.
The Iraqw People are the Cushitic-speaking ethnic group inhabiting the northern Tanzanian regions. They are an abundant significant group in originating in southwestern Arusha and Manyara regions of Tanzania, near the Rift Valley. The Iraqw people settled in the southeast of Ngorongoro Crater in northern Karatu District, Arusha Region, where they remain the majority ethnic group. In Manyara region, the Iraqw are a major ethnic group in Mbulu District, Babati District and Hanang District.
The Hausa are a native ethnic group in West Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which is the second most spoken language after Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic language family. The Hausa are a culturally homogeneous people based primarily in the Sahelian and the sparse savanna areas of southern Niger and northern Nigeria respectively, numbering around 86 million people, with significant populations in Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Togo, Ghana, as well as smaller populations in Sudan, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Senegal and the Gambia.
The population of Chad has numerous ethnic groups. SIL Ethnologue reports more than 130 distinct languages spoken in Chad.
The proportions of various human Y-DNA haplogroups vary significantly from one ethnic or language group to another in Africa.
Tanzania is a multilingual country. There are many languages spoken in the country, none of which is spoken natively by a majority or a large plurality of the population. Swahili and English, the latter of which was inherited from colonial rule, are widely spoken as lingua francas. They serve as working languages in the country, with Swahili being the official national language. There are more speakers of Swahili than of English in Tanzania.
The Bantu peoples are an ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct native African ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. The languages are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central Africa to Southeast Africa and into Southern Africa. There are several hundred Bantu languages. Depending on the definition of "language" or "dialect", it is estimated that there are between 440 and 680 distinct languages. The total number of speakers is roughly 1 billion by 2023. About 120 million speakers (2024), divided into some 200 ethnic or tribal groups, are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone.
The genetic history of Africa is composed of the overall genetic history of African populations in Africa, including the regional genetic histories of North Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa, as well as the recent origin of modern humans in Africa. The Sahara served as a trans-regional passageway and place of dwelling for people in Africa during various humid phases and periods throughout the history of Africa.
We incorporated geographic data into a Bayesian clustering analysis, assuming no admixture (TESS software) (25) and distinguished six clusters within continental Africa (Fig. 5A). The most geographically widespread cluster (orange) extends from far Western Africa (the Mandinka) through central Africa to the Bantu speakers of South Africa (the Venda and Xhosa) and corresponds to the distribution of the Niger-Kordofanian language family, possibly reflecting the spread of Bantu-speaking populations from near the Nigerian/Cameroon highlands across eastern and southern Africa within the past 5000 to 3000 years (26,27). Another inferred cluster includes the Pygmy and SAK populations (green), with a noncontiguous geographic distribution in central and southeastern Africa, consistent with the STRUCTURE (Fig. 3) and phylogenetic analyses (Fig. 1). Another geographically contiguous cluster extends across northern Africa (blue) into Mali (the Dogon), Ethiopia, and northern Kenya. With the exception of the Dogon, these populations speak an Afroasiatic language. Chadic-speaking and Nilo-Saharan–speaking populations from Nigeria, Cameroon, and central Chad, as well as several Nilo-Saharan–speaking populations from southern Sudan, constitute another cluster (red). Nilo-Saharan and Cushitic speakers from the Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania, as well as some of the Bantu speakers from Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda (Hutu/Tutsi), constitute another cluster (purple), reflecting linguistic evidence for gene flow among these populations over the past ~5000 years (28,29). Finally, the Hadza are the sole constituents of a sixth cluster (yellow), consistent with their distinctive genetic structure identified by PCA and STRUCTURE.
over 3,000 indigenous languages by some counts, and many creoles, pidgins, and lingua francas.. Niger-Congo alone accounts for the majority of languages (and the majority of population), estimated at 1,560 languages by SIL Ethnologue) ( "Ethnologue report for Nigeria". Ethnologue Languages of the World.)
The Berber population numbers approximately 36 million people.