Overall Largest African Ethnic Groups
Ethnic group, People, or Tribe | Population (#) | Language Family | Countries | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Berber | Arab-Berber | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | Maghreb (Mauritania, Morocco, Western Sahara), Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya | North Afrika | |
Berber | |||||
Maghrebis | |||||
Hausa | 40,000,000 – 45,000,000 | Afro-Asiatic, Chadic | Nigeria, Niger, Benin, Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan | West Afrika | |
Yoruba | 45,993,000 – 47,000,000 | Niger–Congo, Volta–Niger | Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone | West Afrika | |
32,684,301 – 35,000,000 | Niger–Congo, Volta–Niger | Nigeria | West Afrika | ||
Oromo | 37,731,489 – 39,000,000 | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | Ethiopia | Horn of Afrika | |
Mandé | Mandé | 30,000,000 – 40,000,000 | Niger-Congo, Mande | Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau | West Afrika |
Mandinka | 18,000,000 – 19,000,000 | ||||
Hutu | 23,000,000 – 25,000,000 | Niger–Congo, Bantu | Rwanda, Burundi, and DR Congo | Central Afrika | |
Fulani | 20,000,000 – 30,000,000 | Niger-Congo, Senegambian | Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Cameroon, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo | The Sahel and West Afrika | |
Akan | 20,000,000 | Niger–Congo, Kwa | Ghana, Ivory Coast | West Afrika | |
Somalis | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya | Horn of Afrika | ||
Amhara | 19,867,817 | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | Ethiopia | Horn of Afrika | |
Mandinka | 18,000,000 – 19,000,000 | Niger-Congo, Mande | Mali, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau | West Afrika | |
Kongo | 17,254,808 | Niger–Congo, Bantu | DR Congo, Angola, Congo Republic | Central Afrika | |
Shona | Niger–Congo, Bantu | Zimbabwe and Mozambique | East Afrika | ||
Zulu | 13,234,900 – 14,159,000 | Niger–Congo, Bantu | South Africa | Southern Afrika | |
Chewa | 12,000,000 | Niger–Congo, Bantu | Malawi, Zambia | Central Afrika | |
Kanuri | Nilo-Saharan | Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon | Central Afrika | ||
Mongo | Niger–Congo, Bantu | Congo, Democratic Republic | Central Afrika | ||
Largest African Ethnic Groups by Country
Countries | Ethnic group/ People/ Tribe | Population (%) | Language Family | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Algeria | Arab-Berber | 99 % | Afro-Asiatic, Berber | |
Angola | Ovimbundu (a.k.a. Southern Mbundu) | 37% | Bantu | |
Benin | Fon | 38.4% | Niger–Congo, Gbe | |
Botswana | Tswana | 79% | Bantu | |
Burkina Faso | Mossi | 52% | Niger-Congo, Gur | |
Burundi | Hutu (a.k.a. Abahutu) | 85% | Bantu | |
Cameroon | Cameroon Highlanders | 31% | ||
Cabo Verde | Creole Mulatto | 71% | ||
Central African Republic | Gbaya | 20% – 26% | Niger-Congo, Gbaya–Manza–Ngbaka | |
Chad | Sara | 25.9% | Nilo-Saharan | |
Comoros | Afro-Arab | 86% | Bantu | |
Congo, Democratic Republic | Mongo | 12% | Bantu | |
Congo, Republic | Kongo | 40.5% – 48% | Bantu | |
Côte d’Ivoire | Akan | 28.9% – 42.1% | Niger-Congo, Kwa | |
Djibouti | Somali | 60% | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | |
Egypt | Egyptian | 99.6% | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | |
Equatorial Guinea | Fang | 85.7% | Bantu | |
Eritrea | Tigrinya | 55% | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | |
Eswatini | Swazi | 84.3% | Bantu | |
Ethiopia | Oromo | 34.4% | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | |
Gabon | Fang | 23.2% | Bantu | |
The Gambia | Mandinka/ Jahanka | 34% | Niger-Congo, Mande | |
Ghana | Akan | 47.5% | Niger-Congo, Kwa | |
Guinea | Fulani | 33.9% | Niger-Congo, Senegambian | |
Guinea-Bissau | Fulani | 28.5% | Niger-Congo, Senegambian | |
Kenya | Kikuyu | 17.1% | Bantu | |
Lesotho | Sotho | 99.7% | Southern Bantu | |
Liberia | Kpelle | 17.1 % – 20.3% | Niger-Congo, Mande | |
Libya | Arab-Berber | 97% | Afro-Asiatic, Berber | |
Madagascar | Merina | 26% | Austronesian, Barito | |
Malawi | Chewa | 34.3% | Bantu | |
Mali | Mandinka | 52.5% | Niger-Congo, Mande | |
Mauritania | Haratin (a.k.a. Black Moors) | 40% | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic & Berber | |
Mauritius | Indo-Mauritians | 59.1% | ||
Morocco | Arab-Berber | 99% | Afro-Asiatic, Berber | |
Mozambique | Makhuwa | 24.6% | Bantu | |
Namibia | Ovambo | 49% | Bantu | |
Niger | Hausa | 38.8% | Afro-Asiatic, Chadic | |
Nigeria | Hausa | 30% | Afro-Asiatic, Chadic | |
Rwanda | Hutu | 84% | Bantu | |
São Tomé & Príncipe | Mestiços | 33%-68% | ||
Senegal | Wolof | 44.1% | Niger-Congo, Senegambian | |
Seychelles | Seychellois Creole (mainly of East African and Malagasy heritage) | 78.3% | ||
Sierra Leone | Temne | 28.4% – 35% | Niger-Congo, Mel | |
Somalia | Somali | 79% – 85% | Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic | |
South Africa | Zulu | 23.7 % | Southern Bantu | |
South Sudan | Dinka | 35.8% | Nilo-Saharan | |
Sudan | Sudanese Arab | 70% | Afro-Asiatic, Semitic | |
Tanzania | Sukuma | 17.7% | Bantu | |
Togo | Adja-Ewe | 37%-42.4% | Niger-Congo, Gbe | |
Tunisia | Arab-berber | 98% | Afro-Asiatic, Berber | |
Uganda | Baganda | 16.5% | Great Lakes Bantu | |
Zambia | Bemba | 21% | Bantu | |
Zimbabwe | Shona | 82% | Bantu |
Sources
C.I.A. "The World Fact Book." Demographics. n.d. 2019. ‹https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html›.
Dept. of Statistics, South Africa. Mid-year population estimates. Stats Release. Pretoria: Statisitcs South Africa, 2020. ‹http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022020.pdf›.
WorldAtlas. Society. 2017. ‹https://www.worldatlas.com/society/›.
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