Chic African Culture Africa Factbook

List of Largest Ethnic Groups in Africa

List of the largest ethnic group in each African Country.


An ethnic group is a category of people who belonging to or deriving from the cultural, religious, or linguistic traditions of a people or country. People who identify with each other based on similarities, such as common ancestral, language, social, and cultural experiences.

Race is associated with biology, whereas ethnicity is associated with culture.
Learning at a refugee camp in East Africa

Some believe belonging to an ethnic group does not come from individual choice but others impose ethnicity. Race is associated with biology, whereas ethnicity is associated with culture. Therefore, an ethnic group is a subjective category based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions of others. 

Largest Ethnic Groups in every African Country

2006-2016 CIA census reports

African Country
Largest Ethnic Group
Algeria
Arab-Berber 99%
Angola
Ovimbundu 37%
Benin
Fon and related 38.4%
Botswana
Setswana 79%
Burkina Faso
Mossi 52.5%
Burundi
Hutu 85%
Cameroon
Cameroon Highlanders 31%
Cabo Verde
Creole mulatto 71%
Central African Republic
Baya 33%
Chad
Sara 25.9%
Comoros
Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava (Comoros’ population is a mixture of Arabs, Persians, Indonesians, Africans, and Indians)
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population
Republic of the Congo
Kongo 48%
Cote d'Ivoire
Akan 32.1%
Djibouti
Somali 60%
Egypt
Egyptian 99.6%
Equatorial Guinea
Fang 85.7%
Eritrea
Tigrinya 55%
Ethiopia
Oromo 34.4%
Gabon
Fang 32%
The Gambia
Mandinka/Jahanka 33.8%
Ghana
Akan 47.5%
Guinea
Fulani (Peul) 33.9%
Guinea-Bissau
Fulani 28.5%
Kenya
Kikuyu 22%
Lesotho
Sotho 99.7%
Liberia
Kpelle 20.3%
Libya
Berber and Arab 97%
Madagascar
Merina 26%
Malawi
Chewa 32.6%
Mali
Bambara 34.1%
Mauritania
Black Moors 40%
Mauritius
Creole 86.5%
Morocco
Arab-Berber 99%
Mozambique
Ethnic groups are not broken down in percentages however, the country is 99.66% African. The main ethnic groups in Mozambique are Makhuwa, Tsonga, Makonde, Shangaan, Shona, Sena, Ndau, and other indigenous groups.
Namibia
Ovambo 50%
Niger
Hausa 53.1%
Nigeria
Hausa and Fulani 29%
Rwanda
Hutu 84%
Sao Tome and Principe
Mestico or mixed-blood, descendants of Portuguese colonists and African slaves figures vary from 33%-68%
Senegal
Wolof 38.7%
Seychelles
Mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab. Seychelles has no indigenous population and was first permanently settled by a small group of French planters, African slaves, and South Indians in 1770.
Sierra Leone
Temne 35%
Somalia
Somali 85%
South Africa
Zulu 21 %
South Sudan
Dinka 35.8%
Sudan
Sudanese Arab 70%
Swaziland (renamed the country eSwatini in April 2018)
Swazi 84.3%
Tanzania
Bantu 95%
Togo
Ewe figures vary from 21%-32%
Tunisia
Arab 98%
Uganda
Baganda 16.5%
Zambia
Bemba 21%
Zimbabwe
Shona 82%


Some believe belonging to an ethnic group does not come from individual choice but others impose ethnicity.

Did you know?
Throughout the world, ethnicity is used as a social measure of differences between groups of people.

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