What is the ethnic composition of the African population? Peoples of North Africa
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Africa Tur → Reference materials → Africa: encyclopedic reference book. Volume. 1. A-K → POPULATION Ethnic composition of AfricaPOPULATION Ethnic composition of Africa
Ethnic composition of modern, us. A. is very complex (see map of nations). The continent is inhabited by several. hundreds of large and small ethnic groups. 107 of them, numbering more than 1 million people. each, constitute 86.2% of all of us (1983 estimate). Number 24 nations exceed 5 million people, and they make up 55.2% of us. A. The largest of them are Egypt. Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Alj, Arabs, Moroccan Arabs, Fulani, Igbo, Amhara, Oromo, Sudanese Arabs.
Northern and North-East countries. And, they are inhabited by peoples who speak languages of the Afroasiatic family. The most common of the Semitic languages - Arabic is native to 101 million people. (V5 all Africans). Arabs - main, us. Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania. Morocco; 43.1% of them live in Sudan, 26% in Chad.
In the Ethiopian group of Semitic peoples, the largest is the Amhara, which, together with kinships, Tigrai, Gurage, and Tigre, constitute the core of the emerging Ethiopian nation
Peoples speaking Cushitic languages live in Ethiopia and neighboring countries; the largest of them is the Oromo in the south. Ethiopia. The Cushitic group also includes Somalis and inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the South and Center. Ethiopia - Ometo, Kaffa, Shinasha, Yamma, Sidamo, etc. Vast desert spaces in the north-east. Sudan and the surrounding areas of Egypt and Somalia are occupied by the Beja.
Ancient than us. North A. - Berber peoples (Shilkh, Tamazigt, Rifs in Morocco, Kabyles and Shawiyya in Algeria) - survived only in the mountainous and partly desert regions of the Sahara. A special place among them is occupied by the Tuaregs (self-named Imoshagh), who roam the desert highlands of Ahaggar and Tassil-Ajer in Algeria, occupy the Air highlands and the adjacent areas of the Center. Sahara in Niger; there are many of them in Mali.
To the south of the Sahara live peoples who speak Chadic languages (or Hausa languages): Hausa, Bura, Vandala, etc. The vast majority of Hausa are settled in the North. Nigeria. They also live in the neighboring regions of Niger. Peoples related to the Hausa - the Bura, Vandala, Bade, Masa, Kotoks, etc. - are settled in the highlands of eastern Nigeria.
Naib, a vast territory. Africa is occupied by peoples who speak Congo-Kordofanian languages. Among the peoples speaking Niger-Congo languages, the ethnic groups speaking Benue-KoI10lese languages stand out for their large numbers. These include the Bangu peoples, who make up the vast majority of us. in many countries Central.. East. and Yuzh. A. 43 Bantu peoples count St. 1 million people everyone, Most cr. of which - Rwanda (in Rwanda, Zaire, Uganda and some neighboring countries), Makua (in Malawi, Tanzania and other countries), Rundi and Ha (in Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania and Uganda), Congo (in Zaire, Angola, Congo), Malawi (in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique), Zulu (in South Africa), Shona (in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana), Xhosa (South Africa), Luba (in Zaire and neighboring countries). Among other countries Bantu peoples - Kikuyu, Tsonga, Nyamwezi, Ganda, Mongo, Luhya, Ovimbundu, Pedi, Bemba, Sutho, Tswana.
In Benue-Congolese languages. says a whole series of cr. and small peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon (Ibibio, Tiv, Bamileke, Tikar, Ekoi, etc.).
Peoples speaking Kwa languages inhabit a vast area of the Guinea coast from Liberia to Cameroon: Kr peoples - Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, as well as Nupe, Gbari, Igbira, Ijo, etc. in Nigeria, a group of Akan peoples in southern Ghana and in BSK, Ewe in Southern Ghana, Togo and neighboring countries; Fon (East Ewe) in Benin; a group of Kru peoples in BSK and Liberia, small peoples of the coastal lagoons of BSK, etc.
Peoples speaking West Atlantic. languages, constitute the main us. many countries on the extreme 3. A.; Wolof, Fulbe, Serer and others in Senegal, Balante, Fulbe and others in Guinea-Bissau, Temne, Limba, Fulbe and others and Sierra Leone, Fulbe, Kisi and others in Guinea. The most numerous are the Fulani.
Peoples speaking Gur languages are settled in Burkina Faso, Ghana, BSK, Mali, Samos. of them - mine, closely related. peoples - Lobi, Bobo, Dogon. Other peoples of the Ego group include Grusi, Gurma, Tem, Cabre, etc.
Among the Mande peoples, the Mandinka are widely settled - in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and BSK. Close to them, the Bamana inhabit the center and regions of Mali, the Mende live in Sierra Leone, the Soninka in northern Mali in neighboring states, and the Susu in the coastal regions of Guinea. The Mande group also includes Dan, Queni, Mano, Diula, Vai, Busa, Bandi, Loma, etc.
Peoples speaking Adamauan-eastern languages make up the majority of us. CAR, they are also settled in Zaire, Cameroon and
Sudan Naib, kr, peoples: Banda, Gbaya, Azande (Zande), Chamba, Mbum.
Kordofanian languages are spoken by small peoples inhabiting the Kordofan Mountains in Sudan: Koalib, Tumtum, Tegali, etc.
Peoples speaking Nilo-Saharan languages make up a number of groups. In Shari-Nile languages. spoken by many Bass peoples. r. Nile. The majority of the Eastern Sudanese peoples (Southern Luo Acholi, Lango, Kumam, etc.; Joluo, Dinka, Nubians, Kalenjin, Teso, Turkana, Karamojong, Nuer, Maasai, etc.) live in South Sudan, Uganda , Kenya, the Central Sudanese group is formed by the Moru-Madi, Mangbetu, Bagirmi and Sara, as well as the pygmies - Efe, Aka, Asua and some others.
The Khoisan peoples inhabit semi-desert territories in the southwestern part of Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Angola, South Africa). These include the Bushmen, Hottentots, and mountain Damara. O. Mada Gascar is inhabited by Malagasy people who speak Austronesian languages.
Nas speaks Indo-European languages (Germanic, Romance and Indo-Aryan). European (Afrikaners, or Boers, English, French, Spanish, Italians, Portuguese, etc.) and Asian (immigrants from India and Pakistan, Indo-Mauritians, etc.) origin. European faces origins make up less than 1.5% of us. A. Their number. After the African countries gained political independence, their political independence decreased noticeably. However, in South Africa they occupy a dominant position in economic and political life.
In terms of language and partly in culture, the mixed mestizo us are adjacent to the Europeans. In South Africa it refers to the so-called. colored. They, along with other non-white peoples, are subjected to cruel racial discrimination. On the oceanic islands surrounding Africa. continent, as a result ethnically. mixing formed various mestizo ethnic groups (Reunions, Greens, Mauritian Creoles, etc. Ethnic processes
Ethnic processes - change of basic signs of ethnicity communities (language, culture, self-awareness, etc., i.e. those features that distinguish this community from others) - are divided into processes of ethnic unification, including assimilation, consolidation and integration, and processes of ethnic . disconnection. A. presents not only their different types, but also various stages of consolidation and integration. and assimilative processes, as well as different forms of ethnicity. communities - from small wandering groups of gatherers and hunters, preserving the remnants of the tribal system, to various ethnic groups of a transitional type, ethnolinguistic and ethno-political communities, cr. nationalities and multimillion-dollar nations.
Shaping us. A. occurred over a long period of time as a result of complex migration processes, interaction and mutual influence of different ethnocultural components. One of the important stages of ethnic. history of Africa is associated with the movement of the inhabitants of the Sahara as it dried out (from the 3rd century BC). Gradually, Negroid tribes spread to the south of the continent, as a result of centuries-old migrations of peoples, different in anthropological type and language, stages of consolidation and assimilation, to the West. A. a mixed group of us was formed. The next stage is associated with the movement of 3. Bantu peoples (starting from the 1st millennium AD). In Voet, A. they pushed the Cushite tribes to the north and partially assimilated them in the southwest. - Bushmen and Hottentots. As a result of contacts of alien Bantu-speaking tribes with the original. ethnic The formation of the ethnic appearance of modern times took place as a substrate. peoples, In the 7th-11th centuries, there were migrations of Arabs to the North. A., then to Center, and East. Sudan, East Africa coast and Indus Islands, approx. Great influence on ztnich. history was influenced by the ancients and the Middle Ages. states of A. - Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Congo, Cuba, etc. Within their borders there was a unification of kinships. tribes and their gradual consolidation into a nation. However, this natural the process was disrupted by the slave trade, which led to the devastation of vast territories. This means that the ethnocultural development of A was influenced by the period of colonialism, Colon, dependence, and the reactionary policies of the colonialists, aimed at preserving the socio-economic. backwardness, the disunity of peoples, the conservation of outdated tribal institutions. society, the division of united ethnic groups by the borders of colonies - contributed to ethnicity. stratification and isolationism, slowed down the processes of rapprochement of various. ethnic groups. However, unification processes also developed during the Colon period. IN different countries ethnic centers were emerging. consolidation, ethnic processes have emerged. integration, In the struggle against the colonialists, the national movement developed and became stronger. self-awareness. After reaching afr. state-you political independence has arrived new stage in their ethnocultural development. In new historical conditions of the formation processes of the Kyrgyz Republic, ethnic. communities are developing rapidly, simultaneously capturing various. levels and forms of ethnosocial structure - from families (large and small) to entire nations. Most ethnosocial communities have already passed the stage of development denoted by the term<‘племя». Повсеместно идут процессы формирования народностей, смешение, трансформация этнич, общностей разного уровня, смена родо-плем. связей территориальными, усиление социальной стратификации.
The winning of independence contributed to the destruction of the patriarchal feudal system. closedness pl. regions, strengthening the economic connections, the spread of common forms of culture and common literary major languages (Swahili - in V.A., Hausa, etc. - in 3.). The process of formation of nations is taking place in the North, the extreme south (Afrikaners), and in a number of countries in Tropical Africa (Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo in Nigeria, Congo in Zaire, and some others). As a rule, this process occurs on the basis of the consolidation of already existing nationalities. As for the formation of nations within the framework of state borders, in modern times. At the stage of ethnosocial development, we can only talk about the tendency of this process.
Diversity, lack of formality and amorphous ethnicity. communities in the states of Tropich, A., the mobility of ethnic boundaries, the presence of a large number of transitional types do not always make it possible to definitely characterize the level of ethnicity. development,
Ethnic processes are developing intensively in Armenia. consolidation - the folding of large ethnic groups. communities on a more or less homogeneous ethnic basis, or further unification of the formed ethnic group according to its socio-economic. and cultural development. They are observed among the Luhya and Kikuyu in Kenya, among the Akan people in Ghana, among the Igbo, Yoruba, Nupe and Ibibio in Nigeria, etc. Thus, ethnic groups close in language and culture are grouped around the Kikuyu. groups living in the south. and howls on the slopes of Mount Kenya: Embu, Mbere, Ndia, Kichugu, Meru. In terms of language, they are close to Kikuyu, Embu, Kichugu, Mbere and Ndia. The tribes are still preserved. languages and ethnicity self-names; in the census of us. Kikuyu, Embu and Meru are counted separately.
Consolidation level processes vary among different ethnic groups. The Igbo in Nigeria are compactly settled and have a common core. features of material and spiritual culture, However, vestiges of the tribes remain. divisions, tribes dialects, there are local differences in culture. If, according to the 1952-53 census, all Igbo considered themselves a single people, then during the Nigerian crisis of 1966-70 (see article Nigeria, Historical outline) and subsequent years there was a tendency towards ethnic separation. divisions. Ethnic divisions continue to exist among the Yoruba (Ijesha, Oyo, Ife, Egba, Egbado, Ondo, etc.). Tendency to separate departments. ethnic units are held back by consolidation processes among the Igbo and Yoruba.
Along with consolidation in plural. countries, interethnic processes have developed. integration, rapprochement of different ethnic groups, the emergence of common cultural features among them. They occur on the basis of the interaction of different ethnicities. components that differ in language, as well as in the level of socio-economic and cultural development. These processes can develop into complete ethnicity. integration of different ethnic groups within one state.
Integration processes occur everywhere in Africa, and in some countries they occur on the scale of the entire state and at the departmental level. nationalities. Socio-economic transformation, creation of a single national. market, the gradual emergence of a national culture within the state boundaries, consisting of many ethnic cultures, contribute to the gradual formation of a consciousness of community - Nigerian, Congolese, Guinean, etc. Africans increasingly call themselves non-traditional. ethnonyms, and by name. states - Nigerians, Congolese, Guineans, etc.
An example of integration at the department level. nationalities can serve ethnically. Hausa processes. Around the Hausas who make up the majority of us. North Nigeria, not only grouped close kinships. ethnic groups, but there is also a gradual assimilation of many. small tribes in the center, districts of the country: the Hausa language and culture are spreading more and more. Of these heterogeneous ethnicities. components the Hausa nation is formed. It includes: the Hausa proper, Angas, Ankwe, Sura, Bade, Bole, Karekare, Tangale, Bura, Vandala, Masa, Musgu, Mubi, etc. Most of these groups retain their self-names. Basic the mass speaks the language. Hausa, others are bilingual and speak their native languages. Many of these peoples were part of the Hausan state (see Hausan state), their households. and cultural contacts with the Hausa have a long history, which facilitates integration. processes. In some cases, integration processes can lead to the formation of a single ethnic community within the state. borders. In other cases, in conditions of ethnic pluralism and interethnic complexity. Several relationships may arise. integration centers and, accordingly, several. ethnosocial communities. As a result of integration. processes in Africa state-wah there is a formation of new ethnopolitical. (metaethnic) communities.
Assimilationist. processes are obvious where peoples living in the neighborhood differ sharply in terms of socio-economic levels. development, by origin, language and culture. Such in Kenya are the Kikuyu and the Ndorobo groups they assimilate, the Nilotes Luo and the Bantu-speaking Kisii and Suba; in Rwanda - Rwanda and Twa pygmies; in Botswana - Tswana and Bushmen; In Togo, small ethnic communities - the Akebu - are gradually merging with the Ewe. akposo, adele. In Guinea, the Baga, Mmani, and Landum, who are similar in language and culture, are uniting with the Kisi. At the same time, many Baga and Lan-Duma speak the language. susu and are partially assimilated by susu. In Sudan, the Arabs assimilate the Nubians, Beja, etc. In the BSK Baule, they assimilate the Lagoon peoples, the Krobu, the Gwa, etc. In Nigeria there are many. ethnic groups in the Ogoji region are significantly influenced by their neighbors - Igbo and Ibibio.
Along with unifying processes, ethnic processes are also observed in a number of districts of A. separation, although in the past their role was incomparably greater. Thus, in the history of Armenia, widespread migrations of Arabs and tribes are known, which led to the formation of separate ethnic groups. In ancient times, for centuries in the Center. And, there was a complex process of spread and isolation of Bantu-speaking ethnic groups; known to the Middle Ages. migration of the Luo from the banks of the Nile to the south - to Mezhozerye, accompanied by their division into a number of ethnic groups; a similar process took place in the 19th century, when part of South Africa. the Zulu (Nguni) tribes migrated to the north. In Kenya, the Masaba and Bukusu ethnic groups separated from the Gishu.
The character and pace of ethnicity. processes in agriculture are determined by historical, socio-economic. and political factors; general economic backwardness, multi-structured nature of the economy, foreign dominance. monopolies in many countries, unresolved social problems, the severity of national issues, ethno-territorial problems inherited from colonialism, etc.
Many of the African Ethnic groups retain a complex hierarchy of ethno-social structure, when the same set of people is simultaneously included in the ethnic group. communities of different levels. This is, for example, a multimillion-dollar ethnolinguistic. the Akan community, uniting a group of ethnic groups in the south. and center. Ghana and neighboring regions of the BSC The proximity of the Akan languages contributes to ethnocultural rapprochement both within the framework of the entire broad ethnolinguistic. community, and at the level of large ethno-social divisions - Ashanti, Fanti, Akim, etc. Socio-economic. The transformations taking place in Ghana are contributing to the formation of ethnosocial communities - nationalities - among different Akan peoples. This process is developing in parallel with the formation of a broad ethno-political community within the state of Ghana.
Ethnic processes in modern times. A. are not only complex, but also extremely contradictory. On the one hand, there is a growth in self-awareness and the erasure of tribes. differences, the creation of larger ethnosocial and ethnopolitical. communities, rejection of narrow tribal interests and emphasizing national ones. On the other hand, there is an increase in ethnicity. self-awareness, increasing its role in politics, life, strengthening tribes, separatism,
The rapprochement of peoples is facilitated by progressive economic and cultural processes, urbanization, and migration. African cities with a rapidly growing working class, developing bourgeoisie and intelligentsia became the center of development of consolidation and integration processes. In cities, there is an intensive exchange of cultural values between representatives of different nations, the convergence of languages and dialects, and the formation of literature. languages. All this is an important condition for the elimination of tribes. isolation (detribalization).
New interethnics are emerging in cities. connections, although this does not mean that the city dweller immediately breaks with his ethnicity. group, In cities there are numerous ethnic groups. unions and communities, which indicates the preservation of communal tribes. connections.
Mass migrations of people, work in cities on the same jobs of people of different ethnicities. accessories contribute to breaking traditions. breeding structures and activate ethnic. processes. Few ethnic Groups, as a rule, quickly adapt to other ethnic groups. environment and can be completely assimilated; numerous, migrants prefer to settle together and, to a certain extent, retain their ethnicity. features inherent in their way of life in their homeland, and definitions. the specifics of their social organization. In some cases, it is not always the friendly attitude of the local people that forces migrants to stick together. and the risk of conflict. Ethnic Particularism is also facilitated by the order of placing us that was established back in the day. in plural cities and large villages: settlement in neighborhoods is ethnic. character, people from the same ethnic background. groups prefer to settle together. In Ghana, the quarters where the newcomers live are called “zongo”, in the North. Nigeria - “Sabon Gari” (in Hausa language - “new city”). This situation not only does not lead to detribalization, but, on the contrary, strengthens ethnicity. self-awareness.
African states formed within the framework of the previous columns and borders inherited all the difficulties arising from the inconsistency of the political. and ethnic. borders, such large nations as the Ewe, Congo, etc. ended up in different states. Division of political. borders of a single ethnic territory of k.-l. people and duration, the preservation of such divisions leads to the emergence of serious differences between parts of the people. Creatures, the importance of the general socio-economic. and political conditions in which ethnicity occurs. processes. State politics can contribute to integration processes and the formation of a single community from different ethnolinguistics. components, otherwise several ethnicities may form. communities. Thus, in Togo, with the favorable development of integration processes, the Ewe can merge into a single Togolese ethnic group. community, in Ghana can survive as independent people. ethnic unit.
In a multi-structured economy, the social structure is ethnic. communities, including nationalities and emerging nations, is extremely heterogeneous. Preservation of many archaic institutions and structures, originating from the depths of clans and tribes. society: castes, patriarchal slavery, contempt for certain professions, ethnicity. prejudices and prejudices, tribal norms. morality means the role of tradition. systems of power, ethnic. stratification, etc. - leave a significant imprint on the pace and level of ethnic, especially integration, processes.
Specific historical conditions predetermine various options for ethnic development. In the Northern countries A. with more or less homogeneous ethnicity. The composition of multi-million Arabic-speaking nations has already emerged - Algerian, Egyptian, Moroccan, etc. In most countries it is ethnic. development is moving along the path of strengthening the most. cr. ethnic communities and strengthening integration. processes. Naib, a vivid example of the formation of a single ethnopolitical. communities - Tanzania, where, on the basis of the Swahili language, recognized as official. language of the country, from more than a hundred different ethnicities. groups a single community is emerging, the region can turn into the Tanzanian nation.
In South A. ethnic. development of indigenous Africans. peoples have been deformed by the reactionary, racial policies of the ruling circles of South Africa. The processes of formation of large ethnic groups are actively underway. communities (nationalities and nations) among the Bantu peoples. The creation of bangusgans and the conservation of traditions carried out in South Africa. institutes of clans and tribes. societies have a negative impact on national processes. consolidation.
Ethnic processes are closely related to linguistic ones. Social changes, including transformation of traditions. social structures that promote economics. and political consolidation, not only lead to a decrease in the importance of ethnic dividing factors and to the formation of large ethnopolitical. communities, but also activate language processes. On the one hand, bilingualism and multilingualism are spreading, and on the other, the languages of larger communities are absorbing the languages of smaller ethnicities. groups, Economic, social and political transformations in countries A lead to the widespread use of languages of interethnic communication - Swahili, Kingwana, Lingala, Sango, Wolof, etc. English also plays a significant role. and French languages, especially for interethnic ones. relationships,
Socio-economic and lolithic. conversion to African state-wahs contribute to the intensification of ethnicity. processes. Basic ethnic trends development is becoming a consolidation of individual ethnic groups. communities and the transformation of some of them into nationalities and nations and intrastate. interethnic integration A characteristic feature is the special role of the state in ethnic. development, acting as a factor of unity between different ethnic groups. groups into a larger community. In states that have chosen the path of progressive socio-economic. development, pursuing policies that encourage the rapprochement of different ethnic groups and the formation of a single ethnopolitical. complex within the state borders, creates the prerequisites for the formation of new nations on a real-democratic basis. and in the future - on
(geography teacher of the State Budgetary Educational Institution of the LPR “Lugansk Humanitarian-Economic Lyceum-Boarding School” Parkhomets I.Yu.).The ethnic composition of Africa is extremely complex. Now in Africa there are between 500 and 7,000 folk and ethnic groups belonging to 16 different language families. Of these, 11 large ones (over 10 million people each) are such peoples as: Egyptian Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Algerian Arabs, Moroccan Arabs, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara, Aromo, Malagasy, Zulus; 30 nations, numbering over 5 million people and about 100, numbering more than 1 million people. Most African peoples number several thousand or even hundreds of people and inhabit 1-2 villages.
It should be borne in mind that almost every ethnic group has its own language, with the exception of Arabic, which is spoken by one fifth of the African continent.
In cultural and ethnographicohmrelationshipAndterritoryIAfrica collapseeis divided into 2 historical and ethnographic provinces - North African and Tropical African.
The North African ethnographic province is divided into:
Egyptian-Sudanese;
Maghreb-Moorish historical-ethnographic region
The Tropical African province, in turn, includes 6 historical and ethnographic areas:
West Africa, or Western Sudan
Equatorial Africa (West Tropical Africa)
South Africa
East Africa
Northeast Africa
Madagascar
1. Arab s North Africa - (self-name al Arab) a group of peoples (Algerians, Egyptians, Moroccans, etc.). Total number fromabove 125million people Arabs speak Arabic. By religion, the majority of Arabs are Sunni Muslims, some belong to other directions of Islam (Shiites and Druze in Lebanon; Abadites (Ibadis) in North Africa), as well as to various directions of Christianity (Copts in Egypt).Modern Egypt is the largest country where a third of all the Arabs in the world live. In Algeria, the number of Arabs is more than 80%. Sudanese (Sudanese Arabs) are the main population of Sudan. The total number is over 18 million people.
2. Berbers inhabit North Africa from the Atlantic coast to the Siwa oasis in Egypt, from the Mediterranean to the Niger River.The Berbers speak the Berber language, the number of speakers of which reaches 30 million people, and have their own written language - Tifinagh, which comes from the Phoenician language. The Berbers are divided into many tribes, of which the largest are the Rif, Tuareg, Kabyle, Nafusa, etc.
3. Tuaregs. A mysterious people, the Tuareg, lives in the Sahara Desert and in the surrounding countries. And although this word often appears on the pages of foreign chronicles, in fact not much is known about this people, their history and culture. And at the same time, the Tuaregs are strikingly different from all other peoples of Africa. They say that the Tuaregs are a people of the Berber group, although outwardly their indigenous part is very different from the Berbers. And yet it is believed that the Tuareg language “Tomash” belongs to the group of Berber languages. The Tuaregs have their own special writing system, Tifinagh, which, according to scientists, originates from the ancient Libyan writing system.
The Tuaregs are the only people in the world whose men, not women, cover their faces with a bandage-veil, which is why they and their related tribes call them “Tigel Must” - the people of the veil. And to this day, a young man who has reached maturity receives two things from his father as a sign of this - a double-edged sword and a face veil. To appear to anyone without a bandage is considered the height of indecency, just as in our country it is to be naked in public. The bandage is not removed even at home, while eating and sleeping.
4. Mursi (or Mun as they call themselves) are a Nilotic ethnic group living in southwestern Ethiopia. They mainly inhabit the territory of South Omo in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region near the border with South Sudan. According to the 2007 national census, the Mursi population is 7,500. The Mursi speak the Mursi language, which is classified as a Nilo-Saharan language. The language has two spellings - based on the Ethiopic and Latin scripts respectively.
The Mursi tribe is perhaps one of the most famous and popular tribes of the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia in Africa. The main reason for their fame is the women who wear large clay plates in their lower lips. This attracts crowds of tourists who rush here in search of unique photos and video materials of the “evil savages”. At the age of 15 or 16, a girl is cut in her lower lip and her two front teeth are knocked out to prevent them from knocking on the plate, then a small plate is inserted. Over the years, the size of the plate increases, and the lip stretches. The larger the plate a woman can wear, the larger the wedding price will be.
Regardless of gender, Mursi decorate their bodies with intricate scar patterns. To create such drawings, you need to resort to rather cruel methods: first, an incision is made, then ash or insect larvae are placed in it, the body’s reaction to such actions will be capsules made of fabric, which are the elements of the drawing.
5. Surma. The Surma people are one of the least studied African tribes. Their habitat is the borderlands of Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan. The group has a membership of 20,622, of whom 19,622 live in Ethiopia and 1,000 in South Sudan.
By the way, the first white people who were able to establish contact with this tribe were immigrants from Russia. This happened in 1980. An interesting fact is that initially the aborigines mistook strangers for the living dead because of their white skin color.
When describing the Surma tribe, one cannot help but dwell on their tradition of covering the body with various designs (body painting). To do this, they use only two colors: white (obtained from natural chalk) and red-orange (obtained from ocher). Due to the fact that Surmas have dark skin color, they use white paint as a background, and apply their intricate patterns with red paint. The application of such body art is preceded by a little preparation, which can be compared to applying a primer.
6. Karo. WITH The smallest tribe in Southern Ethiopia, and possibly in the world. There are only 250-1500 of them. Their village stands on a beautiful cliff above the Omo River. The tribe's inhabitants are traditionally engaged in animal husbandry and gathering. Karo are considered masters of body painting, especially in preparation for dances and holidays. Natural paints are used for drawings on the body. Chalk (former), iron ore (red), ocher deposits (yellow), coal (black). Typically, the designs that are applied to the body, arms, legs and face repeat natural motifs - the spotted skin of a leopard or light gray specks on the dark plumage of guinea fowl, or the palm of a person. Caro likes the strict geometric style - stripes, circles, spirals. Almost every day they apply a new pattern to their bodies. Karo wear pink flowers of a tree growing near the village behind their ears.
7.Hamer . The Hamer tribe is considered one of the friendliest peoples in the country of Ethiopia. Their number is about 35-50 thousand people. It is believed that this tribe appeared in the 5th century AD. The main characteristics of the Hamers are high cheekbones, elaborate costumes, colorful beads and thick copper necklaces. The women's faces are refined and beautiful.
The main occupation of these people is beekeeping and cattle breeding. Cows are the main currency in the tribe. So the number of these cattle an aborigine has depends on his position in the tribe.
Any man who has his own home can be considered a leader in a tribe. The Hamers practice polygamy and men buy their wives with tribal currency - cows. According to custom in the Hamer tribe, the birth of children is considered an important basis of marriage, and when the first wife “gets tired” of producing heirs, her husband marries again. He is obliged to build each of his wives a separate house, where she brings her dowry: several bags of grain, a dozen chickens, tools, and so on. The husband leads a so-called nomadic lifestyle, that is, he lives with each of his wives in their houses in turn. As a rule, such houses are located close to each other, or in the same yard.
The most significant rite among the Hamer people is the initiation rite. The essence of the event is for the boy to prove in front of the entire tribe that he is ready to become a man. Only one initiation can take place on one day. In fact, it is not obligatory for a man, but after successfully fulfilling all the conditions of the ceremony, the guy has the right to choose any bride and she will not be able to refuse him. Only the son of a wealthy father who owns at least 300 cows can take part in the ceremony. The main task is to run along the backs of cows lined up in a row seven times in a row and not stumble. Another custom of the Hamer tribe that is difficult for us to understand is that before the “race” itself, the women of the tribe suffer beatings with rods from their men. They deliberately provoke their husbands, put weapons in their hands and withstand blows. The Hamers are confident that such a beating is nothing more than an expression of great love and respect for their woman. A lady who doesn't get hit will feel left out and ugly. Hamers are Sunni Muslims.
8. Maasai . The Maasai are a semi-nomadic African indigenous people living on the savannah of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. The Maasai are one of the most famous tribes in East Africa. Despite the development of modern civilization, they have almost completely preserved their traditional way of life, although this is becoming more difficult every year. They speak the Maasai language. The Maasai number from approximately 900 thousand to a million people, of which, according to various estimates, 350,000-453,000 live in Kenya.
The Maasai are very careful about traditions and try not to disturb the centuries-old way of life. This also applies to traditional clothing, which has not changed for centuries, sacrifice rituals, and wedding traditions.
An important attribute of the tribe is jewelry. They prefer silver earrings, long necklaces, headbands and bracelets.
Maasai ritual dances are performed during wedding celebrations and special holidays. Young representatives of the tribes jump high in one place to show their strength and dexterity. They also have a popular original matchmaking ritual.
9. Somalis . Somalis (Somal. Soomaaliyeed, Arab.الصوماليون ) - a people living near the Horn of Africa and numbering about 15-17 million people. They speak Somali, a language from the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family of languages. Somalis live mainly in Somalia, where they make up the majority of the population, as well as in northeastern Kenya, eastern Ethiopia (Ogaden, where for some time they fought for reunification into Greater Somalia) and Djibouti. Large communities of Somali migrants and refugees exist in many countries around the world, mainly in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and the United States.
10. Bushmen (San, Sa, Sonkwa, Masarwa, Basarwa, Kua) is a collective name applied to several indigenous South African hunter-gatherer peoples who speak Khoisan languages and are classified as the Capoid race. The total number is about 100 thousand people. According to the latest data, they have the most ancient ethnotype, carriers of the most ancient Y-chromosomal haplogroup A.
Bushmen, a people living in the desert regions of Namibia and surrounding areas of South Africa, Botswana, Angola, and Tanzania. The Bushmen do not have leaders, like other African tribes. Being in conditions of constant half-starved wandering in the desert, they could not afford such luxury as the existence of leaders, sorcerers and healers living at the expense of society. Instead of leaders, the Bushmen have elders. They are chosen from among the most authoritative, intelligent, experienced members of the clan, and they do not enjoy any material advantages.
The Bushmen speak Khoisan languages, which are also spoken by the Hottentots. These languages differ from all other languages of the world in that click consonants are widespread in them.
There was no written language before the arrival of Europeans. Fairy tales, legends and songs are passed down orally from generation to generation. Most of the people adhere to national forms of shamanism, but there are also Christians, represented by Orthodox and Catholics.
11. Pygmies (Greek Πυγμαῖοι - “people the size of a fist”) - a group of short Negroid peoples living in the equatorial forests of Africa. Another name for African pygmies is negrilli. The total population of pygmies is about 300 thousand people. Including in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda over 100 thousand people, Zaire - 70 thousand, Congo - 25 thousand, Cameroon - 15 thousand, Gabon - 5 thousand. They speak Bantu languages, the pygmies of the Ituri River speak languages sere-mundu.
The shortest people on earth, whose average height does not exceed 141 cm, live in the Congo River Basin in Central Africa. “The size of a fist” is translated from the Greek pygmalios - the name of the pygmy tribe. There is an assumption that they once occupied all of Central Africa, but were then forced out into the tropical forests.
Pygmies make up the pygmy Negroid race; they are distinguished by their short stature, yellowish skin tone, narrow lips, narrow and low nose.
The average life expectancy is no more than 45 years for men, women live a little longer. The first child is born at the age of 14-15, but there are no more than two children in a family. Pygmies roam in groups of 2-4 families. They live in low huts covered with grass, which can be made in a few hours.
12. Tootsie . One of the largest tribes on the African continent is the Tutsi people, also known as the Watusi. About two million people occupy the territory of Central Africa. The Tutsis are located in what is now Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda.
Today, the tribe professes such religious movements as Catholicism, Islam and beliefs in the god of health and fertility.
The appearance of Tutsi representatives sets them apart from the rest. The average height among women is on average 1.75 m, for men - 1.93 m. Therefore, the Tutsis are considered the tallest people. Tutsis are characterized by hostility and belligerence. But their identity is also distinguished by their love of culture. Tutsis speak Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) and Rundi (Kirundi), which belong to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family of languages. Rwanda and Rundi are mutually intelligible and are written using the Latin alphabet. Many Tutsis speak French. Most Tutsis are Catholic, but some ancient beliefs remain.
Tutsi traditions surprise with their diversity and beauty. The tribe has a huge folklore heritage, namely: poems, songs, sayings, myths and folk beliefs. Tutsis are excellent authors, so their poetry is magnificent and worthy of the attention of art lovers.
13. Karamojong - people of the Nilotic group living in Uganda. Total: 320 thousand The social system is based on blood ties and the clan system. The tribe is led by the oldest generation. The tallest people on the planet.
These amazing people, with stern looks and eyes that rarely touch the shadow of a smile, exceed 1.8 meters in height, and they look down on their neighbors and white people. The Karamojong are an extremely ancient people, from time immemorial, treating newcomers with caution, if not extremely negatively. These tribes have not lost their connection with their native land today; they jealously guard their herds and pastures from the invasion of strangers, and among themselves, they often start wars and simple fights, at the slightest provocation. They are real warriors, these strange giants of the Red Steppes of Karamoja.
14. Fudbe. There is a people in West Africa that has attracted the close attention of scientists for centuries. These are Fulani herders. Where did people with light skin tones come from on the Dark Continent, why there is so much “civilized” in them, where they gained knowledge, no one can say...
Indeed, the Fulani appear to be aliens on the African continent. Scientists suggest that the Fulani acquired their entire way of life, all their cultural values thanks to contacts with highly developed civilizations, but which ones are still unclear...
Fulbe or Fula, Fulani (Fula: fulɓe, singular fullo) are a people living over a vast territory in West Africa: from Mauritania, Gambia, Senegal and Guinea in the west to Cameroon and even Sudan in the east. They speak the Fula language of the Atlantic family of the Niger-Kordofanian macrofamily of languages. Their today, apparently, more than 20 million people (no exact data). They live mainly in West Africa - in almost all countries, but most of all in Northern Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, Cameroon; There are separate groups in both the central part and the east of the continent (Sudan).
They are a dispersed people without a single center. Their very name (plural ful`-be, singular – pul-o) means in their language “scattered, scattered” (in any case, the famous French Africanists A. Gaden and M. Delafosse believed so).
The predominant part of the Fulani are Muslims (very zealous); only a few nomadic groups retain pre-Islamic beliefs.
The Fulbe are essentially African trendsetters; they created the famous Phrygian cap, bell hat, and pointed straw hat - shepherds' headdresses. The women's hairstyle with a “cockscomb” made of the finest braids stretched on a special frame made of bamboo sticks is also famous throughout Africa. Fulani are Muslims.
15. Nguni - a group of related peoples in South Africa who speak Nguni languages. Includes Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele (Matabele).
Ndebele (Ndebele) are a Nguni people living in South Africa, mainly in the former Transvaal province. The Ndebele were one of the Nguni clans who lived on the east coast of South Africa. The first Nguni, followers of a chief named Musi, settled in the Transvaal in the 18th century.
Men from the Ndebele tribe decorate their houses with colorful ornaments, and women wear jewelry weighing up to 25 km.
The woman with the longest neck was considered the most beautiful among the Amandebele. From early childhood, women of this people wore brass hoops around their necks, thanks to which the neck could lengthen by 40-50 cm. These hoops could not be removed, since the lack of neck muscles would lead to immediate death for the woman. Nowadays it is rare to see such things on young girls.
16. Hottentots (Khoi-Koin; self-name: khaa, khaasen) is an ethnic community in southern Africa. Nowadays they inhabit Southern and Central Namibia, in many places living mixed with Damara and Herero. Separate groups also live in South Africa: Griqua, Korana and Nama groups (mainly immigrants from Namibia). Traditionally, the Hottentots were divided into two large groups: the Nama and the Cape Hottentots, which in turn were divided into smaller groups, and these into tribes.
The Hottentots today are an extremely small people, numbering no more than fifty thousand people. But to this day they have retained their own customs and traditions.
17. Zulus (Zulu amaZulu, English Zulus) are an African people of about 10 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the Republic of South Africa. Small groups of Zulus also live in Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. The Zulu language belongs to the Nguni group of the Bantu family. The Zulu Kingdom played an important role in the history of what is now South Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. During the apartheid era, the Zulus in South Africa, as the largest ethnic group, were treated as second-class citizens.
In modern conditions, most members of the tribe are workers in the mining industry, and some of them play a vital role in the politics and economy of South Africa - they occupy the highest government positions. The most striking example is the current President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, a Zulu by nationality.
18. Himba - people (20,000 - 50,000 people) living in northern Namibia in the Kunene region. The Himba are a nomadic people descended from the Herero people, speaking the Otjihimba language, a dialect of the Herero language.
Due to the harsh desert climate in which the Himba live and their isolation from the outside world, the tribe has managed to maintain their traditional way of life. The Himba live in a clan system based on bilateral inheritance.
According to the concept of bilateral inheritance, each member of the tribe belongs to two clans: the paternal line (patriclan) and the maternal line (matriclan). The oldest men lead the clans. Sons live in the clan of their father and mother, and daughters, when they get married, go to live in the clan of their husband. The Himba have retained their traditional beliefs, including the cult of ancestors and rituals associated with the sacred fire (okoruwo), which are considered an important link between the world of the living and the afterlife.
The Himba people do not need the trappings of civilization. They carefully preserve their established way of life from strangers. They practically don’t wear modern clothes, don’t use technology, don’t shed other people’s blood, and don’t know writing. But they have a lot of unique knowledge about nature and man, which has been replenished from generation to generation. Observance of customs, worship of the souls of the dead and the graves of ancestors, peaceful existence and raising livestock - this is how the days of the tribe members pass.
19. Malagasy (Malaga foko malagasy, French malgache) - people, the main population of the Republic of Madagascar (up to 20 million people). They also live in Reunion (5 thousand people), the Seychelles (1 thousand people), Comoros (2 thousand people) and France (2 thousand people). They speak Malagasy (Malgash), a language belonging to the Indonesian group of the Austronesian language family. Divided into several ethnic groups, sometimes called tribes.
They profess Christianity (Protestantism or Catholicism), preserving elements of traditional animistic beliefs. Also, some Malagasy converted to Islam. No country in Africa has such a diverse and numerous national intelligentsia (doctors, paramedics, nurses, lawyers, artists, writers, agronomists, etc.) as Madagascar.
We met only some representatives of African ethnic groups.
Africa is a huge continent with 61 countries. But almost each of them is home to hundreds of tribes, the language and customs of which are very different from each other. It is difficult to name the exact number of tribes and nationalities, since most often they are either densely mixed with each other, or, on the contrary, radically separated. Because of this, on the territory of the African continent there are adverbs and dialects that sometimes only representatives of a particular tribe can understand. And the variety of rituals, cultural systems, dances, customs and sacrifices is enormous and amazing.
South Africa occupies a narrow part of the continent lying south of the watershed of the Congo (Zaire) - Zambezi rivers. The plateau of South Africa in the central part decreases, and in the basin lies the Kalahari semi-desert. Towards the edges the plateau gradually rises, and in the east it turns into the Drakensberg Mountains. In the very south rise the folded and blocky Cape Mountains, younger than the rest of South Africa. Most of South Africa is occupied by savannas. Due to different moisture conditions, savannas are very diverse.
The Republic of South Africa (RSA) is located at the southern tip of the continent. The state is one of the developed countries of the world. The capital is the city of Pretoria.
The majority of the country's population is indigenous - Bantu. Among other African countries, South Africa stands out for its high proportion of the population of European origin (Afrikaner and English).
South Africa is a country of diverse natural complexes and enormous natural resources. Most of the country is a flat plateau, which gradually rises in steps to the south and east, giving way to mountains. The country's territory is dominated by savannas. Natural conditions, as throughout South Africa, change not only from north to south, but also from east to west.
South Africa, with its wide variety of landscapes, has a very rich fauna. In many areas, hunting and fishing are still the main occupation of the local population. But with the arrival of Europeans, the number of wild animals decreased noticeably and many species almost disappeared. The number of herbivores has especially decreased - antelopes, zebras, giraffes, elephants, large black buffalos, and rhinoceroses. Lions and leopards have almost completely disappeared.
In order to preserve wild animals from complete extermination, as well as natural complexes in general, nature reserves and national parks have been created in South Africa. The largest of them, the Kruger National Park, contains all species of animals found on the mainland.
Territories with fertile lands in the country belong to white farmers - owners of private agricultural enterprises. Farms widely use machinery and fertilizers and therefore receive high yields. They grow corn, wheat, beans, sugar cane, citrus fruits, cotton and other crops. Sheep and cattle farms are located on high plateaus with good pastures. Pasture farming occupies a very important place in agriculture.
The subsoil of South Africa is rich in a variety of minerals. This country is called a geological miracle. South Africa ranks one of the first places in the world in reserves and production of diamonds, gold, platinum, uranium and iron ores. The country's economy is dependent on British and American monopolists, who lead the development of mineral resources and receive huge profits.
There are many factories and factories in the country, and industry is developing rapidly.
The most ancient bone remains of our supposed ancestors have been found.
According to one of the hypotheses reconstructing the origin of man, 12-14 million years ago, Ramapithecus, primates with some “human” features, lived in East Africa and the Hindustan Peninsula, and some scientists believe that they entered southern Asia from Africa. African Ramapithecines were in an area whose natural features forced them to adapt to different living conditions, change their usual habitats in search of food and to escape from enemies and natural disasters. The savannas of East Africa are prone to droughts and floods, strong winds and fires during the dry season. In addition, this is a zone of rift faults, where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent, changing the earth's surface. At the same time, it is a region with diverse landscapes that allow migration from unfavorable conditions to more suitable conditions, to which, however, it was necessary to adapt. All this, according to a number of scientists, accelerated natural selection and led to the progressive development of the brain, to the gradual transformation of the Ramapithecus monkey into the ancestors of modern humans. It is believed that man as a biological species formed within Africa and from there spread throughout the globe. Note, however, that this is not the only hypothesis. There are supporters of the idea that the genus Homo arose in different places on the globe, but there is growing evidence that the ancestral home of humans is South and East Africa. In these areas, climatic conditions in recent eras have been favorable for the preservation of fossil organic remains, including those of our ancestors, therefore there are numerous finds of skeletons and their fragments in good preservation, which greatly contributed to the establishment and clarification of the family tree of the human race.
Throughout the African continent, in different areas, there are bone remains of ancient people - paleoanthropes (Neanderthals). They inhabited vast territories here. The material culture of African Neanderthals had specific features, and they themselves were very different from paleoanthropes.
Modern man appeared in Africa, apparently, about 100 thousand years ago. It is believed that miscegenation - the mixing of different types of paleoanthropes - played a role in the formation of the modern species of people (Homo sapiens). The settlement of neoanthropes across the continent was local in nature, and each focus developed its own culture. The process of formation of anthropological types began in the Paleolithic and continued during the Neolithic. The main races that inhabit the continent to this day arose. In North Africa, an ancient Caucasoid type was developing, in South Africa - the Boskop type, from which the Bushmen and Hottentots descended, in the west south of the Sahara. a Negroid (Negro) type appeared, and in the forests of the Congo Basin a Negroid race of African pygmies was formed. During the Neolithic, the Ethiopian race apparently formed at the contact of Caucasians and Negroids.
Racial composition of the African population
The modern indigenous population of Africa is racially diverse. Southern Caucasians, similar in basic morphological characteristics to the peoples of Southern Europe and South-West Asia, live in the north of the continent. Actually, African Caucasians are Berbers, but North African countries are mainly inhabited by peoples whose racial type was formed as a result of the mixing of Berbers with the Arabs who conquered them. The rest of the continent, except for the Ethiopian Highlands and the Somali Peninsula, before colonization was inhabited by representatives of the large equatorial race, which includes the Negroid (Negro), Negrillian and South African (Khoisan) races of the second order.
All representatives of different types of the equatorial race are distinguished by some common characteristics, for example, they usually have curly hair and a wide nose with a low bridge. However, there are also significant differences. Negrillies (pygmies) of Equatorial Africa are short, lighter-skinned than most representatives of other types. They have a wide mouth with thin lips, which also distinguishes them from Negroids. This race was formed in the Neolithic in the depths of the humid equatorial forests, and until now the whole life of the pygmies is connected with the conditions of their habitat. Hence the specific anthropological features. Some features that distinguish representatives of the South African race bring them closer to the Mongoloids. Thus, along with curly hair and a wide nose, characteristic of the entire equatorial race, they have yellowish-brown skin and epicanthus, which is characteristic of the Mongoloids. Some anthropologists believe that this is the result of a mixture of races, and are looking for ways of their contact. Most likely, the point here is the similarity of natural conditions in which the races of South Africans and Mongoloids were formed: arid features of nature characterize both Central Asia and the interior regions of South Africa (however, it is unclear why similar features were not developed among the inhabitants of the Sahara and Arabia) . The features of the equatorial race are most clearly expressed among representatives of the Negro race, living in the basins of the Niger and Congo rivers. In other areas there are significant deviations from this type: for example, some peoples have fairly light skin, while others have almost black skin, there are very large differences in height, and prognathism (protruding forward of the lower part of the face) is expressed to varying degrees.
As a result of the mixing of the Caucasian and Negroid races in the areas of their contact, a unique racial type emerged. Its representatives - residents of Ethiopia, Somalia, Western Sudan - inherited relatively dark skin, curly hair, full lips from Negroids, and from Caucasians - a narrow, high face and a nose with a protruding bridge. The influence of Caucasians was reflected in the absence of prognathism and in the general softening of Negroid features. The Ethiopian contact race formed a long time ago, back in the early Neolithic, but the mixing of races continued later, when the Arabs and then other peoples began to penetrate into the interior of the mainland. For example, in Madagascar, contact apparently occurred between the Negroids (apparently from southeast Africa) and the Southern Mongoloids (Indonesians), and as a result a unique racial type emerged. Mixing of races continues to occur today, but this process is hampered by racial prejudices, which are overcome with great difficulty. And during the colonial era there were many Europeans in African countries, but the stumps hardly mixed with the local population. After the states of the continent gained independence, the percentage of “white” people decreased greatly. Many Europeans moved in the 17th century. from Europe (Holland, Germany, France) to southern Africa. Here they formed a people called Afrikaners, or Boers. They speak a special language - Afrikaans, and are distinguished by specific traits of character, life, and economy. The Boers and the British represent the “white” population of the Republic of South Africa. There are also so-called “coloreds” here - descendants from mixed marriages of whites and representatives of the South African branch of the equatorial race.
Ethnic composition of the African population
Africa is inhabited by many peoples with their own languages, specific features of life, culture, and economy. There are states with an ancient culture, for example Egypt, whose history goes back several thousand years, while at the same time many peoples are at the level of primitive farming. This was facilitated by the colonization of a significant part of the mainland. The diverse ethnic composition of Africa's population and the division of its territory into countries without taking into account the interests of the indigenous inhabitants have led to many interethnic conflicts and even bloody wars.
Now in Africa, ethnographers count up to 500 ethnic groups. Of these, 11 are large (over 10 million people each) and about 100, numbering more than 1 million each. This is about 4/5 of the continent’s population.
African population density
The population is distributed extremely unevenly across the territory.
Huge regions - the Sahara, Kalahari, Namib, Congo Basin and some others - are very sparsely populated; within them there are areas where no one lives at all or the population density is less than 1 person per square kilometer. But there are countries in which the density reaches over 200 (Rwanda), over 100 (Nigeria) and over 50 (Egypt, Ghana, Togo, Uganda, Malawi) people per square kilometer. In addition, in these countries there are areas where the density indicator is even higher: in Egypt - this is the valley and especially the Nile Delta (in some places up to 1000 people / km 2), in Nigeria - the coast east of the Niger Delta, etc. It is interesting to note that more than 40% of Africa's population lives in areas at altitudes from 500 to 2000 m and above (the world average is 20%).
The region's population is more than 820 million people.
With an average density of 25 people per 1 sq. km population posted across Africa is very unevenly. The most densely populated areas are the sea coasts, coastal islands, the lower reaches of the Nile and Niger rivers, and the mining regions of South Africa, Zambia, Zaire and Zimbabwe. In these areas, the population density ranges from 50 to 1000 people per 1 sq. km. In the vast expanses of the Sahara, Kalahari, and Namib deserts, the population density barely reaches 1 person per 1 sq. km.
Uneven settlement is manifested both at the level of the region as a whole and at the level of individual countries. For example, almost the entire population of Egypt lives in the Nile Delta and Valley (4% of the total area), where the density is 1,700 people per 1 km 2.
Ethnic composition Africa's population is very diverse. There are 300-500 ethnic groups living on the mainland. Some of them (especially in North Africa) have developed into large nations, but most are still at the level of nationalities and tribes. Many of the ethnic groups still retained vestiges of the tribal system and archaic forms of social relations.
Linguistically, half of the African population belongs to the Niger-Kordofanian family, and the third part belongs to the Afrosian family. Residents of European descent make up only 1%. But at the same time, the state (official) languages of most African countries remain the languages of the former metropolises: English (19 countries), French (21 countries), Portuguese (5 countries).
"Quality" of the population Africa remains very low. The proportion of illiterate people in most countries exceeds 50%, and in countries such as Mali, Somalia, and Burkina Faso it is 90%.
Religious composition Africa is also very diverse. At the same time, Muslims predominate in its northern and eastern parts. This is due to the settlement of Arabs here. In the central and southern parts of Africa, the religious beliefs of the population were significantly influenced by the metropolitan countries. Therefore, many types of Christianity are widespread here (Catholicism, Protestantism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, etc.). Many peoples of this region have retained local beliefs.
Due to its diverse ethnic and religious composition, socio-economic difficulties and colonial past (borders), Africa is home to numerous ethnopolitical conflicts(Sudan, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Chad, Angola, Rwanda, Liberia, etc.). In total, over 35 armed conflicts were recorded in Africa during the post-colonial period, in which more than 10 million people died. As a result of more than 70 coups d'état, 25 presidents were killed.
Population reproduction Africa is characterized by very high rates (more than 3% per year). According to this indicator, Africa is ahead of all other regions of the world. This is primarily determined by the high birth rate. For example, the birth rate in Niger, Uganda, Somalia, Mali exceeds 50 o/oo, i.e. 4-5 times higher than in Europe. At the same time, Africa is the region with the highest mortality and low average life expectancy (men - 64 years, women - 68 years). As a result, the age structure of the population is characterized by a high proportion (about 45%) of children and adolescents under 15 years of age.
Africa has the highest level population migrations , the overwhelming majority of which are forced in nature and associated with interethnic conflicts. Africa accounts for almost half of all refugees and displaced people in the world, the vast majority of whom are “ethnic refugees.” Such forced migrations always lead to outbreaks of hunger and disease, leading to increased mortality.
Africa is a region of high labor migration. The main centers of attraction for labor from the African continent are Western Europe and Western Asia (especially the Gulf countries). Within the continent, labor migration flows mainly go from the poorest countries to the richer ones (South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Libya, Morocco, Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, Zaire, Zimbabwe).
Urbanization Africa's population is characterized by the world's lowest levels and highest rates. In terms of the share of urban population (about 30%), Africa is significantly inferior to other regions.
The pace of urbanization in Africa has become an urban explosion. The population of some cities doubles every 10 years. But urbanization here has a number of features:
Mainly capital cities and “economic capitals” are growing; the formation of urban agglomerations is just beginning (the number of millionaire cities is 24);
urbanization often has the character of “false urbanization,” which leads to negative socio-economic and environmental consequences.
A striking example of urbanization “African style” is the city of Lagos in Nigeria. This city has long been the capital of the state. In 1950, its population was 300 thousand people, and now it is 12.5 million. Living conditions in this overpopulated city are so unfavorable that in 1992 the capital was moved to Abuja.