Region
Africa
41 nations of Africa, each with its own name first and checked facts with sources.
41 nations
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Afar
Lands the Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia, the Dankalia coast of Eritrea, and Djibouti
Ethiopia's Afar State is home to about 1.8 million Afar people, by a government projection.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Anywaa
Also known as Anuak
Lands Gambella in western Ethiopia, along the Akobo, Alwaro, Openo (Baro) and Gilo rivers, and neighbouring South Sudan
Anywaa activists helped found EMIPRO in 2022, the first legally registered Indigenous-led rights organization in Ethiopia.
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BaAka
Also known as Aka
Lands forests between the Oubangui and Sangha rivers, in south-western Central African Republic and northern Republic of the Congo
Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas credits BaAka knowledge of the forest as central to its research, conservation and tourism work.
Source: Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Bagyeli
Also known as Bakola
Lands the forests of southern Cameroon, around Akom II, Bipindi, Kribi and Lolodorf
Bagyeli and Bakola communities live across about 12,000 km2 of southern Cameroon, especially around Akom II, Bipindi, Kribi and Lolodorf.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Baka
Lands forests of eastern and southern Cameroon, northern Gabon, and neighbouring parts of the Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic
In Gabon, the Baka are one of nine Indigenous forest peoples, alongside the Babongo, Bakoya and others, each with its own language and culture.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Batwa
Also known as Twa
Lands south-western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Rwanda's Batwa hold deep knowledge of the forest and what it provides, and pottery is their main source of livelihood.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Benet
Also known as Mosopisyek
Lands the slopes of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda, in Kween, Kapchorwa and Bukwo districts
In May 2023 Uganda's Office of the Prime Minister directed the wildlife authority (UWA) to stop evictions of Benet communities.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Datooga
Also known as Datoga
Lands northern Tanzania, including the highlands near Mount Hanang in Manyara Region and the Lake Eyasi area
An estimate cited by IWGIA puts the Datoga group, which includes the Barabaig, at 87,978 people in Tanzania.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Endorois
Lands around Lake Bogoria in Baringo County, and in Nakuru and Laikipia counties, in Kenya's Rift Valley
In 2010 the African Union approved an African Commission ruling in the Endorois case, the first in Africa to recognize Indigenous peoples' rights to land they traditionally owned.
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Griqua
Also known as Griquas
Lands the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa
Griqua communities live today in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Hadzabe
Also known as Hadza
Lands the hills and valleys around Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania
Hadzabe communities are calling for community-led tourism that ensures transparency, dignity and a fair share of the benefits.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Hai//om
Also known as Haiǁom
Lands north-central Namibia, in and around Etosha National Park and on resettlement farms in Kunene, Oshikoto and Oshana regions
In July 2026 Namibia's Vice President opened a high-level meeting in Outjo with the Hai//om Traditional Authority on a development plan for Hai//om communities.
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Imazighen
Also known as Amazigh (singular)
Lands North Africa (Tamazgha): Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt's Siwa oasis, with communities across the Sahel and in the diaspora
After decades of campaigning, Tamazight was recognized as a national and official language in Algeria's Constitution in 2016.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Ishelhiyen
Also known as Ishelhin
Lands the Souss valley, the Anti-Atlas and the western High Atlas of south-western Morocco
In the Souss-Massa region, 63.2% of residents use Tachelhit, the language of the Ishelhin, according to Morocco's 2024 census.
Source: Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP), Direction Régionale de Souss Massa (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Ju|'hoansi
Also known as Juǀʼhoansi
Lands Nyae Nyae and the Tsumkwe area of north-eastern Namibia, and neighbouring north-western Botswana
Ju|'hoansi is the one San language Namibia has approved for teaching in schools, but a 2025 review of 14 schools found it is seldom used in class.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Kabyles
Also known as Iqbayliyen
Lands Kabylia in north-eastern Algeria, with a large community in France
Kabyles make up around half of Algeria's Amazigh population, centred on Kabylia in the north-east.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Karimojong
Also known as Karamojong
Lands the Karamoja drylands of north-eastern Uganda
The Karimojong, whose economy has long rested on livestock, live mainly in the drylands of north-eastern Uganda, about 1.09 million people in a 2018 estimate.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Kel Tamasheq
Also known as Tuareg (exonym)
Lands the Sahara and Sahel: northern Mali and Niger, southern Algeria and Libya, and northern Burkina Faso
Imzad music, played by Kel Tamasheq (Tuareg) women on a one-string bowed instrument they craft from a gourd, has been on UNESCO's heritage list since 2013.
Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Khoikhoi
Also known as Khoekhoe
Lands South Africa, especially the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape, including Nama, Griqua and Korana communities
Rooibos benefit money now helps fund local schools, water pumps, student fees and an organic rooibos nursery in Cederberg communities such as Wupperthal.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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ǂKhomani
Also known as ǂKhomani San
Lands the southern Kalahari in South Africa's Northern Cape, including the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park near the borders with Botswana and Namibia
ǂKhomani people have won back cultural rights in South Africa's Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, such as using its resources and hunting in traditional ways across much of it.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Khwe
Also known as Kxoe
Lands north-eastern Namibia, north-western Botswana and southern Angola, and Platfontein near Kimberley in South Africa
In South Africa, Khwe and !Xun communities live mainly at Platfontein, near Kimberley.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Konso
Lands the Konso highlands of south-western Ethiopia
The Konso built the dry-stone terraces of their highlands and still farm them; UNESCO lists the Konso Cultural Landscape as World Heritage.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Korana
Also known as !Orana
Lands Kimberley and the Free State province, South Africa
Korana communities live mainly in Kimberley and in the Free State province.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Maasai
Also known as Masai
Lands southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, on both sides of the border
In 2025 Tanzania's Simanjiro district paused carbon project signings for 30 days to respond to community concerns, which IWGIA read as a sign that communities are starting to be heard.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Mbororo
Also known as M'bororo
Lands Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, the Central African Republic and Niger, often along borderland grazing routes
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a Mbororo woman from Chad who founded the group AFPAT, chaired the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for its 2024 session.
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNPFII) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Mbuti
Also known as BaMbuti
Lands the Ituri forest of north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
A 2022 national law in the DR Congo, in force since February 2023, recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples, including the Mbuti, to their lands, territories and resources.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Mozabite
Also known as At Mzab
Lands the M'Zab valley around Ghardaïa in the Algerian Sahara
The M'Zab valley habitat, built in the tenth century by the Ibadites around five ksour (fortified towns), survives intact and is UNESCO World Heritage.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Nama
Also known as Namaqua
Lands southern Namibia and the Richtersveld and Namaqualand areas of South Africa's Northern Cape, with smaller communities in Botswana
On 28 May 2025 Namibia held its first official Genocide Remembrance Day, remembering atrocities against the Herero and Nama peoples under German colonial rule.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Naro
Also known as Nharo
Lands Ghanzi District in western Botswana, and eastern Namibia
In 2025 Botswana's government started radio programs in a number of Indigenous languages, Naro among them.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Ogiek
Also known as Okiek
Lands highland forests of Kenya, especially the Mau Forest
In December 2025 the African Court issued its first ever compliance decision, in the Ogiek case, finding that Kenya had not yet carried out its judgments.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Oromo
Lands Oromia and other regions of Ethiopia, and northern Kenya
Knowledge of the Gada system is passed on to Oromo children today, at home and at school.
Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Ovahimba
Also known as Himba
Lands Kunene Region of north-western Namibia and south-western Angola
Ovahimba are mainly herders whose homes lie in the dry mountains and plains of north-west Namibia's Kunene Region.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Rifians
Also known as Irifiyen
Lands the Rif of northern and north-eastern Morocco, including Al Hoceima province
Nationwide, 3.2% of Morocco's population reported Tarifit among the local languages they use, in the 2024 census.
Source: Haut-Commissariat au Plan (HCP), Morocco (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Samburu
Lands Samburu County and nearby rangelands of north-central Kenya
All of Reteti's elephant keepers come from the Samburu community and are formally trained to care for, rehabilitate and release elephant calves.
Source: Reteti Elephant Sanctuary (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Sengwer
Also known as Cherangany
Lands Cherangany Hills and Embobut Forest in Kenya's western highlands
Kenya's 2019 census counted 10,729 Sengwer, who live in the Cherangany Hills and Embobut Forest of the western highlands.
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Siwans
Also known as Isiwan
Lands the oases of Siwa and El-Gara in Egypt's Western Desert, near the border with Libya
A sense of Berber belonging has revived in Siwa this century; a letter of the Tifinagh alphabet, the Amazigh symbol, now names a bazaar below old Shali.
Source: CNRS Éditions (OpenEdition Books) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Toubou
Also known as Tebu
Lands the Tibesti plateau of northern Chad, southern Libya along the Chad border, and northern Niger
About 50,000 Toubou live in Libya along the border with Chad; the people's origins lie in the Tibesti plateau.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Tshwa
Also known as Tjwa
Lands Tsholotsho and Bulilimamangwe districts of western Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution lists Koisan among its 16 languages, and in 2023 the Tsoro-o-tso San Development Trust worked on the Tjwao language.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Wodaabe
Also known as Woɗaaɓe
Lands the Sahel of Niger, with communities in Chad, northern Cameroon and north-east Nigeria
In 2008 thousands of Wodaabe herders attended the fourth General Assembly of the Woodaabe Pastoralists of Niger.
Source: Pastoralist Communication Initiative (opens in a new tab) Checked
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!Xun
Also known as !Xu
Lands north-eastern Namibia and southern Angola, and Platfontein near Kimberley in South Africa
In South Africa, !Xun and Khwe communities live mainly at Platfontein, near Kimberley.
Source: IWGIA (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs) (opens in a new tab) Checked
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Yiaku
Also known as Yaaku
Lands Mukogodo Forest in Laikipia County, Kenya
Yiaku women and elders now lead language teaching and forest care, and growing youth involvement is strengthening the community.
Source: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) (opens in a new tab) Checked