There are more than 100 distinct ethnic groups and tribes in Tanzania, not including ethnic groups that reside in Tanzania as
refugees from conflicts in nearby countries. These ethnic groups are of
Bantu origin, with large
Nilotic-speaking, moderate indigenous, and small non-African minorities. The country lacks a clear dominant ethnic majority: the largest ethnic group in Tanzania, the
Sukuma people, comprises about 16 percent of the country's total population, followed by the
Wanyakyusa and the
Chagga. Unlike its neighbouring countries, Tanzania has not experienced large-scale ethnic conflicts, a fact attributed to the unifying influence of the
Swahili language.[1]
The ethnic groups mentioned here are mostly differentiated based on
ethnolinguistic lines. They may sometimes be referred to together with
noun class prefixes appropriate for
ethnonyms: this can be either a prefix from the ethnic group's native language (if Bantu), or the
Swahili prefixwa.
The Akie, like all other
hunter-gatherer persons in Tanzania and Kenya, are sometimes referred to as "
Dorobo" or "Wandorobo", which is disparaging and false.[4]
^Raa, Eric Ten. “The Moon as a Symbol of Life and Fertility in Sandawe Thought.” Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, vol. 39, no. 1, 1969, pp. 24–53. JSTOR,
https://doi.org/10.2307/1157948. Accessed 18 Mar. 2023.
There are more than 100 distinct ethnic groups and tribes in Tanzania, not including ethnic groups that reside in Tanzania as
refugees from conflicts in nearby countries. These ethnic groups are of
Bantu origin, with large
Nilotic-speaking, moderate indigenous, and small non-African minorities. The country lacks a clear dominant ethnic majority: the largest ethnic group in Tanzania, the
Sukuma people, comprises about 16 percent of the country's total population, followed by the
Wanyakyusa and the
Chagga. Unlike its neighbouring countries, Tanzania has not experienced large-scale ethnic conflicts, a fact attributed to the unifying influence of the
Swahili language.[1]
The ethnic groups mentioned here are mostly differentiated based on
ethnolinguistic lines. They may sometimes be referred to together with
noun class prefixes appropriate for
ethnonyms: this can be either a prefix from the ethnic group's native language (if Bantu), or the
Swahili prefixwa.
The Akie, like all other
hunter-gatherer persons in Tanzania and Kenya, are sometimes referred to as "
Dorobo" or "Wandorobo", which is disparaging and false.[4]
^Raa, Eric Ten. “The Moon as a Symbol of Life and Fertility in Sandawe Thought.” Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, vol. 39, no. 1, 1969, pp. 24–53. JSTOR,
https://doi.org/10.2307/1157948. Accessed 18 Mar. 2023.