Fula people
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people is an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, and regions near the Red Sea coast in Sudan. The approximate number of Fula people is unknown, due to clashing definitions regarding Fula ethnicity. Various estimates put the figure between 25 and 40 million people worldwide.
Fulɓe 𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 | |
|---|---|
Fulani men during Guérewol, Niger | |
| Total population | |
| est. 38.6 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| West Africa, North Africa and Central Africa | |
| Nigeria | 15,300,000 (6.6%) |
| Senegal | 5,055,782 (27.5%) |
| Guinea | 4,544,000 (33.4%) |
| Cameroon | 3,000,000 (13.4%) |
| Mali | 2,840,850 (13.3%) |
| Burkina Faso | 1,800,000 (8.4%) |
| Niger | 1,650,000 (6.5%) |
| Benin | 1,182,900 (8.6%) |
| Mauritania | 900,000 (18.3%) |
| Guinea-Bissau | 623,646 (30%) |
| Gambia | 449,280 (18.2%) |
| Chad | 334,000 (1.8%) |
| Sierra Leone | 310,000 (5%) |
| CAR | 250,000 (4.5%) |
| Sudan | 204,000 (0.4%) |
| Togo | 110,000 (1.2%) |
| Ghana | 4,240 (0.01%) |
| South Sudan | 4,000 (0.02%) |
| Algeria | 4,000 (0.01%) |
| Ivory Coast | 3,800 (0.02%) |
| Languages | |
| Fula • French • Portuguese • English • Arabic • Hausa | |
| Religion | |
| Primarily Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Toucouleur, Tuareg, Hausa, Tebu, Serer, Songhay, Berber Tribes | |
| Person | Pullo 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞥆𞤮 |
|---|---|
| People | Fulɓe 𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤩𞤫 |
| Language | Pulaar (𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞥄𞤪, West), Fulfulde (𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤬𞤵𞤤𞤣𞤫, East) |
A significant proportion of the Fula – a third, or an estimated 7 to 10 million – are pastoralists, and their ethnic group has the largest nomadic pastoral community in the world. The majority of the Fula ethnic group consisted of semi-sedentary people, as well as sedentary settled farmers, scholars, artisans, merchants, and nobility. As an ethnic group, they are bound together by the Fula language, their history and their culture. The Fula are almost completely Muslims.
Many West African leaders are of Fulani descent, including the former President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari; former president of Cameroon Ahmadou Ahidjo; President of Senegal, Macky Sall; the President of Gambia, Adama Barrow; the President of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló; the Vice President of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh; the Prime Minister of Mali, Boubou Cisse and the Wife of Vice President of Ghana Samira Bawumia. They also occupy positions in major international institutions, such as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed; the 74th President of the United Nations General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande; and the Secretary-General of OPEC, Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo.