Overview: The Sub-Saharan African Peoples affinity bloc encompasses the diverse populations south of the Sahara Desert, representing extraordinary ethnic, linguistic, and cultural variety. The Sahel—a semi-arid belt stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea—forms a transitional zone between the Sahara and forested regions to the south, with distinct cultures emerging across savannah, forests, and coastal areas. Africa contains more than 2,000 languages and over 4,000 distinct people groups, representing roughly one-third of the world's linguistic diversity. The Bantu peoples and languages dominate much of central, eastern, and southern Africa, comprising approximately 20 major clusters. Other significant language families include Niger-Congo (beyond Bantu), Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan. This immense diversity reflects millennia of migration, adaptation to varied environments, and cultural development across the continent's diverse geography.

  -- ROP Editor

People clusters: Adamawa-Ubangi; Atlantic; Atlantic-Jola; Atlantic-Wolof; Bantu, Cameroon-Bamileke; Bantu, Central-Congo; Bantu, Central-East; Bantu, Central-Lakes; Bantu, Central-Luba; Bantu, Central-South; Bantu, Central-Southeast; Bantu, Central-Southwest; Bantu, Central-Tanzania; Bantu, Chewa-Sena; Bantu, East-Coastal; Bantu, Gikuyu-Kamba; Bantu, Kongo; Bantu, Makua-Yao; Bantu, Nguni; Bantu, Northwest; Bantu, Shona; Bantu, Sotho-Tswana; Bantu, Southeastern; Bantu, Swahili; Benue; Chadic; Fulani / Fulbe; Guera-Naba of Chad; Guinean; Gur; Hausa; Igbo; Ijaw; Kanuri-Saharan; Khoisan; Kru; Malinke; Malinke-Bambara; Malinke-Jula; Mande; Nilotic; Nuba Mountains; Nubian; Nupe; Other Sub-Saharan African; Ouaddai-Fur; Pygmy; Sara-Bagirmi; Songhai; Soninke; Sub-Saharan African, generic; Sudanic; Susu; Yoruba

Countries where they are found: Algeria; Angola; Belgium; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cameroon; Canada; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Congo, Democratic Republic of the; Cote d’Ivoire; Egypt; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Eswatini; Ethiopia; France; Gabon; Gambia; Germany; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Ireland; Italy; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mayotte; Mozambique; Namibia; Netherlands; Niger; Nigeria; Oman; Portugal; Reunion; Rwanda; Sao Tome and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Spain; Sudan; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United States; Zambia; Zimbabwe