Kanuri people

This article is about the Kanuri people. For the language, see Kanuri language.

Kanuri people
Ali Modu Sheriff, a Kanuri politician and former Governor of Borno State, Nigeria, 2007
Total population
10,725,500[1][2][3][4]
Regions with significant populations
Nigeria, southeast Niger, western Chad, northern Cameroon and western Sudan
 Nigeria
         		7,650,000 (2020)[1][2]
Includes Manga
 Niger1,500,000 (2023)[4]
Includes Manga, Yerwa, Bilma, and Tumari
 Chad1,071,000 (2019)
Most of which are Kanembu subgroup[5][1]
 Sudan381,000 (2022)[1]
 Cameroon180,000 (2024)[1]
Languages
Kanuri
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Kanembu, Zaghawa, Toubou, Nilo-Saharans

The Kanuri people (Kanouri, Kanowri, also Yerwa, Barebari and several subgroup names) are an African ethnic group living largely in the lands of the former Kanem and Bornu Empires in Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon, as well as a diaspora community residing in Sudan.[6] Those generally termed Kanuri include several subgroups and dialect groups, some of whom identify as distinct from the Kanuri. Most trace their origins to ruling lineages of the medieval Kanem–Bornu Empire, and its client states or provinces. In contrast to the neighboring Toubou or Zaghawa pastoralists, Kanuri groups have traditionally been sedentary, engaging in farming, fishing the Chad Basin, trade, and salt processing.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Yerwa Kanuri". Ethnologue. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Manga Kanuri". Ethnologue. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Tumari Kanuri". Ethnologue. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Africa: Nigeria the World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Kanembu". Ethnologue. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Africa | 101 Last Tribes – Kanuri people". www.101lasttribes.com. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. ^ Idrissa, Abdourahmane; Decalo, Samuel (2012). Historical Dictionary of Niger. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7090-1.