Swahili people

Swahili

Total population
1,328,000
Regions with significant populations
Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Comoros
Languages
Swahilli, Portuguese, Gujarati, English, French, German, Kutchi, Arabic, Persian, Telugu, Balochi Urdu, Sindhi, Kannada, Malay, Indonesian, Marwari, Memoni, Thai, Burmese, Marathi, Konkani, Tulu, Hindi, Rohingya, Brahui, Malayalam, Bengali
Religion
Islam, traditional beliefs
Related ethnic groups
Mijikenda, Makonde people, Shirazi[1]

The Swahili are a people and culture found on the East coast of Africa, mainly the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya and Tanzania, and north Mozambique. The Swahili number is at around 1,328,000.^[2] The number of Swahili speakers, on the other hand, numbers at around 90 million people. The name Swahili comes from the Arabic word Sawahil and means "coastal dwellers". Swahili is official language only in Tanzania. Swahili speakers who live elsewhere in East Africa also have to use the official languages of their respective countries: English in Kenya, Portuguese in Mozambique, and French in Comoros. Only a small part of those who use Swahili are first language speakers and even fewer are ethnic Swahilis. This point is often obscured by the Swahili linguistic tradition in which those who speak the language are often called Swahili (Waswahili) regardless of their actual ethnic origins. In other words, the term 'Swahili' can mean 'those who speak Swahili' or it can mean 'ethnic Swahili people'.

1. ↑ East Africa Living Encyclopedia
2. ↑ Swahili people listing - JoshuaProject, Retrieved on 2007-08-28