Somalis

The Somalis (Somali: Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖, Arabic: صوماليون) are an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa[43] who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Somalis, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and are predominantly Sunni Muslim.[44][45] They form one of the largest ethnic groups on the African continent, and cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa.[46]

Somalis

Soomaalida 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒆𐒖
Traditional area inhabited by the Somali ethnic group
Total population
~33,000,000-34,000,000
Regions with significant populations
Horn of Africa
Somalia[lower-alpha 1]	17,066,000 (2022)[1]
Ethiopia	11,748,998 (2017)[2]
Somaliland[lower-alpha 2][3]	5,700,000 (2021)[4]
Kenya	2,780,502 (2019)[5]
Djibouti	534,000 (2017)[6]
Yemen	500,000 (2014)[7]
United States	182,951 (2019)[8]
United Kingdom	109,000 (2018)[9]
United Arab Emirates	90,900[10]
Oman	80,000[11]
Sweden	66,369[12][13]
Canada	62,550[14]
Tanzania	60,000[15]
Norway	43,196[16]
Uganda	41,515[17]
South Africa	27,000–40,000[18]
Netherlands	39,737[19]
Germany	38,675[20]
Saudi Arabia	34,000–67,500[21][22]
Finland	23,656[23]
Egypt	22,709[24]
Denmark	21,210[25]
Australia	18,401[26]
Italy	8,228[27]
Austria	7,101[28]
Switzerland	7,025[29]
Turkey	5,518[30]
Other countries  Zambia 3,000–4,000[31][32]  Belgium 2,627[33]  Eritrea 2,604[34]  France 2,568[35]  Pakistan 2,500[36]  Libya 2,500[37]  ASEAN 1,857[38][39]  New Zealand 1,617[40]  Ireland 1,495[41]
Languages
Somali
Religion
Islam (Sunni)
Related ethnic groups
Afar, Saho, Oromo, Rendille and other Cushitic people[42]

According to most scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its native inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people. An ancient historical kingdom where a great portion of their cultural traditions and ancestry has been said to derive from.[47][48][49][50] Somalis share many historical and cultural traits with other Cushitic peoples, especially with Lowland East Cushitic people, specifically the Afar and the Saho.[51]

Ethnic Somalis are principally concentrated in Somalia (around 8.8 million),[52] Somaliland (5.7 million),[4] Ethiopia (11.7 million),[53] Kenya (2.8 million),[5] and Djibouti (534,000).[54] Somali diasporas are also found in parts of the Middle East, North America, Western Europe, African Great Lakes region, Southern Africa and Oceania.