Cultures and Languages in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde & Cameroon

To a great extent a Muslim state, Algeria has a tiny population of Christians. Total population was 43 million (2019). Ethnically, the societies are fairly homogeneous, with majority Arabs (80%), and minority Berbers (20%). Settler ‘Europeans’ make-up less than 1%. Furthermore, the Berbers are forked into four major groupings, the largest of these, the Kabyles, living around Kabylia Mountains east from Algiers. The Chaouias live around Aurès Mountains, the M’zabites near northern Sahara and the Tuaregs in the S. Desert

Formerly divided into different kingdoms, Angola, discovered in 1482 by Portuguese ramblers, was a veritable trade outpost for India and Southeast Asia thanks to its lengthy coastline. Later, it became a major source of slaves for Portuguese Colony of Brazil. With a population of 32 million (2019), Angola is well culturally diverse with nearly 100 cultures and languages. The larger ethnic tribes are the Ambundu (25%), the Ovimbundu (30%) and the Bakongo (9%) Chokwe, Fioti and Avambo among vast tribes. Angolan culture is mostly Bantu, mixed with Portuguese culture.

Benin, 114,763 km2 in area, is a key-shaped nation with its sharp tip thrust into the Gulf of Guinea. It’s mostly a flat nation with sand banks that make access to the 121 km coast a bit difficult. Known as Dahomey (its French name) until 30th November, 1975, it is home to 12 million (2019). The national language of Benin is French, with eight notable ethnic tribes: Fon, Yoruba, Mina, Goun, Dendi, Bariba, Ditamarri, Edo, and the Fulfulde. Each tribe has its unique, recognizable attire, with different colour patterns, mainly dorned for occasions. The largest religious families are: the Roman Catholics, Voodooism, and Islam.

Republic of Botswana, evenly about the same size as Kenya or France – 581,730 km2 in area – is among the sparsely populated countries in Africa, with just 2.5 million persons (2019). Even so, flourishing Botswana is home to more than 20 ethnic groups who voice languages belonging to two of the four weighty lingua-franca families of Africa: Khoisan and Bantu. Botswana’s main Bantu language Setswana spoken as a first language by at least 80% of the populace, is also considered as national. English is the official government language. The eight main ethnic groups are Tswana, Kalanga, Bayei, Batswapong, Babirwa, Basarwa, Bukushu, Basubia. Other cultures include the Bherero and Bakgalagadi.

In the heart of West Africa, 1000 km from the coastline, Burkina Faso, with a land surface area of 274,200 km2 and a population of 20.1 million (at 2019), is home to more than 60 ethnic groups, each with its especial cultural customs and patterns of organization. The history of Burkina Faso is rich in the existence of structurally well ordered kingdoms, like: Yatenga, Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and N’Gourma. Mossi (40%) are the largest ethnic group, followed by the Fulani (10%), Bobo (7.5%) and Lobi (7%). Other groupings include – Bissa, Bwa, Dioula, Gourounsi, Mandé (r) and the Sénoufo. French is the national language, but Mooré (the lingo of the Mossi), is also widely spoken. Smaller groups include: Dioula, Gurmanche and Fula. Most of these cultures still maintain their traditional systems of hierarchy.

The significant ethnic groups in Burundi are the Hutu (84%), Tutsi (14%) and the Twa (1%). Burundi’s diversity is pegged on local traditions and the influence of neighboring countries. So that, this is one of a handful of African nations with a sense of ‘linguistic homogeneity’. The inhabitants of Burundi Rep. (with a population of 11.5 million in 2019) all speak the same national language, well known as Kirundi. French is the first foreign language of Burundi, but English is progressively being affected. Swahili is also spoken in towns and around L. Tanganyika.

Cape Verde, an island country of a chain of 10 volcanic islands, with a gross area of 4,033 km2, lies 570 km off the west coast of Africa in central Atlantic Ocean. Since achieving independence in 1975 (a colony of Portugal from 1460) it has evolved into a stable democracy, making considerable progress in domestic growth. The islands hosts a scattered citizenry of 543,767. Whilst Portuguese is the national language, Creole, a merge of Portuguese vocabulary and African locution, is the most widely spoken. Each island has a clear-cut variant of the language, generally split from two primary branches: Barlavento Creoles and Sotavento (Brava) Creoles

Cameroon 475,412 km2 in size with a population of 25.7 million (2019) – is home to not less than 240 languages. These include 55-Afro-Asiatic languages, 2 Nilo-Saharan dialects, 4 Ubangian languages and 169 Niger Congo languages. This latter comprises: 1 Senegambian dialect known as Fulfulde; 28 Adamawa (h) dialects and 142 Benue-Congo languages – 130 of these being of Bantu roots. French and English are the state’s legal languages: A ‘heredity’ of Cameroon’s colonial past as colony of both France and Britain, from 1916 to 1960. Eight out of the ten areas of Cameroon are primarily francophone, which accounts for close to 83% of the population. Anglophone are 17%.