Mandé People is a family of ethnic groups in Western Africa who speak any of the many related Mande languages of the region. Various Mandé groups are found in:

Mandé People is a family of ethnic groups in Western Africa who speak any of the many related Mande languages of the region. Various Mandé groups are found in:

    Benin

    Burkina Faso

    Côte d’Ivoire

    Gambia

    Ghana

    Guinea

    Guinea-Bissau

    Liberia

    Mali

    Mauritania

    Niger

    Nigeria

    Senegal

    Sierra Leone.

The Mande are comprised of a number of different ethnic groups:

    The Bamana (or Bambara), Maninka (or Malinke), and Dyula, who constitute the linguistic and cultural nucleus

    The Somono, Bozo, and Wasuluka, who are close to the nucleus

    The Kagoro, Khasonke, Mandinko, Marka, and Soninke, who are savanna groups

    The Kuranko, Kono, Vai, Susu, and Yalunka, who are forest groups.

The Bamana are the most numerous ethnic group, with a population of around 1.6 million. The Bozo and the Yalunka are two of the smallest groups, with populations of fewer than 50,000 people apiece.