Bambara people

Ethnic group in West Africa Ethnic group Bambara, Bamanaߓߡߊߣߊ߲Bambara people in upper Sénégal river valley, 1890. (illustration from Colonel Frey's Côte occidentale d'Afrique, 1890, Fig.49 p.87)Total population5,000,000 (2019)Regions with significant populationsMali, Guinea, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Gambia, Morocco Mali6,705,796 (33.3%) Senegal91,071 (1.34%) (1988 census) Gambia22,583 (1.3%) Morocco400 LanguagesBambara language, French, ArabicReligionSunni IslamRelated ethnic groupsMandinka people, Soninke people, other Mande speaking groups. The Bambara (Bambara: ߓߡߊߣߊ߲, romanized: Bamana or ߓߊ߲ߡߊߣߊ߲ Banmana) are a Mandé ethnic group native to West Africa, primarily southern Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal. They have been associated with the historic Bambara Empire. Today, they make up the largest Mandé ethnic group in Mali, with 80% of the population speaking the Bambara language, regardless of ethnicity. Ethnonym According to the Encyclopedia of Africa, "Bambara" means "unbeliever" or "infidel"; the group supposedly acquired the name because they resisted forced conversion to Islam after the religion was