A List of All the Tribes in Kenya
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Ask any Kenyan “where are you from?” and you will often get two answers: a county and a community. Kenya is home to more than 40 ethnic communities, from the big ones that run into millions to small groups of just a few hundred people. Below is a list of Kenya’s tribes, with population figures from the latest national census (2019).
The 11 Largest Communities (2019 Census)
Kenya’s total population in the 2019 census was 47,564,296. These are the largest communities, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS):
| Rank | Community | Population (2019) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kikuyu | 8,148,668 |
| 2 | Luhya | 6,823,842 |
| 3 | Kalenjin | 6,358,113 |
| 4 | Luo | 5,066,966 |
| 5 | Kamba | 4,663,910 |
| 6 | Kenyan Somali | 2,780,502 |
| 7 | Kisii (Abagusii) | 2,703,235 |
| 8 | Mijikenda | 2,488,691 |
| 9 | Meru (Ameru) | 1,975,869 |
| 10 | Maasai | 1,189,522 |
| 11 | Turkana | 1,016,174 |
The Kikuyu, Luhya and Kalenjin together make up almost half of Kenya’s population.
Sub-groups of the Larger Communities
Some of the big communities are really families of closely related groups:
- Kalenjin: Elgeyo (Keiyo), Kipsigis, Marakwet, Nandi, Pokot, Sabaot, Terik, Tugen, and the Sengwer and Ogiek, who are often grouped with them.
- Luhya: more than a dozen sub-groups, including the Bukusu, Maragoli, Idakho, Isukha, Tiriki, Tachoni, Kabras, Wanga, Marama, Banyala, Samia and others.
- Mijikenda: Chonyi, Digo, Duruma, Giriama, Jibana, Kambe, Kauma, Rabai and Ribe.
Other Kenyan Communities (A to Z)
- Bajuni
- Borana
- Burji
- Dahalo
- Dasenach
- El Molo
- Embu
- Gabra
- Gosha
- Ilchamus
- Kenyan Arabs
- Kenyan Asians (recognised as a Kenyan community in 2017)
- Konso
- Kuria
- Makonde (granted citizenship in 2016)
- Mbeere
- Njemps
- Ogiek
- Orma
- Pokomo
- Rendille
- Sakuye
- Samburu
- Suba
- Swahili
- Taita
- Taveta
- Teso (Iteso)
- Tharaka
- Waata
- Yaaku
Some of these communities are very small. The 2019 census counted, for example, 1,299 Konso, 1,104 El Molo, 685 Gosha and 596 Dahalo.
Notes
- Census figures are based on how people described their own ethnicity, so the numbers depend on how groups and sub-groups were recorded.
- The census also counted Kenyans of other origins, including about 90,527 Asians, 59,021 Kenyan Arabs and 42,868 Europeans with Kenyan citizenship.
- For population by county, see our guide to Kenya’s 47 counties.
