Peoples of the world

One of the world's largest pastoral peoples; the Mbororo branch is recognized as indigenous by the ACHPR.

Semi-nomadic cattle pastoralists of East Africa, at the center of major land-rights struggles including Loliondo.

Indigenous people of North Africa; Tamazight gained official-language status in Morocco (2011) and Algeria (2016).

Among the oldest continuous cultures on Earth; hunter-gatherer heritage of southern Africa.

Reindeer-herding people of the European Arctic, with their own elected parliaments in three countries.

Heirs of the Andean civilizations; llama and alpaca herding remains central to highland livelihoods.

The Mapuche are the largest Indigenous people of the Southern Cone, living in south-central Chile and Argentina. Farmers and warriors who resisted Spanish and then Chilean expansion for centuries, they continue to defend their lands, their language (Mapudungun) and their self-determination.

Circumpolar people of the Arctic; self-government achievements include Nunavut and Greenland's autonomy.

The Aymara are an Andean people of the high plateau (Altiplano) around Lake Titicaca, herding llamas and alpacas at altitude and farming potatoes and quinoa. Their language is co-official in Bolivia and Peru, and Aymara identity is central to Bolivia's plurinational state.

The Diné, known as Navajo, are the largest Native American nation in the United States, with a self-governing Navajo Nation across the Four Corners region. Sheep herding and weaving have been central to Diné life and economy since the 17th century.

The Ainu are the Indigenous people of Hokkaido and the northern islands, traditionally fishers, hunters and gatherers with a rich oral and spiritual tradition. Japan officially recognised the Ainu as an Indigenous people in 2019, after long assimilation policies.

The Nenets are reindeer-herding nomads of the Arctic tundra of northern Russia, migrating with their herds across the Yamal Peninsula and beyond. Their mobile way of life is increasingly pressured by gas and oil extraction and a warming climate.

The Turkana are nomadic pastoralists of Kenya's arid north-west, herding camels, cattle, goats and sheep around Lake Turkana. Resilient in one of Africa's harshest environments, they face drought, marginalisation and pressures from large-scale energy and water projects.

Berber-speaking pastoralists of the central Sahara and Sahel, masters of dromedary husbandry and caravan trade, bearers of the Tifinagh script.