Nilotic peoples

The Nilotic people are people indigenous to the South Sudan and the East Africa who speak the Nilotic languages. They inhabit South Sudan and the Gambela Region of Ethiopia, while also being a large minority in Kenya, Uganda, the north eastern border area of Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania.^[1][2] The Nilotic peoples consist of the Dinka, the Nuer, the Shilluk, the Luo peoples, the Alur, the Anuak, the Ateker peoples, the Kalenjin people and the Karamojong people also known as the Karamojong or Karimojong,^[3]Chaga people, Ngasa people, Datooga, Samburu, and the Maa-speaking peoples.

The Nilotes constitute the majority of the population in South Sudan while constituting as a substantional minority in the countries of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. South Sudan is the area that is believed to be their original point of dispersal, as they constitute the second-most numerous group of peoples inhabiting the African Great Lakes region around the East African Rift.^[4] They make up a notable part of the population of North eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as well. Nilotic people are believed to numbered 50 million in the 21st century.^[5]

The Nilotic people primarily adhere to Christianity and traditional beliefs, with the majority of them being Christians. A small minority of Nilotes practice the religion of Islam.