Tuareg people

The Tuareg (Arabic: طوارق, sometimes spelled Touareg in French, or Twareg in English) are a Berber ethnic group. The Tuareg today lives mostly in West Africa, but they were once nomads that moved throughout the Sahara. They used their own writing known as the tifinaɤ.

Tuareg

Kel Tamasheq ⴾⵍⵜⵎⴰⵣⵗⵜ طوارق
A Tuareg man
Total population
c. 3 million
Regions with significant populations
Niger	2,116,988 (8.7% of its total population)[1]
Mali	536,557 (2.6% of its total population)[2]
Burkina Faso	370,738 (1.85% of its total population)[3]
Algeria	25,000–150,000 (0.36% of its total population)
Tunisia	2,000 (nomadic, 0.018% of its total population)
Languages
Tuareg languages (Tafaghist, Tamahaq, Tamasheq, Tamajeq, Tawellemmet), Maghrebi Arabic, French, Hassaniya Arabic
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Other Berbers, Hausa people

Today most Tuaregs are Muslim. Their most important leader was a woman. Tuareg men use veils, but not women. Their families are matrilinear.

References

1. "The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2016-10-08., Niger: 11% of 18.6 million
2. Pascal James Imperato; Gavin H. Imperato (2008). Historical Dictionary of Mali. Scarecrow. p. lxxvii. ISBN 978-0-8108-6402-3., Mali: 3% of 17.9 million population
3. "The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2016-10-08., Burkina Faso: 1.9% of 19.5 million