Language Families
Ethnic groups organized by linguistic descent. Each family hub gathers its member peoples — homelands, branches, and phenotype references — in one place.
Families
- Niger-Congo132 groups
The largest language family of sub-Saharan Africa: Bantu, Kwa, Mande, Gur and more, spanning West, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.
Including Adjoukrou, Afemai, Aja…
- Indo-European107 groups
The most widely spoken family on earth: Germanic, Romance, Slavic, Indo-Aryan and Iranian branches across Europe and South and West Asia.
Including Afrikaners, Aimaq, Albanians…
- Austronesian96 groups
The great maritime family: peoples from Madagascar through island Southeast Asia to Polynesia, linked by seafaring migrations.
Including Acehnese, Ambonese, Amis…
- Sino-Tibetan48 groups
Sinitic and Tibeto-Burman peoples across East and Southeast Asia, from the Chinese lowlands to the Himalayan highlands.
Including Adi, Akha, Angami Naga…
- Afroasiatic35 groups
Semitic, Cushitic, Berber and Chadic peoples across North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
Including Afar, Agaw, Amhara…
- Turkic29 groups
Steppe-descended peoples from Anatolia through Central Asia to Siberia, linked by the Turkic language continuum.
Including Azerbaijanis, Balkars, Bashkirs…
- Nilo-Saharan28 groups
Peoples of the Nile Valley, the Sahel and the East African lakes region, including the Nilotic pastoralist cultures.
Including Acholi, Alur, Anuak…
- Austroasiatic18 groups
Mon-Khmer and Munda peoples: the oldest language stratum of mainland Southeast Asia, with outliers across eastern India.
Including Bahnar, Bhumij, Bru…
- Kra-Dai11 groups
Tai and related peoples of mainland Southeast Asia and southern China, from the Mekong basin to the Yunnan highlands.
Including Ahom, Bouyei, Gelao…
- Uralic10 groups
Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic peoples of northern Eurasia, from the Baltic and Carpathians to the Siberian tundra.
Including Estonians, Finns, Hungarians…
- Dravidian8 groups
The indigenous language family of southern India and parts of wider South Asia, predating Indo-Aryan arrival.
Including Brahuis, Gonds, Kannadigas…
Major branches
Branches with enough member peoples to stand as hubs of their own.