According to various estimates, about 5 thousand different peoples live on the whole globe. Most of them are not numerous. Ethnicity can be distinguished not only by the number of representatives, but also by language.
African population
A huge number of ethnic groups live in Africa. Compared to the Black Continent, the peoples of other countries of the world are not so diverse. For example, in Nigeria their number reaches 250. The most numerous Nigerian tribes are Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo.
In total, about 50 different nationalities live in Africa. 24 of these peoples make up about 86% of the total population of the Black Continent. Moreover, each of the nationalities speaks its own language. And only Arabic is an exception. Almost one fifth of Africans speak this language.
Colonial past
Africa is a continent that was recently ruled by the peoples of other countries of the world. The colonial past is felt everywhere. For centuries, the European colonialists plundered the property of local residents, exploited them for their own benefit. The collapse of this system began only in the aftermath of World War II. The total population of the Black Continent is about 250 million people. Compared to the peoples of other countries of the world, population growth here is very rapid.
Classification of the peoples of Africa
African peoples are usually divided into categories by language. A huge number of African languages can be combined into large related groups - families. Such a language family will include those languages that have common roots. In total, there are several large language groups on the Black Continent. This is Bantu, Semitic-Hamitic, Mande, Nilotic. For example, in the north of Africa there live peoples who communicate in Semitic-Hamitic languages. This category includes the Cushite and Berber subgroups. Representatives of the peoples living in the languages of the Bantu group live in the central part of the continent and in the south.
Only in the VII-XI centuries. Arabs appeared in Africa. The peoples who inhabited the territory of the Sahara and the Maghreb in antiquity were called the ancient historians of the Libyans. Before these territories were subjected to the conquest of the Arabs, they spoke the languages of the Berber group. The Arabs of the tribes migrated here in the XI century under the name Hilal and Sulaym seriously affected the lifestyle of local Berbers. Aborigines converted to Islam, started farming like Arabs. A nomadic lifestyle has become common. It is rare that the peoples of other countries of the world are assimilated to the same extent as the Arabs and Berbers at present. Now it’s almost impossible to draw a clear line between them. Moreover, the process of mixing these two ethnic groups has been most intense in the past half century.
The comparative age of the Slavic ethnic group and other peoples
According to some reports, the state of Kievan Rus arose in the VI century BC. e. Other scholars believe that the Slavic state arose on the territory of an ancient trade route called "from the Vikings to the Greeks" in 862, when the principality of the famous Russian dynasty began. Many peoples like to lengthen their history. However, there are those whose “age” is beyond doubt - moreover, they are much older than the Slavic ethnic group. The ancient peoples of other countries of the world, except Russia, are Armenians, Jews, Assyrians, Basques, Khoisans.
Armenians - the civilization of King Hayk
The Armenian ethnos is considered the youngest among other ancient nationalities. However, in the history of Armenians there are many unexplored. Until the very end of the 19th century, historians believed that the Armenian ethnos originates from King Hayk, whose personality is covered in legends. Ike was the first to decide the borders of the new state in the vicinity of Mount Ararat. It was believed that it was on behalf of King Hayk that the self-name of the Armenians “high” occurred.
Another version of the origin of the Armenians has been adopted. Scientists believe that their ancestors - flies and Urumans - settled the local territories in the XII century BC. e., even before the Hittite state was formed. The peoples of other countries of the world with whom the Armenians lived next door are Urartians and Luvians. Some scholars believe that the origins of the Armenian nation should be sought among the evidence of the Hurrian kingdom, which was called Arme-Shubiya.
The Jews
Jews are another nation whose history goes back centuries. There are no less mysteries in the past of Jews than in the history of the emergence of Armenians. For a long time it was believed that the concept of this people is not ethnic, but rather religious. There was fierce debate between scholars about who they nevertheless were — one of the religious heresies that had separated themselves from the social stratum, or perhaps an independent people. According to the main source of the Jewish religion - the Old Testament - Jews are descendants of Abraham, a native of the Mesopotamian city of Ur.
Together with his father, Abraham moved to the "promised land" - Canaan. Subsequently, he captured the lands of nearby tribes, which, according to legend, were the descendants of Noah. Scientists believe that the Jewish people originates from the II millennium BC. e. - it was then that they formed into an independent group of seven-language tribes. The closest “relatives” of Jews by language are the Amorite and Phoenician tribes.
The modern version of the origin of the Jews
Not so long ago, thanks to the development of science, new views on the origin of the Jewish people appeared. Scientists conducted a genetic analysis of three large groups of Jewish people. Ashkenazi (living in America and Europe), misrachim (residents of the Middle East and northern Africa), as well as Sephardim (living on the Iberian Peninsula) were investigated. It turned out that all these ethnic groups have similar genetics. This confirms their origin from a common source. The conclusion that scientists made was that the ancestors of the Jews originally lived in Mesopotamia. The separation occurred during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.
Interesting facts about Jews
The peoples of Russia and other countries of the world have many misconceptions about Jews. One of the most common is that the main religious book of the Jews is the Old Testament. In fact, the holy book for them is the Talmud. The Jewish religion has many branches - this is an orthodox direction, reformist, conservative. However, all believers use the Talmud as the main book.
Jewish origin is attributed to Christopher Columbus. This is evidenced by several documents. The navigator himself also repeatedly mentioned that he belongs to the Jewish people. So that the peoples of other countries of the world and descendants could find out about his voyages, Columbus kept a sailing diary. It is noteworthy that in the first lines he mentions the history of the expulsion of Jews from Spain. Also, some scholars consider the signature in the will of Columbus to be made in Hebrew.
Assyrian people
What other ancient peoples of other countries of the world existed? The Assyrians continue the list: this people, perhaps even more ancient than the Jews. They arose presumably in the 4th – 2nd millennium BC. Jews were descended from Western Semitic peoples. The Assyrians were representatives of the northern Semites. Modern representatives of the Assyrian ethnic group consider themselves descendants of ancient civilization. Some scholars agree with this view. Others believe that the ancestors of modern Assyrians are Aramaic.
Chinese
There are peoples of other countries of the world, except Russia, who differ both in age and in the number of their representatives. One of these ethnic groups are Chinese. They call themselves "Han people." The Chinese make up about 19% of the total population of the Earth. The beginning of Han civilization is considered the V-III millennium BC. The first settlements were built in the Yellow River Valley . The formation of the Chinese ethnos was significantly influenced by the peoples of other countries of the world. Their list mainly consists of representatives of the Mongoloid race: these are Tibetans, Indonesians, Thais. All of them are quite different in their culture. However, today the Chinese are the immediate descendants of the great Han civilization.
Basques
The Basques are an example of peoples of other countries of the world who do not belong to the Indo-European language environment. The great resettlement of peoples began in the 4th millennium BC. At present, the languages of the Indo-European group are a means of communication for almost all Europeans. The exception is the Basques - their origin does not coincide with the peoples of other countries of the world. The list, except for Russia and European countries, with which scientists compared such a nation as the Basques, is huge. However, the researchers concluded that the Basques are the oldest people whose language is not related to any language of the Indo-European group. Presumably they stood out as a separate ethnic group about 16 millennia ago, during the Paleolithic.
Khoisans
But the Basques are not the last ancient people of other countries of the world. The list, except for Russia (or, more precisely, Slavic tribes), Jews, Assyrians, Chinese and Basques can be supplemented by Khoisan peoples. According to scientists, the Khoisans appeared about 100 thousand years ago. This vast ethnic group belongs to African peoples who speak unusual “clicking” languages. The Khoisans include the Bushmen and the Hottentots.
Researchers concluded that for the first time the Khoisans separated from the common tree of peoples about 100 thousand years ago. In other words, this happened even before people settled from the Black Continent around the globe. 43 thousand years ago, the Khoisan people underwent another change - they were divided into northern and southern tribes. Some of the Khoisan tribes retained their origin. Others mingled with neighboring Bantu tribes. Genetic analysis of Khoisans DNA shows that they are significantly different from other nations. They found genes that are responsible for high physical endurance, vulnerability to sunlight.