Xhosa people
Xhosa graduates at Zonnebloem College in 1860, Cape Town, Cape Colony | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 9,660,004 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| South Africa | 9,415,133 ~ (2022 estimate)
Eastern Cape: 5,102,053 |
| Zimbabwe | 200,000 |
| Botswana | 12,000 |
| Namibia | 10,000 |
| Lesotho | 23,000 |
| Languages | |
| IsiXhosa IsiZulu, Sesotho, Sepedi, English, Afrikaans | |
| Religion | |
| uThixo, Qamata, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Southern Ndebele, Zulu, Hlubi, Swati, and Northern Ndebele, Griqua, Khoisan, San people, Khoekhoe, Phuthi people, /Xam | |
| Xhosa | |
|---|---|
| Person | UmXhosa |
| People | AmaXhosa |
| Language | IsiXhosa |
| Country | KwaXhosa |
The Xhosa people (/ˈkɔːsə/ KAW-sə, /ˈkoʊsə/ KOH-sə; Xhosa pronunciation: [kǁʰɔ́ːsa] ⓘ) are a Bantu ethnic group that migrated over centuries into Southern Africa eventually settling in South Africa. They are the second largest ethnic group in South Africa and are native speakers of the isiXhosa language.
The Xhosa people are descendants of Nguni clans who settled in the Southeastern part of Southern Africa displacing the original inhabitants, the Khoisan. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Xhosa people have inhabited the area since the 7th century.
Presently, over ten million Xhosa-speaking people are distributed across Southern Africa. In 1994 the self-governing bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei were incorporated into South Africa, becoming the Eastern Cape province.
As of 2003, the majority of Xhosa speakers, approximately 19.8 million, lived in the Eastern Cape, followed by the Western Cape (approximately 1 million), Gauteng (971,045), the Free State (546,192), KwaZulu-Natal (219,826), North West (214,461), Mpumalanga (46,553), the Northern Cape (51,228), and Limpopo (14,225).
There is a small but significant Xhosa-speaking (Mfengu) community in Zimbabwe, and their language, isiXhosa, is recognised as an official national language. This community was brought by Cecil John Rhodes for cheap labour in Rhodesian mines in early 20th century.