The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people is an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, and regions near the Red Sea coast in Sudan. The approximate number of Fula people is unknown, due to clashing definitions regarding Fula ethnicity. Various estimates put the figure between 25 and 40 million people worldwide.
Fulani men during Guérewol, Niger
Bodaado (singular of Wodaabe) Fula man with the typical Fulani hat above a turban
Tassili n'Ajjer rock art
Ghanaian Fulani wedding bride
The Sahel region or Sahelian acacia savanna is a biogeographical region in Africa. It is the transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a hot semi-arid climate and stretches across the southernmost latitudes of North Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea. Although geographically located in the tropics, the Sahel does not have a tropical climate.
Image: Mud Mosque Bani Sahel Region Burkina Faso 02
Image: Sahel Scene Dori Sahel Region Burkina Faso
The lush green of the Sahelian acacia savanna during the rainy summer season in Mali. Note the large baobab amongst the acacia.
Herders with livestock and azawakh dogs in the Sahel