Sotho people

Sotho people

Basotho
King Moshoeshoe I, founder of the Southern Basotho Nation of Lesotho, with his Ministers.
Total population
c. 7,254,315 (2023 est.)
Regions with significant populations
South Africa	5,103,205
Lesotho	2,130,110
Botswana	11,000
Eswatini	6,000
Namibia	4,000
Languages
Sesotho IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, English, Afrikaans
Religion
Christianity, Modimo
Related ethnic groups
Pedi people, Tswana people and Lozi people, San people, Phuthi people, Thembu people

The Sotho (/ˈsuːtuː/), also known as the Basotho (/bæˈsuːtuː/), are a prominent Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho and South Africa.

The ancestors of the Sotho people are believed to have originated from Northeast Africa, and migrated south in the fifth century CE. The Sotho people have split into different clans over time as a result of the Mfecane (a series of wars and migrations that took place in the 19th century)^[1] and colonialism. There are 3 types of Basotho, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Tswana people

The British and the Boers (Dutch descendants) divided Sotho land amongst themselves in the late 19th century. Lesotho was created by the settlers in the 1869 Convention of Aliwal North following the conflict over land with Moshoeshoe I, the king of the Southern Sothos.

The Southern Sotho of Lesotho's identity emerged from the creation of Lesotho by the British after the Boers defeated Moshoeshoe I in the Third Basotho War in 1868 and he asked the British for protection. Some of the Southern Sotho speakers who were not part of Moshoeshoe's kingdom when he united some of their tribesmen are living in Gauteng, while some are found in the west of KwaZulu-Natal, the north of the Eastern Cape and most of the Free State province.

In modern times, the Sotho continue to make significant contributions to South African and Lesotho societies.