Speakers of the close to 500 distinct Bantu languages , numbering more than 200 million and occupying almost the entire southern projection of Africa.
The classification is primarily linguistic, for the cultural patterns of Bantu speakers are extremely diverse. Included in the group are the Bemba, Bena, Chaga, Chewa , Embu, Fang , Ganda , Gusii, Hehe, Herero , Hutu , Kagwe, Kikuyu , Luba , Luhya , Lunda, Makonde, Meru, Nayamwezi, Ndebele , Nkole, Nyakyusa , Nyoro , Pedi, Shona , Sotho , Swazi , Tsonga, Tswana , Tutsi , Venda , Xhosa , Yao , Zaramo, and Zulu .