Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Ivory Coast Liberia Sierra Leone | |
Ghana | 34,000[1] |
Liberia | 209,993[2] |
Sierra Leone | approx. 16,000[3] |
Languages | |
Kru, Bété, Liberian English, Ivorian French, Sierra Leone English, Kriol, French, Bassa, , Nouchi, Dida, , Guéré, Nyabwa, Krumen language, Ahizi, Godié, Krio | |
Religion | |
Christianity, African traditional religions, Sunni Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Bassa, Jabo, Krahn, Grebo |
The Kru, Krao, Kroo, or Krou are a West African ethnic group who are indigenous to western Ivory Coast and eastern Liberia. European and American writers often called Kru men who enlisted as sailors or mariners Krumen. They migrated and settled along various points of the West African coast, notably Freetown, Sierra Leone, but also the Ivorian and Nigerian coasts.[4] The Kru-speaking people are a large ethnic group that is made up of several sub-ethnic groups in Liberia and Ivory Coast. In Liberia, there are 48 sub-sections of Kru tribes, including the Jlao Kru.[5] These tribes include Bété, Bassa, Krumen, Guéré, Grebo, Klao/Krao, Dida, Krahn people and Jabo people.