The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola.
The terms San, Khwe, Sho, Bushmen and Basarwa have all been used to refer to the hunter-gatherer peoples of southern Africa.
Each of these terms has a problematic history, as they have been used by outsiders to refer to them, often in pejorative ways.
Most call themselves by the term Bushmen when referring to themselves collectively. The Bushmen are part of the Khoisan group.
Though related to the traditionally pastoral Khoikhoi, they were traditionally hunter-gatherers.
Starting in the 1950s, and lasting through the 1990s, they switched to farming as a result of government-mandated modernization programs as well as the increased risks of a hunting and gathering lifestyle in the face of technological development.
There are ~90,000 Bushmen in Southern-Africa: 55,000 in Botswana, 27,000 in Namibia and 10,000 in South Africa.