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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 157,787 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Kenya | |
| Languages | |
| Kisuba • Kiswahili. Dholuo | |
| Religion | |
| African Traditional Religion • Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other East Nyanza Bantu peoples |
The Suba (also known as the Abasuba) are an ethnic group native to eastern Lake Victoria, predominantly residing in Homa Bay County and Migori County of southwestern Kenya, as well as across parts of Mara Region in northern Tanzania. In Kenya, the Suba inhabit the offshore islands of Rusinga and Mfangano, as well as mainland shores including Mbita, Suna, and Gwassi. In the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, the Suba population was enumerated at 157,787.
Linguistically and historically of Bantu origin belonging to the Great Lakes Bantu branch, the Suba migrated to eastern Lake Victoria between the mid-17th and 18th centuries from the Kingdom of Buganda and Busoga in present-day Uganda, fleeing succession conflicts and internal warfare. Upon establishing settlements along Lake Victoria, the Suba interacted intensively with incoming Western Nilotic Luo groups. Over centuries of contact, intermarriage, and social assimilation, most Suba adopted Dholuo as their primary spoken language, leading to significant linguistic endangerment of the indigenous Olusuba language.
Despite linguistic convergence with the Luo, the Suba have maintained distinct cultural institutions, including male circumcision ceremonies, clan totems, sacred rainmaking shrines (emisambwa), and archaeological rock art traditions. Since the late 20th century, the community has spearheaded a major cultural and linguistic revival, supported by the Suba Language Project founded by linguist Duncan Okoth Okombo, the publication of an Olusuba Bible and educational curricula, and the annual Rusinga Cultural Festival.
