Demographics
In Basra the vast majority of the population are ethnic Arabs of the Adnanite or the Qahtanite tribes. The main tribes located in Basra are Al-Emarah, Bani Tamim, Bani Assad, Bani Ka'ab, Bani Malik, Shammar, Bani Khalid, Bani Sa'ad, Al-shwelat `Anizzah, Suwa'id, Al-bo Mohammed, Al-Jboor, Duwasir, Dhufair, Shreefat, Al-Badr, Al-Ubadi, Ruba'ah Sayyid tribes (descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammed) and hundreds of other Arab tribes.
In 2006, Muslim adherents were about 85% Shiite and 15% Sunni,. A small number of Chaldean Christians also live there. There are remnants of the pre-Islamic gnostic sect of Mandaeans, whose headquarters were in the area formerly called Suk esh-Sheikh, with a small community of 3000 people or less.
Read more about this topic: Basra