The African diaspora was the historic movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas, and also to Europe, the Middle East, and other places around the globe. The term has been historically applied in particular to the descendants of the Africans who were enslaved and shipped to the Americas by way of the Atlantic slave trade, with the largest population in Brazil (see Afro-Brazilian). In modern times, it is also applied to Africans who have emigrated from the continent in order to seek education, employment and better living for themselves and their children. People from Sub-Saharan Africa, including many Africans, number at least 800 million in Africa and over 140 million in the Western Hemisphere, representing around 14% of the world's population. It is believed that this diaspora has the potential to revitalize Africa. Primarily, many academics, NGOs, and websites such as Social Entrepreneurs of the African Diaspora view social entrepreneurship as a tool to be used by the African diaspora to improve themselves and their ancestral continent.

Der Begriff Afrikanische Diaspora (engl.: "People of African Heritage") bezeichnet die Gesamtheit der geographisch vom Mutterkontinent Afrika entfernt lebenden Menschen afrikanischer Herkunft.

La diaspora africaine est une population qui résulte de la déportation d'Africains à l'époque de la traite esclavagiste du au siècle et de leurs descendants à travers le monde.