The Dinka are an ethnic group inhabiting the Bahr el Ghazal region of the Nile basin; Jonglei and parts of southern Kordufan and Upper Nile regions. They are mainly agro-pastoral people; relying on cattle herding at riverside camps in the dry season and growing millet and other varieties of grains in fixed settlements during the rainy season.

They number around 1.5 million people; constituting about 10% of the population of the entire country; and constitute the largest ethnic tribe in South Sudan. Dinka; or as they refer to themselves; Muonyjang (singular) and jieng (plural); are one of the branches of the River Lake Nilotes (mainly sedentary agri-pastoral peoples of East Africa who speak Nilotic languages; including the Nuer and Luo). Dinka are sometimes noted for their height. With the Tutsi of Rwanda; they are believed to be the tallest people in Africa.