Nomadic people, (from the , nomádes, "those who let pasture herds"), also known as nomads, are communities of people that move with herd animals from one place to another, rather than settling down in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have been traditionally nomadic, but traditional nomadic behavior is increasingly rare in industrialized countries. There are three kinds of nomads, hunter-gatherers moving between hunting grounds, pastoral nomads moving between pastures, and "peripatetic nomads" moving between customers.

Nomadic hunter-gatherers have by far the longest-lived subsistence method in human history, following seasonally available wild plants and game. Pastoralists raise herds and move with them so as not to deplete pasture beyond recovery in any one area. Peripatetic nomads are more common in industrialized nations, traveling from one territory to another and offering a trade wherever they go.

Nomadic hunter-gatherers

Main: Hunter-gatherer

For years before domesticationFact: date=November 2007, 'nomadic' hunter-gatherers (also known as foragers) moved from campsite to campsite, following game and wild fruits and vegetables.

Examples of nomadic hunter-gatherers

• Various groups of Pygmies, such as the Mbuti of the Ituri Rainforest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• The Bushmen
• Most Indigenous Australians prior to Western contact
• Some Adivasi tribal people of India
• Many Native Americans, such as the Nukak-Makú , the Yahi of California, indigenous inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, or early people of Montana located at Barton Gulch

Pastoral nomads

Main: Transhumance

See also nomadic pastoralism

This nomadic pastoralism is thought to have developed in three stages that accompanied population growth and an increase in the complexity of social organization. Karim Sadr has proposed the following stages:

• Pastoralism: This is a mixed economy with a symbiosis within the family.
• Agropastoralism: This is when symbiosis is between segments or clans within an ethnic group.
• True Nomadism: This is when symbiosis is at the regional level, generally between specialized nomadic and agricultural populations.

The pastoralists are sedentary to a certain area, as they move between the permanent spring, summer, autumn and winter pastures for their livestock. The nomads moved depending on the availability of resources.