The Aku, Krio, or Creole are a minority ethnic group of Gambia with roots among the Sierra Leone Creole people. In Gambia the Akus account for about 1% of the population. Some estimates put the figure higher. Gambian Akus are descendants of Sierra Leone Liberated Africans, Settlers, transatlantic immigrants to the Gambia, and liberated Africans dropped off in the Gambia. Gambian Krios are an extension of the Freetown community of Creoles, and they have roots in the West Indies, North America, England, and the various African communities of Liberated African slaves. Gambian Akus also have some European heritage through intermarriage and through their connections to Freetown Creoles.Many speak Aku, an English-based creole language similar to the Krio language of Sierra Leone.