Languages of the World :: African Languages by Countries (original) (raw)

| | Country | Official and national Languages | Other spoken Languages | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Algeria | Arabic, Berber languages, four dialects (by constitutional amendment) | French | | Angola | Portuguese | Narrow Bantu like Umbundu and other African languages. | | Benin | French | Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north). | | Botswana | Setswana (national language with minor differences in dialects), English is the official business language and it is widely spoken in urban areas. | | | Burkina Faso | French | Native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population. | | Burundi | Kirundi, French | Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area). | | Cameroon | English, French | 24 major African language groups. | | Cape Verde | Portuguese | Kabuverdianu (Crioulo) (a blend of Portuguese and West African words). | | Central African Republic | French, Sangho (lingua franca and national language) | Banda, Gbaya and other tribal languages. | | Chad | French, Arabic | Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects. | | Comoros | Arabic, French | Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic). | | Democratic Republic of the Congo | French | Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba. | | Congo, Republic of the | French | Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread). | | Côte d'Ivoire | French | 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken. | | Djibouti | French, Arabic | Somali, Afar | | Egypt | Arabic | English and French widely understood by educated classes. | | Equatorial Guinea | Spanish, French | pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo. | | Eritrea | Tigrinya (Tigrigna), Arabic, English | Tigré (second major language), Afar, Bedawi, Kunama, other Cushitic languages. | | Ethiopia | Amharic | Tigrinya, Oromo, Gurage, Somali, Arabic, 80 other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) | | Gabon | French | Bantu languages like Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi. | | Gambia, The | English | Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars. | | Ghana | English | African languages (including Akan, Adangme, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) | | Guinea | French (spoken by 15-20%) | Eight national languages, Soussou (Susu, in coastal Guinea), Peulh (Fulani, in Northrn Guinea), Maninka (Upper Guinea), Kissi (Kissidougou Region), Toma and Guerze (Kpelle) in rain forest Guinea; plus various ethnic groups with their own language. | | Guinea-Bissau | Portuguese | Crioulo (a mixture of Portuguese and African), other African languages. | | Kenya | English, Kiswahili | numerous indigenous languages. | | Lesotho | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English | Zulu, Xhosa. | | Liberia | English 20% | some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence. | | Libya | Arabic | Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities. | | Madagascar | French, Malagasy | | | Malawi | English, Nyanja (Chichewa, Chewa) | Lomwe, Tumbuka, Yao, other languages important regionally. | | Mali | French | Bambara (Bamanakan), Arabic and numerous dialects of Dogoso, Fulfulde, Koyracini, Senoufou, and Mandinka/Malinké (Maninkakan), Tamasheq are also widely spoken. | | Mauritania | Arabic | Hassaniya Arabic, Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, French | | Mauritius | English, French | Creole, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri | | Morocco | Arabic | Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy. | | Mozambique | Portuguese (spoken by 27% of population as a second language) | Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, numerous other indigenous languages. | | Namibia | English 7% | Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages: Oshivambo, Herero, Nama. | | Niger | French | Hausa, Djerma | | Nigeria | English | Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, Ijaw, Ibibio and about 250 other indigenous languages spoken by the different ethnic groups. | | Réunion | French | Creole widely used | | Rwanda | Rwanda (Kinyarwanda, Bantu vernacular) French, English | Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers. | | Saint Helena | English | | | São Tomé and Príncipe | Portuguese | | | Senegal | French | Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka | | Seychelles | English, French | Creole | | Sierra Leone | English (regular use limited to literate minority) | Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) | | Somalia | Somali | Arabic, Italian, English | | South Africa | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, Pedi, Sesotho (Sotho), siSwati (Swazi), Xitsonga (Tsonga), Tswana, Tshivenda (Venda), isiXhosa, isiZulu | | | Sudan/South Sudan | Arabic | Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English. note: program of "Arabization" in process | | Swaziland | English (government business conducted in English), siSwati | | | Tanzania, United Republic of | Kiswahili (Swahili), Kiunguju (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education) | Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), Gogo, Haya, Makonde, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, Sukuma, Tumbuka, many other local languages. | | Togo | French (the language of commerce) | Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) | | Tunisia | Arabic (and the languages of commerce) | French (commerce) | | Uganda | English (used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts) | Ganda (Luganda; most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Acoli, Swahili, Arabic | | Western Sahara | | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | | Zambia | English | major vernaculars: Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages. | | Zimbabwe | English | Chishona (Shona), Sindebele (Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects like: Sotho and Nambya, Shangani, Venda, Chewa, Nyanja, and Tonga. | | Sources: Ethnologue, ISO Country Names (ISO 3166-1), ISO Languages Names (ISO 639-1), African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) and others. | | |