First, let's tackle the elephant in the room.
Do Africans speak the same language?
No. Africa is a continent with 2000 plus distinct languages which are spoken across 54 countries.
Is there a language called African language?
No. It is a generic term that refers to all languages spoken in Africa. It is like saying European language or South American language.
What are the ten most spoken languages in Africa?
- Kiswahili (200 million speakers)
- Hausa (120 Million)
- Amharic (57 Million)
- Yoruba (50 Million)
- Igbo (45 Million)
- Fulani (42 Million)
- Oromo (38 Million)
- Berber (32 Million)
- IsiZulu (28 Million)
- Malagasy (20 Million)
Are African languages similar?
No, and Yes. Why?
No, because the languages of Africa are very diverse and belong to different language families; while some are unique, they can't be classified into any family.
Yes, because languages in the same family tend to have some similarities. For example, almost all Bantu(--NTU) languages ( spoken in Central, Southern, Eastern Africa, and Southeast Africa ) have subject-verb-object word order syntax.
Exciting Topics about African Languages
☑️ Lonely languages: the isolates of Africa.
☑️ 6 Constructed languages of Africa: protip, you can make one.
☑️ Language Glossary: terminologies simply explained
Which country has the most spoken languages in Africa?
Nigeria.
More than 500 native African languages are spoken in Nigeria. This excludes Nigerian pidgin and the many foreign languages spoken in the country. Check the no of native languages per country section for a comprehensive breakdown.
How many languages are spoken in Africa?
According to our database, 2150 languages are spoken in Africa, and 50 languages are extinct. We continue to add and update the status of the languages as we collect and receive more data.
Number of languages per country
| Country | No of Native Languages |
|---|---|
| Nigeria | 523 |
| Congo, DRC | 214 |
| Cameroon | 210 |
| Tanzania | 134 |
| Chad | 131 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 92 |
| Ethiopia | 88 |
| Ghana | 84 |
| Sudan | 79 |
| Central African Republic | 77 |
| Kenya | 74 |
| South Sudan | 67 |
| Zambia | 67 |
| Burkina Faso | 66 |
| Mali | 65 |
| Congo | 63 |
| Benin | 55 |
| Togo | 48 |
| Angola | 47 |
| Senegal | 47 |
| Mozambique | 45 |
| Uganda | 45 |
| Gabon | 43 |
| Guinea | 43 |
| South Africa | 36 |
| Botswana | 30 |
| Namibia | 30 |
| Liberia | 27 |
| Niger | 24 |
| Sierra Leone | 24 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 23 |
| Zimbabwe | 21 |
| Madagascar | 20 |
| Gambia | 17 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 16 |
| Algeria | 15 |
| Malawi | 14 |
| Somalia | 13 |
| Eritrea | 12 |
| Libya | 12 |
| Mauritania | 10 |
| Egypt | 9 |
| Mauritius | 9 |
| Morocco | 9 |
| Comoros | 8 |
| Eswatini | 6 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 6 |
| Tunisia | 6 |
| Djibouti | 5 |
| Lesotho | 5 |
| Burundi | 4 |
| Rwanda | 4 |
| Cape Verde | 2 |
| Seychelles | 2 |