African Languages Database
Core African languages with speaker estimates, writing systems, and linguistic roots. Use the search box to filter by language, country, script, etc. This is an expandable baseline — more languages and finer regional varieties can be added later.
Horn of Africa
Bantu
Afroasiatic
Niger-Congo
Official Language
Latin Script
Ge’ez / Ethiopic Script
Arabic / Ajami
Tifinagh
Speaker numbers are rounded (native + second-language where relevant). “Derived from”
refers to linguistic family, not political ownership.
| Language Name | Country / Region | Short Bio | Written? | Speakers (Millions) | Script / Font | Derived From / Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amharic (አማርኛ) | Ethiopia (official working language of federal gov.) | Semitic language used in administration, media, law, culture in Ethiopia. | Yes (Ge’ez script) | 30+ | Ge’ez / Ethiopic abugida | Afroasiatic > Semitic |
| Tigrinya (ትግርኛ) | Eritrea, northern Ethiopia (Tigray) | Semitic language used in Eritrean administration and media, strong literary press. | Yes (Ge’ez script) | 9+ | Ge’ez / Ethiopic abugida | Afroasiatic > Semitic |
| Oromo / Afaan Oromo | Ethiopia (Oromia), Kenya (Borana areas) | Cushitic language; widely spoken in Ethiopia, used in regional education and media. | Yes (Latin script, modern) | 35+ | Latin alphabet (Qubee) | Afroasiatic > Cushitic |
| Somali | Somalia, Ethiopia (Somali Region), Djibouti, Kenya (NE) | Official language of Somalia; rich poetry tradition; strong diaspora media. | Yes (Latin official; also Arabic historically) | 20+ | Latin (modern standard), Arabic (Ajami legacy) | Afroasiatic > Cushitic |
| Swahili / Kiswahili | Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, DRC, East/Central Africa coast | Bantu lingua franca of East Africa; used in trade, media, African Union contexts. | Yes (Latin script) | 80+ (many L2) | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu (with heavy Arabic loanwords) |
| Zulu / isiZulu | South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal), Eswatini | Major Bantu language of South Africa; taught in schools; vibrant TV/radio. | Yes (Latin script) | 12+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu > Nguni |
| Xhosa / isiXhosa | South Africa (Eastern Cape, Western Cape) | Click language of the Nguni branch; official in South Africa; strong literature. | Yes (Latin script) | 8+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu > Nguni |
| Shona / chiShona | Zimbabwe, Mozambique | Dominant Bantu language in Zimbabwe; standardized orthography taught in schools. | Yes (Latin script) | 14+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu |
| Ndebele / isiNdebele | Zimbabwe, South Africa | Nguni Bantu language closely related to Zulu, strong oral praise-poetry tradition. | Yes (Latin script) | 2+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu > Nguni |
| Sesotho / Southern Sotho | Lesotho, South Africa | Official in Lesotho; used in education, media, government. | Yes (Latin script) | 6+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu > Sotho-Tswana |
| Setswana / Tswana | Botswana (national language), South Africa, Namibia | Widely used in Botswana government, education, radio, and print. | Yes (Latin script) | 8+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu > Sotho-Tswana |
| Hausa / Hausanci | Northern Nigeria, Niger, Ghana (markets), Chad | Major West African trade language; big media language in Sahel. | Yes (Latin & Ajami Arabic script) | 50+ (native+L2) | Latin alphabet (Boko); Arabic Ajami | Afroasiatic > Chadic |
| Yorùbá | Nigeria (SW), Benin, Togo, diaspora (Brazil/Cuba religion) | Major language with a rich written tradition, tonal marks; strong diaspora religion links. | Yes (Latin with tone marks) | 45+ | Latin alphabet (diacritics) | Niger-Congo > Volta-Niger |
| Igbo / Ìgbò | Nigeria (SE, Igboland) | Tonal language with many dialects; standardized orthography taught in schools. | Yes (Latin script) | 25+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Volta-Niger |
| Fulani / Fula / Pulaar / Fulfulde | Sahel belt: Senegal → Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad | Nomadic / pastoralist heritage; serves as regional lingua franca across the Sahel. | Yes (Latin, Ajami Arabic) | 25+ | Latin alphabet, Arabic Ajami | Niger-Congo (often grouped under Atlantic branch) |
| Wolof | Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania (urban) | Main lingua franca of Senegal; dominant in music, TV, street commerce. | Yes (Latin, Ajami Arabic) | 10+ | Latin alphabet, Arabic Ajami | Niger-Congo > Atlantic |
| Bambara / Bamanankan | Mali (especially south and Bamako) | Most widely used lingua franca in Mali; crucial for radio, markets, politics. | Yes (Latin, N’Ko) | 15+ | Latin alphabet; N’Ko script also used | Niger-Congo > Mande |
| Ewe / Èʋegbe | Ghana (Volta), Togo, Benin | Tonal Gbe language; strong traditional music/chant culture and cross-border identity. | Yes (Latin) | 7+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Gbe |
| Akan (Twi / Asante Twi / Akuapem Twi / Fante) | Ghana | Cluster of closely related Akan lects; widely used in Ghana media, politics, church. | Yes (Latin) | 20+ | Latin alphabet (with tone marks sometimes) | Niger-Congo > Kwa |
| Lingala | DRC (Congo River region), Republic of the Congo | Urban/army lingua franca around Kinshasa and Brazzaville; huge in Congolese music. | Yes (Latin) | 20+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu |
| Kinyarwanda | Rwanda (national language), DR Congo (border regions), Uganda (SW) | Official in Rwanda; taught nationwide; mutually intelligible with Kirundi. | Yes (Latin) | 12+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu |
| Kirundi | Burundi (national language), Tanzania (west), DR Congo (east) | Very close to Kinyarwanda; national identity language of Burundi. | Yes (Latin) | 10+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu |
| Luganda / Ganda | Uganda (Central region, Buganda Kingdom) | Major language of central Uganda; strong radio, newspapers, pop music scene. | Yes (Latin) | 8+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu |
| Chewa / Chichewa / Nyanja | Malawi (national), Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe (urban) | National language of Malawi; widely used in education and national radio. | Yes (Latin) | 15+ | Latin alphabet | Niger-Congo > Bantu |
| Malagasy | Madagascar (national language) | Austronesian language (not Bantu) that arrived via settlers from SE Asia; mixed with Bantu and Arabic loans. | Yes (Latin) | 25+ | Latin alphabet | Austronesian family (Malayo-Polynesian) |
| Arabic (Darija / Maghrebi varieties) | Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, parts of Mauritania | Arabic varieties spoken natively in North Africa; used alongside Modern Standard Arabic and French. | Yes (Arabic script) | 80+ (regional total) | Arabic script | Afroasiatic > Semitic (Arabic branch) |
| Berber / Tamazight / Amazigh | Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mali, Niger (Tuareg) | Indigenous Amazigh languages; in Morocco and Algeria some varieties are official and taught in schools. | Yes (Tifinagh, also Latin, Arabic) | 25+ (all varieties) | Tifinagh (revived), Latin, Arabic | Afroasiatic > Berber branch |
| Krio | Sierra Leone (lingua franca) | English-based creole; unifies many ethnic groups for daily trade, media, national identity. | Yes (Latin) | 5+ | Latin alphabet | English-lexifier Atlantic Creole |
| Afrikaans | South Africa, Namibia | Germanic language derived from Dutch; has a large L2 base among non-white communities historically. | Yes (Latin) | 7+ | Latin alphabet | Indo-European > Germanic (Dutch-derived) |
| Afar / Qafaraf | Ethiopia (Afar Region), Djibouti, Eritrea (coastal lowlands) | Cushitic language spoken by Afar people, traditionally pastoralist between Red Sea and Rift Valley. | Yes (Latin in modern standard; also Arabic script historically) | 2+ | Latin alphabet; Arabic Ajami (historic) | Afroasiatic > Cushitic |
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