There are hundreds of languages spoken across Africa. Their prevalence ranges from one village to another, and from one state to another.
However, there are some majorly spoken languages in Africa that are spoken by large populations; thousands or even millions of native speakers.
English is a widely spoken language in Africa, with over 230 million people using it. Swahili tops the list of the most spoken languages in Africa, spoken by around 10% of the African population, primarily in the southern and eastern parts of the continent.
Additionally, around 5% of Africans speak a Berber dialect and 5% speak Hausa, which serves as a common language in many parts of the Sahel region.
In this article, we would examine 16 most spoken languages in Africa
- Swahili
- English
- Arabic
- Oromo
- French
- Hausa
- Igbo
- Amharic
- Yoruba
- Shona
- Zulu
- Fulani
- Afrikaans
- Berber
- Xhosa
- Portuguese
1. Swahili
Around 150 million Africans speak Swahili, also known as Kiswahili in the local dialect, making it one of the most spoken languages in Africa especially in the African Great Lakes region of Central and Southern Africa.
Swahili is a Bantu language. Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo all have it as their official language.
Due to the large number of speakers and lengthy history of Swahili, this language has a lot to offer language learners.
Swahili, which was historically developed as a commerce language to let people in Southern and Eastern Africa communicate with one another, has kept much of its original character up to the present day.
Swahili is one of the East Africa Community’s (EAC) two official languages. It is recognized as an official language in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Organizations like the African Union, Southern African Development Community, and East African Community all adopt it as their official language.
States including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mozambique speak Swahili as a minority tongue.
In Eastern Africa, Swahili has a strong hold on the language scene. Swahili is widely used in schools and is an official language in many nations, unlike many widely spoken languages that are native to Africa.
2. English
In Africa, there are over 237 million people who speak English, both native and non-native speakers. The largest group of English speakers can be found in Nigeria with about 111 million people who have some knowledge of the language.
English is a very popular language on the African continent. In fact, 27 out of the 54 countries in Africa use English as their official or secondary language.
Some countries, like Botswana, Cameroon, Rwanda, Nigeria, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana, use English as their primary language. And in South Africa, English is recognized as an official language along with ten others.
3. Arabic
Many people may be surprised to learn that Arabic is widely spoken in Africa. With over 100 million African speakers, Arabic is one of the largest languages on the continent.
It is an official language in several countries including Egypt, Comoros, Djibouti, Chad, Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Libya, and is mainly spoken in North Africa.
There are many different varieties and dialects of the Arabic language, which are not all spoken in the same way in different regions.
In Mali and Senegal, Arabic is the official language. And just like Hebrew, the Arabic alphabet is written from right to left. Additionally, Arabic is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
Arabic is not just popular in Africa, but it is also widely spoken all over the world.
4. Oromo
Oromo is a language that is spoken by approximately 37 million people. It is an official language in Ethiopia and Northeastern Kenya, although in Kenya it is recognized as a minority language.
In Ethiopia, the language is widely used, with around 36 million speakers. Oromo is so prominent in Ethiopia that it is the primary language for education and the official language for government websites.
Oromo has different dialects, including Western Oromo, Shewa, Eastern Oromo, and Southern Oromo.
In the past, the use of Oromo was banned for educational, administrative, and conversational purposes under the rule of Haile Selassie. However, this ban was later lifted.
5. French
French is one of the most spoken languages in Africa, just like English. This is because many African countries were once colonized by France, which has led to over 120 million people using French as their first or second language.
In Africa, the countries with the highest number of French speakers are Gabon, Mauritius, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Sao Tome & Principe, Tunisia, Guinea, Seychelles, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Equatorial Guinea.
6. Hausa
Hausa is one of the most spoken languages in Africa, and is used by over 50 million people as their first language. It’s a popular language in Nigeria and is part of the Chadic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family.
Hausa is also spoken in other countries such as Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Togo, Ghana, and Chad.
The language is very important in trade, commerce, and business across Nigeria and West Africa, which is why it’s one of the most widely spoken languages on the continent.
Additionally, Hausa is taught in some universities worldwide due to the large amount of literature it has.
7. Igbo
Igbo is also top on the list of most spoken languages in Africa, with over 24 million people speaking it as their first language.
The majority of Igbo speakers can be found in Nigeria, but it is also spoken by some communities in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
With more than 20 dialects, Igbo belongs to the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages and is the native language of the Igbo people, who are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
8. Amharic
Amharic is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa, with an estimated 32 million speakers.
This Afro-Asiatic Ethiopian Semitic language is the primary language of the Amhara ethnic group and is widely used in Ethiopia, as well as by other populations.
As the official language of the Ethiopian government and a working language in the country, Amharic is widely used in official communications and in various sectors. The language is written using the Fidel writing system and is read from left to right.
With its strong presence in Ethiopia and its significant number of speakers, Amharic has secured its place as one of the most important and most spoken languages in Africa.
9. Yoruba
Yoruba is widely spoken in West Africa with an estimated 50 million speakers. This language is primarily used by the Yoruba ethnic group in southwestern Nigeria, with minority populations in countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Togo, and Benin.
10. Shona
Another language with Bantu roots is Shona, sometimes known as chiShona. People from Zimbabwe’s Shona ethnic group speak it.
Zezuru, Karanga, Korekore, Manyika, and Ndau are among the several dialects that are spoken there.
However, they write in the standard Shona language, using their many dialects for everyday communication.
In addition to being an official language in Zimbabwe and a recognized minority in Mozambique, Shona is a native tongue of both countries.
11. Zulu
The Zulu language is the national language of South Africa and is spoken by the Zulu people. The largest ethnic group in South Africa is the Zulu. The language, which has an estimated 12 million native speakers, is similarly of Bantu origin.
From its natural sound, the language is also known as isiZulu. There are several dialects of the Zulu language, including kwaZulu Natal Zulu, Transvaal Zulu, Qwabe, and Cele.
The second most popular Bantu language after Swahili is Zulu. Zulu is the most frequently spoken of South Africa’s eleven official languages. Even though the Zulu language is only spoken in one country, it is on the list.
12. Fulani
Fulani is another most spoken language in Africa. Also known as Fulah, Fulfulde, Pular and Pulaar, Fulani is an official language in Senegal, Gambia, Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea (Conakry).
Fulani is estimated to be spoken by about 40 million people. It is a language of West African origin. It is a Senegambian language which spread out to the Fulani people consequent to migration.
The language has variety in its dialects such as; Futa Toro, Futa Jallon, Masina, Sokoto and Adamawa.
13. Afrikaans
Afrikaans language is widely spoken in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, as well as other locations.
It was estimated that there were between 15 and 23 million Afrikaans speakers worldwide in 2010. According to statistics, it is one of the most spoken languages in Africa and the third most common language in South Africa.
14. Berber
The ethnic group known as the Berbers, also known as the Imazighen, is said to be native to North Africa. It is a language of the BERBER people, who can be found in countries including Libya, Morocco, Algeria, and Algeria.
In Mauritania, northern Mali, and northern Niger, there are also Berbers, however in much smaller numbers.
Berber language is not only one of the most spoken languages in Africa, it is also a member of the Afroasiatic language family.
15. Xhosa
One of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe is Xhosa.
In South Africa, Xhosa is spoken as a first language by about 8.2 million people and as a second language by an additional 3 million people, primarily in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Gauteng, and Northern Cape.
16. Portuguese
In Africa, Portuguese is a widely used language. Portuguese is the primary language in six nations in Africa.
These nations are Sao Tome & Principe, Angola, Mozambique, Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau.
These nations’ versions of Portuguese are distinct from those spoken in Portugal and Brazil. Portuguese is written and spoken in a fashion that is influenced by regional customs and African history.
