African languages
Major African languages, where they are spoken, how many speak them, and the story behind each.
RegionFamilyCountrySort
24 languages
| Language | Speakers | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Swahili | 200M | East Africa |
| Hausa | 94M | West Africa |
| Amharic | 60M | Horn of Africa |
| Oromo | 50M | Horn of Africa |
| Yoruba | 50M | West Africa |
| Lingala | 45M | Central Africa |
| Fula | 40M | West Africa |
| Igbo | 34M | West Africa |
| Zulu | 28M | Southern Africa |
| Malagasy | 25M | East Africa |
| Tamazight | 25M | North Africa |
| Somali | 25M | Horn of Africa |
| Akan (Twi) | 22M | West Africa |
| Chichewa | 20M | Southern Africa |
| Kinyarwanda | 20M | East Africa |
| Xhosa | 19M | Southern Africa |
| Wolof | 18M | West Africa |
| Shona | 14M | Southern Africa |
| Bambara | 14M | West Africa |
| Kongo | 12M | Central Africa |
| Luganda | 11M | East Africa |
| Tigrinya | 9.7M | Horn of Africa |
| Sesotho | 8M | Southern Africa |
| Ewe | 8M | West Africa |