Top 10 Most Spoken Africa Languages 2024: Africa is known for its linguistic diversity, with an estimated 3,000 languages spoken across the continent. These languages range from rare and exotic languages to the most popular languages in the world.
This rich spectrum of languages reflects the various cultures and traditions found within Africa. The large number of languages spoken in Africa reflects the continent’s rich linguistic heritage. This diversity presents challenges and opportunities for communication and cultural exchange within and outside Africa.
African languages are often not given the attention they deserve in online language learning communities. This is unfortunate because these languages are very valuable to many people. For travelers, understanding African languages can greatly improve their experiences and interactions with local communities.
In the business world, mastery of African languages can open up new opportunities for business and collaboration. Additionally, for anyone with a curiosity about the world, learning African languages can provide insight into various cultures and histories. It is important to recognize the importance of African languages and promote their study and appreciation in language learning communities.
Top 10 Most Spoken Africa Languages 2024
1. Swahili (200 million speakers)
2. Hausa (120 million speakers)
3. Amharic (57 million speakers)
4. Yoruba (50 million speakers)
5. Igbo (45 million speakers)
6. Fulani (41.6 million speakers)
7. Oromo (37.4 million speakers)
8. Berber (32 million speakers)
9. IsiZulu (28 million speakers)
10. Malagasy (20 million speakers)
Swahili | Kiswahili
Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is a Bantu language spoken by millions of people in the Great Lakes region of Africa. This region includes countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, where Kiswahili is the official language. In addition, Kiswahili is also spoken in parts of Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Burundi, Mozambique, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
One of the reasons why Kiswahili is loved by language students is its many uses and good history. The name Kiswahili translates as “the language of the coast,” reflecting its origins as a commercial language that facilitated communication between various tribes in South and East Africa.
By learning Kiswahili, individuals can improve their ability to communicate and travel through various cultural and beautiful countries where the language has an official or important status.
Hausa
Hausa is spoken mainly in Nigeria and Niger, but it is also spoken by many other people in West Africa. In fact, Hausa serves as the lingua franca (common language) for the Muslim population of the region. It’s very intuitive, so it will get you very far in West Africa!
Hausa is written in the Arabic script and the Latin alphabet. However, the Latin alphabet, called Boko, tends to be the main script used today among Hausa speakers.
Amharic
Amharic (/æmˈhærɪk/ am-HARR-ik or /ɑːmˈhɑːrɪk/ ahm-HAR-ik; native name: አማርኛ, romanized: Amarəñña, IPA: [amarɨɲːa]) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other populations residing in major cities and towns in Ethiopia.
Amharic has been the official working language of Ethiopia, the language of the courts, the language of business and daily and military communication since the late 12th century. The Amhara chiefs supported the Zagwe prince Lalibela in his power struggle against his brothers. which led him to make Amharic Lessana Negus as well as fill Amhara nobles in the high positions of his Kingdom.
Yoruba
Yoruba (US: /ˈjɒrəbə/ YORR-əb-ə, UK: /ˈjɒrʊbə/ YORR-uub-ə; Yor. Èdè Yorùbá, IPA: [jōrùbá]; Ajami: عِدعِ يوْرُبا) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speakers is roughly 50 million, plus about 2 million second-language speakers. As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Yoruba is classified among the Edekiri languages, which include Itsekiri and separate Igala from the group of Yoruboid languages within the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family. The linguistic unity of the Niger-Congo family began a deep history, estimated to start around 11,000 years ago (end of the Upper Paleolithic).
In present-day Nigeria, it is estimated that there are approximately 50 million primary and secondary speakers of Yoruba, with several million more speakers outside of Nigeria, making it the most widely spoken African language outside the continent.
Igbo
Igbo (English: /ˈiːboʊ/ EE-boh, US also /ˈɪɡboʊ/ IG-boh; Igbo: Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò [ásʊ̀sʊ̀ ìɡ͡bò]) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ancient ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria.
Igbo Languages are spoken by 45 million people in 2024. The number of Igboid languages depends on how one classifies a language versus a dialect, so there could be around 35 different Igboid languages.
Central Igbo, is derived from the dialects of two members of the Ezinifite group of Igbo in Owerri Central Region between the cities of Owerri and Umuahia in Eastern Nigeria. Due to its proposal as a literary form in 1939 by Dr. Ida C. Ward, was gradually accepted by missionaries, writers, and publishers throughout the region.
Fulani
Fula (/ˈfuːlə/ FOO-lə), also known as Fulani (/fʊˈlɑːniː/ fuul-AH-nee) or Fulah (Fulfulde, Pulaar, Pular; Adlam: 𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤬𞤵𞤤𞤣𞤫, 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞥄𞤪, 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞤪), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 41.6 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stretches across some 18 countries in West and Central Africa. Along with other related languages such as Serer and Wolof, it belongs to the Atlantic geographic group within Niger–Congo, and more specifically to the Senegambian branch.
Oromo
Oromo (/ˈɒrəmoʊ/[6] or /ɔːˈroʊmoʊ/; Oromo: Afaan Oromoo), historically also called Galla (a name regarded as pejorative by the Oromo), is an Afroasiatic language that belongs to the Cushitic branch. It is native to the Ethiopian state of Oromia and Northern Kenya and is spoken predominantly by the Oromo people and neighboring ethnic groups in the Horn of Africa. It is used as a lingua franca particularly in the Oromia Region and northeastern Kenya.
With over 37.4 million speakers making up 33.8% of the total Ethiopian population, Oromo has the largest number of native speakers in Ethiopia, and ranks as the second most spoken language in Ethiopia by total number of speakers (including second language speakers). follow Amharic.
Oromo varieties are spoken as a first language by another half a million people in the northern and eastern parts of Kenya. It is also spoken by a small number of immigrants in other African countries such as South Africa, Libya, Egypt and Sudan. Oromo is the most widely spoken Cushitic language and among the five African languages with the largest number of mother tongues.
Berber
Berber languages, also known as Amazigh or Tamazight languages, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related but largely obscure languages spoken by the Berber communities, who are indigenous to North Africa.
Languages are primarily spoken and rarely written. Historically, they are written in the ancient Libyco-Berber script, which is now in the Tifinagh system. Today, they can also be written in the Berber Latin alphabet or Arabic script, with Latin becoming more common.
32 Millions of people in Morocco and Algeria speak the Berber language, as do small populations in Libya, Tunisia, northern Mali, western and northern Niger, northern Burkina Faso and Mauritania and the Siwa Oasis of Egypt.
IsiZulu
Zulu (/ˈzuːluː/ ZOO-loo), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 28 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa (24% of the population), and is understood by over 50% of its population. It became one of the 12 official languages of South Africa in 1994.
According to Ethnologue, it is the second most spoken language among the Bantu languages, after Kiswahili. Like many other Bantu languages, it is written in the Latin alphabet. In South African English, the language is often referred to in its native form, isiZulu.
Malagasy
Malagasy (/mæləˈɡæsi/ mal-ə-GASS-ee; Malagasy pronunciation: [malaˈɡasʲ]) is an Austronesian language and dialect continuum spoken in Madagascar. The common variety, called Official Malagasy, is the official language of Madagascar along with French.
Malagasy is the westernmost Malayo-Polynesian language, originating in Madagascar with Austronesian settlements from the Sunda Islands (about 7,300 km or 4,500 miles) around the 5th century AD. The Malagasy language is one of the Barito languages and is most closely related to the Maanya language, which is still spoken in Borneo.
Malagasy is spoken by approximately 20 million people in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Many people in Madagascar speak it as a first language, as do some people of Malagasy origin elsewhere. Malagasy is divided into its twelve dialects between two main dialect groups; East and West. The central plain of the island, where the capital Antananarivo and the former center of the Merina Kingdom is located, speaks the Merina dialect.
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