Language
|
Family
|
Native speakers (L1)
|
Official status per country
|
Abron |
Niger-Congo |
|
Ghana
|
Afrikaans |
Indo-European |
7,200,000[1] |
National language in Namibia, co-official in South Africa
|
Akan |
Niger–Congo |
11,000,000[2] |
None. Government sponsored language of Ghana
|
Amharic |
Afroasiatic |
21,800,000[3] |
Ethiopia
|
Arabic |
Afroasiatic |
150,000,000[4] but with separate mutually unintelligible varieties |
Algeria, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, [[|]], Eritrea, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania (Zanzibar), Tunisia
|
Berber |
Afroasiatic |
16,000,000[5] (estimated) (including separate mutually unintelligible varieties) |
Morocco, Algeria
|
Bhojpuri |
Indo-European |
|
Spoken in Mauritius
|
Cape Verdean Creole |
Portugeuese Creole |
|
National language in Cape Verde
|
Chewa |
Niger–Congo |
9,700,000[6] |
Malawi, Zimbabwe
|
Dangme |
Niger-Congo |
|
Ghana
|
English |
Indo-European |
6,500,000[7] (estimated) |
See List of territorial entities where English is an official language
|
Fon |
Niger–Congo |
|
Benin
|
French |
Indo-European |
120,000,000[8][9] (estimated) |
see List of territorial entities where French is an official language and African French
|
Fulani |
Niger–Congo |
25,000,000[2] |
national language of Senegal
|
Ga |
Niger–Congo |
|
Ghana
|
German |
Indo-European |
|
national language of Namibia, special status in South Africa
|
Gikuyu |
Niger–Congo |
6,600,000[10] |
|
Hausa |
Afroasiatic |
34,000,000[11] |
recognized in Nigeria, Ghana, Niger
|
Igbo |
Niger–Congo |
27,000,000[12] |
native in Nigeria
|
Italian |
Indo-European |
|
recognized in Libya, Eritrea, Somalia
|
Khoekhoe |
Khoe |
300,000[13] |
national language of Namibia
|
Kimbundu |
Niger–Congo |
|
Angola
|
Kinyarwanda |
Niger–Congo |
9,800,000[2] |
Rwanda
|
Kirundi |
Niger–Congo |
8,800,000[2] |
Burundi
|
Kituba |
Kongo-based creole |
|
Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo
|
Kongo |
Niger–Congo |
5,600,000[14] |
Angola, recognised national language of Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo
|
Lingala |
Niger–Congo |
5,500,000[2] |
National language of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo
|
Luganda |
Niger-Congo |
4,100,000[15] |
Native language of Uganda
|
Luo |
Nilo-Saharan (probable) |
4,200,000[16] |
|
Malagasy |
Austronesian |
18,000,000[17] |
Madagascar
|
Mauritian Creole |
French Creole |
1,100,000[18] |
Native language of Mauritius
|
Mossi |
Niger–Congo |
7,600,000[2] |
Recognised regional language in Burkina Faso
|
Nambya |
Niger–Congo |
|
Zimbabwe
|
Ndau |
Niger–Congo |
|
Zimbabwe
|
Ndebele |
Niger–Congo |
1,100,000[19] |
Statutory national language in South Africa
|
Noon |
Niger–Congo |
|
Senegal
|
Northern Ndebele |
Niger–Congo |
|
Zimbabwe
|
Northern Sotho |
Niger–Congo |
4,600,000[20] |
South Africa
|
Oromo |
Afroasiatic |
26,000,000[2] |
Ethiopia
|
Portuguese |
Indo-European |
13,700,000[21] (estimated) |
Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe
|
Sena |
Niger-Congo |
|
Zimbabwe
|
Sepedi |
Niger–Congo |
|
South Africa
|
Sesotho |
Niger–Congo |
5,600,000[22] |
Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe
|
Seychellois Creole |
French Creole |
|
Seychelles
|
Shona |
Niger–Congo |
7,200,000[23] |
Zimbabwe
|
Somali |
Afroasiatic |
16,600,000[24] |
Somalia, Djibouti
|
Spanish |
Indo-European |
1,100,000[25] |
Equatorial Guinea, Spain (Ceuta, Melilla, Canary islands), still marginally spoken in Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, recognized in Morocco
|
Southern Ndebele |
Niger–Congo |
|
South Africa
|
Swahili |
Niger–Congo |
15,000,000[26] |
Official in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
Swazi |
Niger-Congo |
|
Official in South Africa, Swaziland
|
Tamil |
Dravidian |
|
Spoken in Mauritius
|
Tigrinya |
Afroasiatic |
7,000,000[27] |
Eritrea, regional language in Ethiopia
|
Tonga |
Niger-Congo |
|
Zimbabwe
|
Tsoa |
Khoe |
|
Zimbabwe
|
Tsonga |
Niger–Congo |
|
Zimbabwe
|
Twi |
Niger-Congo |
|
Regional language in Ghana
|
Tshiluba |
Niger–Congo |
6,300,000[28] (1991) |
National language of Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
Tsonga |
Niger–Congo |
5,000,000[29] |
South Africa, Zimbabwe (as 'as Shangani'), Mozambique
|
Tshivenda |
Niger–Congo |
|
South Africa, Zimbabwe
|
Tswana |
Niger–Congo |
5,800,000[30] |
Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe
|
Umbundu |
Niger–Congo |
6,000,000[31] |
Angola
|
Venda |
Niger–Congo |
|
South Africa, Zimbabwe
|
Wolof |
Niger–Congo |
|
Lingua franca in Senegal
|
Xhosa |
Niger–Congo |
7,600,000[2] |
South Africa, Zimbabwe
|
Yoruba |
Niger–Congo |
28,000,000[2] |
Nigeria, Benin, Togo
|
Zulu |
Niger–Congo |
10,400,000[2] |
South Africa
|