Practical facts by country
Official languages: Africa
The official languages of each country in Africa as the Unicode Common Locale Data Repository (CLDR) lists them - official by law, official in practice (de facto) and official only in some regions - with CLDR's estimate of the share of the population that uses each.
Questions and answers
- What language do they speak in Algeria?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 74% of the population) and French (about 33%) as the official languages of Algeria. Algeria travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Angola?
- Unicode CLDR lists Portuguese (about 67% of the population) as the official language of Angola. Angola travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Benin?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 34% of the population) as the official language of Benin. Benin travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Botswana?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 81% of the population) and Tswana (about 62%) as the official languages of Botswana. Botswana travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Burkina Faso?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 25% of the population) as the official language of Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Burundi?
- Unicode CLDR lists Rundi (about 63% of the population), French (about 59%) and English (under 1%) as the official languages of Burundi. Burundi travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Cameroon?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 68% of the population) and English (about 38%) as the official languages of Cameroon. Cameroon travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Cape Verde?
- Unicode CLDR lists Portuguese (about 76% of the population) as the official language of Cape Verde. Cape Verde travel guide →
- What language do they speak in the Central African Republic?
- Unicode CLDR lists Sango (about 49% of the population) and French (about 29%) as the official languages of the Central African Republic. Central African Republic travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Chad?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 17% of the population) and French (about 13%) as the official languages of Chad. Chad travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Comoros?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 66% of the population) and French (about 26%) as the official languages of Comoros. Comoros travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Democratic Republic of the Congo?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 51% of the population) as the official language of Democratic Republic of the Congo. It lists Swahili, Luba-Lulua, Lingala and 1 more as official in some regions. Democratic Republic of the Congo travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Djibouti?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 50% of the population) and Arabic (about 7.3%) as the official languages of Djibouti. Djibouti travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Egypt?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 94% of the population) as the official language of Egypt. Egypt travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Equatorial Guinea?
- Unicode CLDR lists Spanish (about 87% of the population), French (about 29%) and Portuguese (under 1%) as the official languages of Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Eritrea?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 59% of the population) and Arabic (about 4.9%) as the official languages of Eritrea, and Tigrinya (about 60%) as official in practice (de facto). Eritrea travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Eswatini?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 80% of the population) and Swati (about 58%) as the official languages of Eswatini. Eswatini travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Ethiopia?
- Unicode CLDR lists Amharic (about 33% of the population) as the official language of Ethiopia. Ethiopia travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Gabon?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 63% of the population) as the official language of Gabon. Gabon travel guide →
- What language do they speak in the Gambia?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 40% of the population) as the official language of the Gambia. Gambia travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Ghana?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 21% of the population) as the official language of Ghana. It lists Akan, Ewe and Ga as official in some regions. Ghana travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Guinea?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 27% of the population) as the official language of Guinea. Guinea travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Guinea-Bissau?
- Unicode CLDR lists Portuguese (nearly all of the population) as the official language of Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Ivory Coast?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 34% of the population) as the official language of Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Kenya?
- Unicode CLDR lists Swahili (about 66% of the population) and English (about 19%) as the official languages of Kenya. Kenya travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Lesotho?
- Unicode CLDR lists Southern Sotho (about 98% of the population) and English (about 27%) as the official languages of Lesotho. Lesotho travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Liberia?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 83% of the population) as the official language of Liberia. Liberia travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Libya?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 74% of the population) as the official language of Libya. Libya travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Madagascar?
- Unicode CLDR lists Malagasy (about 90% of the population), French (about 27%) and English (about 18%) as the official languages of Madagascar. Madagascar travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Malawi?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 63% of the population) and Nyanja (about 63%) as the official languages of Malawi. Malawi travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Mali?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 17% of the population) as the official language of Mali. Mali travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Mauritania?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 85% of the population) as the official language of Mauritania. Mauritania travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Mauritius?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 73% of the population) and English (about 72%) as the official languages of Mauritius. Mauritius travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Mayotte?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 63% of the population) as the official language of Mayotte. Mayotte travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Morocco?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 62% of the population) and Central Atlas Tamazight (about 9.8%) as the official languages of Morocco, and French (about 36%) as official in practice (de facto). Morocco travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Mozambique?
- Unicode CLDR lists Portuguese (about 27% of the population) as the official language of Mozambique. Mozambique travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Namibia?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 7% of the population) as the official language of Namibia. Namibia travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Niger?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 13% of the population) as the official language of Niger. Niger travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Nigeria?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 53% of the population) and Yoruba (about 13%) as the official languages of Nigeria. Nigeria travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Republic of the Congo?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 61% of the population) as the official language of Republic of the Congo. Republic of the Congo travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Réunion?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 89% of the population) as the official language of Réunion. Réunion travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Rwanda?
- Unicode CLDR lists Kinyarwanda (about 77% of the population), English (about 15%) and French (about 5.8%) as the official languages of Rwanda. Rwanda travel guide →
- What language do they speak in São Tomé and Príncipe?
- Unicode CLDR lists Portuguese (about 85% of the population) as the official language of São Tomé and Príncipe. São Tomé and Príncipe travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Senegal?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 26% of the population) as the official language of Senegal, and Wolof (about 70%) as official in practice (de facto). It lists Fula, Serer and Jola-Fonyi as official in some regions. Senegal travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Sierra Leone?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 35% of the population) as the official language of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Somalia?
- Unicode CLDR lists Somali (about 78% of the population) and Arabic (about 34%) as the official languages of Somalia. Somalia travel guide →
- What language do they speak in South Africa?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 31% of the population) as the official language of South Africa. It lists Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans and 7 more as official in some regions. South Africa travel guide →
- What language do they speak in South Sudan?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 27% of the population) as the official language of South Sudan. South Sudan travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Sudan?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 61% of the population) and English (about 61%) as the official languages of Sudan. Sudan travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Tanzania?
- Unicode CLDR lists Swahili (about 90% of the population) and English (about 69%) as the official languages of Tanzania. Tanzania travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Togo?
- Unicode CLDR lists French (about 41% of the population) as the official language of Togo. Togo travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Tunisia?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (about 90% of the population) and French (about 53%) as the official languages of Tunisia. Tunisia travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Uganda?
- Unicode CLDR lists Swahili (about 75% of the population) and English (about 3.9%) as the official languages of Uganda. Uganda travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Western Sahara?
- Unicode CLDR lists Arabic (nearly all of the population) as the official language of Western Sahara. Western Sahara travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Zambia?
- Unicode CLDR lists English (about 16% of the population) as the official language of Zambia. Zambia travel guide →
- What language do they speak in Zimbabwe?
- Unicode CLDR lists Shona (about 81% of the population), English (about 42%) and North Ndebele (about 12%) as the official languages of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe travel guide →
Sources: Unicode CLDR 48.2 (Unicode License v3): territoryInfo, each language's official status and population share; English language names from CLDR. All questions · Plug types and voltage: Europe · Plug types and voltage: Asia and Oceania · Plug types and voltage: the Americas · Plug types and voltage: Africa · Emergency phone numbers: Europe · Emergency phone numbers: Asia and Oceania · Emergency phone numbers: the Americas · Emergency phone numbers: Africa · Currencies: Europe · Currencies: Asia and Oceania · Currencies: the Americas · Currencies: Africa