What are the most-spoken languages in Africa?
by 
Michael Mahan
ANSWERS: 2
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More than 1,000 different languages are spoken in Africa. Although most countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have adopted colonial European languages for official government business, most people speak indigenous or local languages. In Namibia, for example, people may speak English, Afrikaans, German, Oshivambo, Herero, or Nama. In Tanzania, people can speak English or Swahili. Due to their colonial pasts, the majority of the countries in West Africa have adopted French, English, Spanish, or Portuguese as national languages. The majority of each countries' inhabitants, however, also speak one or more indigenous languages. Cameroonians may speak one or more of 24 different languages, in addition to French or English. Most people in the North African countries speak Arabic and follow Islam. In some parts of North Africa, however, people are multilingual and speak several languages. For example, the official languages of Chad and Djibouti are Arabic and French. In Ethiopia, people may speak one or more of 70 unique languages or 200 different dialects.
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50 most spoken languages in Africa 2005 estimation (speakers in millions) Total African population in 2005: 850 millions 1) Arabic: 150 2) Kiswahili: 100 3) Hausa: 70 4) English: 60 5) Amharic: 50 6) French: 50 7) Oromo: 30 8) Yoruba: 30 9) Igbo: 25 10) Zulu: 20 11) Somali: 20 12) Malagasy: 20 13) Shona: 20 14) Fulani: 15 15) Chichewa (Nyanja): 15 16) Kikongo: 15 17) Akan: 12 18) Tshiluba: 12 19) Kinyarwanda: 10 20) Xhosa: 10 21) Portuguese: 10 22) Afrikaans: 10 23) Lingala: 10 24) Tigrinya: 8 25) Makua: 8 26) Gikuyu: 7 27) Kirundi: 7 28) Sesotho (southern): 7 29) Kanuri: 5 30) Tswana: 5 31) Umbundu: 5 32) Northern Sotho (sePedi): 5 33) Luyia: 5 34) Wolof: 5 35) Bemba: 5 36) Luo (Dholuo): 5 37) Maninka: 5 38) Tsonga: 5 39) Sukuma: 5 40) Ewe: 5 41) Luganda: 5 42) Kimbundu: 5 43) Ibibio-Efik: 5 44) Bambara: 5 45) Ometo: 4 46) Senoufo: 4 47) Kalenjin: 4 48) Kamba: 4 49) Tiv: 4 50) Gbaya: 4
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