Atlantic-Congo · ISO 639-3 swc
Congo Swahili Language
Congo Swahili is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken by about 9.1 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Congo Swahili is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Congo Swahili
Language family
- Atlantic-Congo
- Volta-Congo
- Benue-Congo
- Bantoid
- Southern Bantoid
- Narrow Bantu
- East Bantu
- Northeast Savanna Bantu
- Northeast Coastal Bantu
- Coastal NEC Bantu
- Sabaki-Swahili
- Swahili (G.40)
- Mombasa-Lamu-Inland Swahili
- Congo Swahili
Writing system
Latin script
Related languages
About the Congo Swahili language
Congo Swahili is spoken by about 9.1 million people, which makes it the 134th most spoken language in the world — just behind Kikuyu (9.1 million) and ahead of Bambara (9.0 million). It belongs to the Atlantic-Congo language family and, more precisely, to the Mombasa-Lamu-Inland Swahili group within the Benue-Congo branch.
Where is Congo Swahili spoken?
Congo Swahili is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in DR Congo (9.1 million).
Congo Swahili is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Congo Swahili is written in the Latin script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Swahili, Segeju, Giryama, Ngazidja Comorian, Ndzwani Comorian, Gogo and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 swc.
Frequently asked questions about Congo Swahili
How many people speak Congo Swahili?
Where is Congo Swahili spoken?
What language family does Congo Swahili belong to?
Is Congo Swahili an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.