Afro-Asiatic · ISO 639-3 ayl
Libyan Arabic Language ليبي
Libyan Arabic is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by about 5.6 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script.
Where Libyan Arabic is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Libyan Arabic
Language family
- Afro-Asiatic
- Semitic
- West Semitic
- Central Semitic
- Arabian
- Arabic
- North African Arabic
- Libyan Arabic
Writing system
Perso-Arabic script
Related languages
About the Libyan Arabic language
Libyan Arabic (ليبي) is spoken by about 5.6 million people, which makes it the 168th most spoken language in the world — just behind Wolaytta (5.8 million) and ahead of Betawi (5.6 million). It belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family and, more precisely, to the North African Arabic group within the West Semitic branch.
Where is Libyan Arabic spoken?
Libyan Arabic is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Libya (5.6 million). More than half of the population speaks it in Libya — the places where travellers will hear it everywhere.
Libyan Arabic is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Libyan Arabic is written in the Perso-Arabic 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 Algerian Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Tunisian Arabic, Hassaniyya, Maltese, Standard Arabic and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 ayl.
Frequently asked questions about Libyan Arabic
How many people speak Libyan Arabic?
Where is Libyan Arabic spoken?
What language family does Libyan Arabic belong to?
What is Libyan Arabic called in Libyan Arabic?
Is Libyan Arabic 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.