Atlantic-Congo · ISO 639-3 lub · lu
Luba-Katanga Language Kiluba
Luba-Katanga is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken by about 2.3 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Luba-Katanga is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Luba-Katanga
Language family
- Atlantic-Congo
- Volta-Congo
- Benue-Congo
- Bantoid
- Southern Bantoid
- Narrow Bantu
- Central-Western Bantu
- Luban
- Luba-Kaonde
- Kaonde-Shaba-Sanga
- Luba-Katanga
Writing system
Latin script
Related languages
About the Luba-Katanga language
Luba-Katanga (Kiluba) is spoken by about 2.3 million people, which makes it the 292nd most spoken language in the world — just behind Iban (2.3 million) and ahead of Tachawit (2.3 million). It belongs to the Atlantic-Congo language family and, more precisely, to the Kaonde-Shaba-Sanga group within the Benue-Congo branch.
Where is Luba-Katanga spoken?
Luba-Katanga is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in DR Congo (2.7 million).
Luba-Katanga is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Luba-Katanga is written in the Latin script. Glottolog classifies it as threatened, meaning fewer children learn it than in the past.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Luba-Lulua, Songe, Lingala, Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kituba (Democratic Republic of Congo) and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-1 lu, ISO 639-3 lub.
Frequently asked questions about Luba-Katanga
How many people speak Luba-Katanga?
Where is Luba-Katanga spoken?
What language family does Luba-Katanga belong to?
What is Luba-Katanga called in Luba-Katanga?
Is Luba-Katanga 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.