Atlantic-Congo · ISO 639-3 nyn
Nyankole Language Runyankore
Nyankole is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken by about 2.7 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Nyankole is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Nyankole
About the Nyankole language
Nyankole (Runyankore) is spoken by about 2.7 million people, which makes it the 266th most spoken language in the world — just behind Northern Gondi (2.7 million) and ahead of Tagwana Senoufo (2.7 million). It belongs to the Atlantic-Congo language family and, more precisely, to the Nkore-Kiga group within the Benue-Congo branch.
Where is Nyankole spoken?
Nyankole is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Uganda (3.1 million).
Nyankole is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Nyankole 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 Chiga, Haya, Ganda, Kenyi, Soga, Kinyarwanda and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 nyn.
Frequently asked questions about Nyankole
How many people speak Nyankole?
Where is Nyankole spoken?
What language family does Nyankole belong to?
What is Nyankole called in Nyankole?
Is Nyankole 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.