Atlantic-Congo · ISO 639-3 run · rn
Rundi Language Ikirundi
Rundi is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken by about 11 million people in 1 country. It is an official language of Burundi. It is written in the Latin script.
Where Rundi is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Rundi
About the Rundi language
Rundi (Ikirundi) is spoken by about 11 million people, which makes it the 111th most spoken language in the world — just behind Wolof (11 million) and ahead of Czech (11 million). It belongs to the Atlantic-Congo language family and, more precisely, to the Rundic group within the Benue-Congo branch.
Where is Rundi spoken?
Rundi is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Burundi (8.6 million). More than half of the population speaks it in Burundi — the places where travellers will hear it everywhere.
Rundi is an official language in 1 country: Burundi.
Writing system and status
Rundi 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 Kinyarwanda, Nande, Ganda, Kenyi, Nyankole, Gusii and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-1 rn, ISO 639-3 run.
Frequently asked questions about Rundi
How many people speak Rundi?
Where is Rundi spoken?
In which countries is Rundi an official language?
What language family does Rundi belong to?
What is Rundi called in Rundi?
Is Rundi 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.