Languages · Africa
What Language Do They Speak in Namibia?
The official language of Namibia is English. In total about 25 living languages are spoken there, the most common being Afrikaans (75%), Mbalanhu (50%) and Kuanyama (35%).
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Official language
25
Living languages · #56
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Regional official languages
10
Endangered languages
Official languages of Namibia
Most spoken languages in Namibia
All languages of Namibia (25)
| Language | Speakers here | Family | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afrikaans | 2,102,745 · 75% | Indo-European | Safe |
| Mbalanhu | 1,400,000 · 50% | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Kuanyama | 981,281 · 35% | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Ndonga | 588,768 · 21% | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Khoekhoe | 308,402 · 11% | Khoe-Kwadi | Threatened |
| Herero | 255,133 · 9% | Atlantic-Congo | Threatened |
| English | 196,256 · 7% | Indo-European | Official |
| Kwangali | 150,000 · 5% | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Diriku | 36,000 · 1% | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Mbukushu | 35,000 · 1% | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Kwambi | 33,000 · 1% | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Subiya | 27,000 · 0.96% | Atlantic-Congo | Threatened |
| German | 25,232 · 0.9% | Indo-European | Safe |
| Yeyi | 20,000 · 0.71% | Atlantic-Congo | Moribund |
| Tswana | 15,700 · 0.56% | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Totela | 14,000 · 0.5% | Atlantic-Congo | Threatened |
| Haiǁom | 7,500 · 0.27% | Khoe-Kwadi | Safe |
| Sekele | 5,600 · 0.2% | Kxa | Threatened |
| Juǀʼhoan | 4,000 · 0.14% | Kxa | Threatened |
| Kxoe | 1,800 · 0.06% | Khoe-Kwadi | Vulnerable |
| Kung-Ekoka | 1,800 · 0.06% | Kxa | Threatened |
| Kgalagadi | — | Atlantic-Congo | Threatened |
| Luyana | — | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Fwe | — | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
| Xiri | — | Khoe-Kwadi | Nearly extinct |
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Frequently asked questions
What language do they speak in Namibia?
The official language of Namibia is English. In total about 25 living languages are spoken there, the most common being Afrikaans (75%), Mbalanhu (50%) and Kuanyama (35%).
What is the official language of Namibia?
English.
Is English spoken in Namibia?
Yes — English is official in Namibia, spoken by about 7% of people.
How many languages are spoken in Namibia?
About 25 living languages — #56 in the world for linguistic diversity. 10 of them are endangered.
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).