Languages · Africa
What Language Do They Speak in Somalia?
The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic. In total about 13 living languages are spoken there, the most common being Somali (78%), Arabic (34%) and Maay (22%).
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Official languages
13
Living languages · #99
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Regional official languages
5
Endangered languages
Most spoken languages in Somalia
All languages of Somalia (13)
| Language | Speakers here | Family | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somali | 10,153,494 · 78% | Afro-Asiatic | Official |
| Arabic | 4,425,882 · 34% | Afro-Asiatic | Official |
| Maay | 2,900,000 · 22% | Afro-Asiatic | Safe |
| Garre | 690,000 · 5% | Afro-Asiatic | Threatened |
| Mushungulu | 480,000 · 4% | — | — |
| Swahili | 260,346 · 2% | Atlantic-Congo | — |
| Oromo | 54,672 · 0.42% | Afro-Asiatic | — |
| Dabarre | 50,000 · 0.38% | Afro-Asiatic | Threatened |
| Jiiddu | 33,000 · 0.25% | Afro-Asiatic | Threatened |
| Tunni | 33,000 · 0.25% | Afro-Asiatic | Threatened |
| Aweer | 400 · 0% | Afro-Asiatic | Vulnerable |
| Boon | 60 · 0% | Afro-Asiatic | Moribund |
| Swahili | — | Atlantic-Congo | Safe |
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Frequently asked questions
What language do they speak in Somalia?
The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic. In total about 13 living languages are spoken there, the most common being Somali (78%), Arabic (34%) and Maay (22%).
What is the official language of Somalia?
Somali and Arabic.
Is English spoken in Somalia?
English is not widely spoken in Somalia — learn a few words of Somali before you go.
How many languages are spoken in Somalia?
About 13 living languages — #99 in the world for linguistic diversity. 5 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).