Languages · Africa
What Language Do They Speak in South Africa?
The official language of South Africa is English. In total about 21 living languages are spoken there, the most common being English (31%), Zulu (24%) and Xhosa (18%).
1
Official language
21
Living languages · #67
10
Regional official languages
5
Endangered languages
Official languages of South Africa
Most spoken languages in South Africa
English Official
31%Zulu Regional official
24%Xhosa Regional official
18%Afrikaans Regional official
13%Pedi Regional official
9%Tswana Regional official
8%Southern Sotho Regional official
8%Tsonga Regional official
4%Swati Regional official
3%Venda Regional official
2%2%
South Ndebele Regional official
2%Share of the population who speak the language (first or second language).
All languages of South Africa (21)
| Language | Speakers here | Family | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 18,737,206 · 31% | Indo-European | Official |
| Zulu | 14,506,224 · 24% | Atlantic-Congo | Regional official |
| Xhosa | 10,879,668 · 18% | Atlantic-Congo | Regional official |
| Afrikaans | 7,857,538 · 13% | Indo-European | Regional official |
| Pedi | 5,681,604 · 9% | Atlantic-Congo | Regional official |
| Tswana | 4,956,293 · 8% | Atlantic-Congo | Regional official |
| Southern Sotho | 4,774,965 · 8% | Atlantic-Congo | Regional official |
| Tsonga | 2,659,474 · 4% | Atlantic-Congo | Regional official |
| Swati | 1,631,950 · 3% | Atlantic-Congo | Regional official |
| Venda | 1,390,179 · 2% | Atlantic-Congo | Regional official |
| Hindi | 1,208,852 · 2% | Indo-European | Safe |
| South Ndebele | 967,081 · 2% | — | Regional official |
| Oorlams | 32,000 · 0.05% | Indo-European | Safe |
| Birwa | 30,000 · 0.05% | Atlantic-Congo | Threatened |
| Kung-Ekoka | 1,800 · 0% | Kxa | Threatened |
| Swahili | 1,027 · 0% | Atlantic-Congo | — |
| Nǁng | 1 | Tuu | Nearly extinct |
| Kgalagadi | — | Atlantic-Congo | Threatened |
| Haiǁom | — | Khoe-Kwadi | Safe |
| Tswapong | — | Atlantic-Congo | Vulnerable |
| Xiri | — | Khoe-Kwadi | Nearly extinct |
Nothing matches your search.
Frequently asked questions
What language do they speak in South Africa?
The official language of South Africa is English. In total about 21 living languages are spoken there, the most common being English (31%), Zulu (24%) and Xhosa (18%).
What is the official language of South Africa?
English. Regional official languages: Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Pedi, Tswana, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda and South Ndebele.
Is English spoken in South Africa?
Yes — English is official in South Africa, spoken by about 31% of people.
How many languages are spoken in South Africa?
About 21 living languages — #67 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).