Languages of Benin at a glance
- 58living languages
- 5language families
- 14.7 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
- 4with a CLDR share
Tap the map to list every language whose area covers a spot in Benin. Areas are generalisations from published atlases and overlap, and a language that is mapped here is not necessarily spoken everywhere inside its area.
The 40 most widely spoken languages in Benin
Languages with a Unicode CLDR share come first, biggest first by estimated speakers; the rest follow A to Z. Estimated speakers are the share applied to CLDR’s own population figure for the country.
Read more: where is French spoken?
Language families in Benin
- Atlantic-Congo (51 languages)
- Mande (4 languages)
- Indo-European (1 language)
- Songhay (1 language)
- Afro-Asiatic (1 language)
All 58 languages in Benin, A to Z
- Aguna
- Aja (Benin)
- Anii
- Anufo
- Ayizo Gbe
- Baatonum
- Biali
- Boko (Benin)
- Bokobaru
- Borgu Fulfulde
- Busa
- Ci Gbe
- Defi Gbe
- Dendi (Benin)
- Ditammari
- Eastern Xwla Gbe
- Ede Cabe
- Ede Ica
- Ede Idaca
- Ede Ije
- Ede Nago
- Fon
- Foodo
- French
- Gbesi Gbe
- Gen
- Gourmanchéma
- Gun
- Gwamhi-Wuri
- Hausa
- Ifè
- Kabiyé
- Kotafon Gbe
- Kura Ede Nago
- Kyenga
- Lama (Togo)
- Lukpa
- Manigri-Kambolé Ede Nago
- Maxi Gbe
- Mbelime
- Miyobe
- Mokole
- Nateni
- Ngangam
- Notre
- Saxwe Gbe
- Tchumbuli
- Tem
- Tofin Gbe
- Waama
- Waci Gbe
- Weme Gbe
- Western Niger Fulfulde
- Western Xwla Gbe
- Western-Kambari-Cishingini
- Xwela Gbe
- Yom
- Yoruba
About these numbers
The list of languages in Benin comes from the overlap of Glottography and Glottolog language areas and positions with the country outline, together with the languages Glottolog assigns to the country. The shares come from Unicode CLDR release 48 and are estimates. See every source and licence.
Questions about languages in Benin
How many languages are spoken in Benin?
58 living languages are mapped in Benin, from 5 families. The number depends on how a catalogue decides where one language ends and another begins, so other sources give other totals.
What is the most spoken language in Benin?
By Unicode CLDR's estimate, French is spoken by 34% of the population, about 4,997,014 people, followed by Fon (25%). Shares are approximate, can add up to more than 100% because many people speak several languages, and only cover languages CLDR has a figure for.
Which language families are found in Benin?
Atlantic-Congo (51 languages), Mande (4 languages), Indo-European (1 language), Songhay (1 language) and Afro-Asiatic (1 language).