World Language Map

Languages spoken in Burkina Faso

93 living languages are mapped in Burkina Faso. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Mossi (40% of the population). They belong to 6 language families, the largest being Atlantic-Congo (57 languages). 2 are language isolates, with no known relatives.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

The filter only changes what is drawn. Tap the map to list every language at a spot, whichever family is shown. You can also pick any family from its own page.

Key

Language families (largest ten)

  • Atlantic-Congo
  • Austronesian
  • Sino-Tibetan
  • Indo-European
  • Afro-Asiatic
  • Nuclear Trans New Guinea
  • Otomanguean
  • Austroasiatic
  • Tai-Kadai
  • Pama-Nyungan

Everything else

  • All other families Smaller families, isolates and unclassified languages.
  • Point A language with no area map. The dot sits at its Glottolog position, in its family colour.

How to read the map. Each colour is a language family: a group of languages that share a common ancestor. The ten largest families have their own colour and every other family is grey. Areas are see-through, so where two languages share a place the colours mix. Tap anywhere to list every language whose area covers that spot. Areas are generalisations drawn from published atlases, many of them decades old, and cities are multilingual, so an area never says that everyone there speaks the language. A dot marks a language that has no area map. The family name is always given in words, because colour alone is hard to tell apart for some people.

Languages of Burkina Faso at a glance

  • 93living languages
  • 6language families
  • 23 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 3with a CLDR share

Tap the map to list every language whose area covers a spot in Burkina Faso. 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 Burkina Faso

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.

LanguageFamilyShare of populationEstimated speakersStatus
MossiAtlantic-Congo40%9,216,880Not endangered
DyulaMande32%7,373,504Not endangered
FrenchIndo-European25%5,760,550Not endangered
Ampari DogonDogonShifting
BangimeIsolateShifting
BialiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
BissaMandeNot endangered
BolonMandeThreatened
BomuAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Bouna KulangoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
BuamuAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Central DagaareAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
CermaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Cwi BwamuAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Dagaari DioulaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
DogosoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
DogoséAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Dogul Dom DogonDogonThreatened
Donno So DogonDogonNot endangered
DyanAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
DzùùngooMandeNot endangered
Eastern KaraboroAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
FarefareAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
GourmanchémaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
HausaAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Humburi Senni SonghaySonghayNot endangered
JalkunanMandeShifting
Jamsay DogonDogonNot endangered
JowuluMandeNot endangered
KaansaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KalamséAtlantic-CongoShifting
KantosiAtlantic-CongoShifting
KasemAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KheAtlantic-CongoShifting
KhisaAtlantic-CongoShifting
KoromféAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KpeegoMandeNot endangered
KusaalAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
LobiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
LyéléAtlantic-CongoThreatened

Read more: where is Mossi spoken?

Language families in Burkina Faso

All 93 languages in Burkina Faso, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Burkina Faso 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 Burkina Faso

How many languages are spoken in Burkina Faso?

93 living languages are mapped in Burkina Faso, from 6 families, plus 2 language isolates. 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 Burkina Faso?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Mossi is spoken by 40% of the population, about 9,216,880 people, followed by Dyula (32%). 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 Burkina Faso?

Atlantic-Congo (57 languages), Mande (15 languages), Dogon (13 languages), Afro-Asiatic (3 languages) and Songhay (2 languages), and 1 more.

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.