World Language Map

Languages spoken in Tanzania

133 living languages are mapped in Tanzania. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Swahili (90% of the population). They belong to 4 language families, the largest being Atlantic-Congo (116 languages). 2 are language isolates, with no known relatives.

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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 Tanzania at a glance

  • 133living languages
  • 4language families
  • 67.5 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 16with a CLDR share

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

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
SwahiliAtlantic-Congo90%60,715,890Not endangered
EnglishIndo-European69%46,548,849Not endangered
SukumaAtlantic-Congo8.7%5,869,203Not endangered
NyamweziAtlantic-Congo3.3%2,226,249Not endangered
MakondeAtlantic-Congo2.5%1,686,552Not endangered
Bena (Tanzania)Atlantic-Congo1.7%1,146,856Not endangered
ShambalaAtlantic-Congo1.7%1,146,856Not endangered
MasaiNilotic1.5%1,011,932Not endangered
MbungaAtlantic-Congo1.4%944,469Threatened
Asu (Tanzania)Atlantic-Congo1.2%809,545Not endangered
LangiAtlantic-Congo0.9%586,920Not endangered
MachameAtlantic-Congo0.7%499,220Not endangered
RomboAtlantic-Congo0.7%499,220Not endangered
VunjoAtlantic-Congo0.7%499,220Not endangered
RwaAtlantic-Congo0.2%148,417Not endangered
Sangu (Tanzania)Atlantic-Congo0.2%134,924Threatened
AkieNiloticShifting
AlagwaAfro-AsiaticShifting
Barabayiiga-GisamjangaNiloticNot endangered
BembeAtlantic-CongoShifting
BendeAtlantic-CongoShifting
BiyanjiidaNiloticThreatened
BondeiAtlantic-CongoThreatened
BunguAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
BuraadigaNiloticNot endangered
BurungeAfro-AsiaticShifting
Cutchi-SwahiliAtlantic-CongoThreatened
DhaisoAtlantic-CongoShifting
DigoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
DoeAtlantic-CongoThreatened
DurumaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
FipaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
GandaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
GogoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
GorowaAfro-AsiaticThreatened
GusiiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
GwenoAtlantic-CongoShifting
HaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
HadzaIsolateShifting
HangazaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered

Read more: where is Swahili spoken?

Language families in Tanzania

All 133 languages in Tanzania, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Tanzania 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 Tanzania

How many languages are spoken in Tanzania?

133 living languages are mapped in Tanzania, from 4 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 Tanzania?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Swahili is spoken by 90% of the population, about 60,715,890 people, followed by English (69%). 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 Tanzania?

Atlantic-Congo (116 languages), Nilotic (8 languages), Afro-Asiatic (6 languages) and Indo-European (1 language).

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