World Language Map

Languages spoken in Algeria

25 living languages are mapped in Algeria. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Algerian Arabic (83% of the population). They belong to 3 language families, the largest being Afro-Asiatic (20 languages).

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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 Algeria at a glance

  • 25living languages
  • 3language families
  • 47 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 7with a CLDR share

Tap the map to list every language whose area covers a spot in Algeria. Areas are generalisations from published atlases and overlap, and a language that is mapped here is not necessarily spoken everywhere inside its area.

Languages spoken in Algeria

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
Algerian ArabicAfro-Asiatic83%39,028,675Not endangered
Standard ArabicAfro-Asiatic74%34,796,650Not endangered
FrenchIndo-European33%15,517,425Not endangered
HassaniyyaAfro-Asiatic11%5,172,475Not endangered
KabyleAfro-Asiatic7.8%3,667,755Threatened
EnglishIndo-European7%3,291,575Not endangered
TumzabtAfro-Asiatic0.4%169,281Threatened
Algerian Saharan ArabicAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Central Moroccan BerberAfro-AsiaticThreatened
Chaouia of the AuresAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
GhadamesAfro-AsiaticShifting
KorandjeSonghayShifting
LadinoIndo-EuropeanNot endangered
Libyan ArabicAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Moroccan ArabicAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
OuargliAfro-AsiaticShifting
Oued RighAfro-AsiaticShifting
Sud Oranais-GouraraAfro-AsiaticThreatened
TachelhitAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
TadaksahakSonghayNot endangered
Tahaggart TamahaqAfro-AsiaticThreatened
Tarifiyt-Beni-Iznasen-Eastern Middle Atlas BerberAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Tidikelt-Tuat TamazightAfro-AsiaticShifting
Tunisian ArabicAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Western Algerian BerberAfro-AsiaticThreatened

Read more: where is Algerian Arabic spoken?

Language families in Algeria

About these numbers

The list of languages in Algeria 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 Algeria

How many languages are spoken in Algeria?

25 living languages are mapped in Algeria, from 3 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 Algeria?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Algerian Arabic is spoken by 83% of the population, about 39,028,675 people, followed by Standard Arabic (74%). 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 Algeria?

Afro-Asiatic (20 languages), Indo-European (3 languages) and Songhay (2 languages).

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