World Language Map

Languages spoken in Gabon

52 living languages are mapped in Gabon. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is French (63% of the population). They belong to 2 language families, the largest being Atlantic-Congo (51 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 Gabon at a glance

  • 52living languages
  • 2language families
  • 2.5 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 2with a CLDR share

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

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
FrenchIndo-European63%1,546,719Not endangered
PunuAtlantic-Congo9%220,960Not endangered
Baka (Cameroon)Atlantic-CongoThreatened
BaramaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
BekwilAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
BengaAtlantic-CongoMoribund
Boma NordAtlantic-CongoThreatened
BubiAtlantic-CongoThreatened
BwisiAtlantic-CongoShifting
DumaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Fang (Equatorial Guinea)Atlantic-CongoNot endangered
KandeAtlantic-CongoMoribund
KaningiAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Kota (Gabon)Atlantic-CongoThreatened
KwasioAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KéléAtlantic-CongoThreatened
LategeAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
LumbuAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MahongweAtlantic-CongoShifting
MbangweAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Mbere-MbambaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MwesaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
MyeneAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NdambomoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NdasaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NdumuAtlantic-CongoThreatened
NgomAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NgubiAtlantic-CongoShifting
NjebiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
OsamayiAtlantic-CongoThreatened
PinjiAtlantic-CongoShifting
SakeAtlantic-CongoShifting
Sangu (Gabon)Atlantic-CongoNot endangered
SekiAtlantic-CongoThreatened
ShiwaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
SighuAtlantic-CongoShifting
SimbaAtlantic-CongoShifting
SiraAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
TchitchegeAtlantic-CongoShifting
Teke-KukuyaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered

Read more: where is French spoken?

Language families in Gabon

All 52 languages in Gabon, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Gabon 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 Gabon

How many languages are spoken in Gabon?

52 living languages are mapped in Gabon, from 2 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 Gabon?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, French is spoken by 63% of the population, about 1,546,719 people, followed by Punu (9%). 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 Gabon?

Atlantic-Congo (51 languages) and Indo-European (1 language).

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