World Language Map

Languages spoken in Guinea-Bissau

33 living languages are mapped in Guinea-Bissau. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Portuguese (100% of the population). They belong to 3 language families, the largest being Atlantic-Congo (26 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 Guinea-Bissau at a glance

  • 33living languages
  • 3language families
  • 2.1 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 3with a CLDR share

Tap the map to list every language whose area covers a spot in Guinea-Bissau. 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 Guinea-Bissau

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
PortugueseIndo-European100%2,132,330Not endangered
FrenchIndo-European15%319,850Not endangered
MankanyaAtlantic-Congo2.6%55,441Threatened
Arame-GubaareAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Bainouk-Gunyaamolo-GutoborAtlantic-CongoShifting
Bainounk-GujaherAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Balanta-GanjaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Balanta-KentoheAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Bassari-TandaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
BiafadaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
EjamatAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Jaad-BadyaraAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Jola-EsulaluAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Jola-FonyiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Kamona BijogoAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Kanyaki-Kagbaaga-Kajoko BidyogoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KasangaAtlantic-CongoNearly extinct
KeerakAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KobianaAtlantic-CongoShifting
Kugere-KuxingeAtlantic-CongoThreatened
MandinkaMandeNot endangered
MandjakAtlantic-CongoThreatened
MansoankaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
MbulungishAtlantic-CongoShifting
NaluAtlantic-CongoThreatened
PapelAtlantic-CongoThreatened
PulaarAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
PularAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
SoninkeMandeNot endangered
SusuMandeNot endangered
Upper Guinea CriouloIndo-EuropeanNot endangered
Western ManinkakanMandeNot endangered
WolofAtlantic-CongoNot endangered

Read more: where is Portuguese spoken?

Language families in Guinea-Bissau

About these numbers

The list of languages in Guinea-Bissau 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 Guinea-Bissau

How many languages are spoken in Guinea-Bissau?

33 living languages are mapped in Guinea-Bissau, 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 Guinea-Bissau?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Portuguese is spoken by 100% of the population, about 2,132,330 people, followed by French (15%). 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 Guinea-Bissau?

Atlantic-Congo (26 languages), Mande (4 languages) and Indo-European (3 languages).

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