World Language Map

Languages spoken in Ivory Coast

108 living languages are mapped in Ivory Coast. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is French (34% of the population). They belong to 4 language families, the largest being Atlantic-Congo (50 languages). One is a language isolate, 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 Ivory Coast at a glance

  • 108living languages
  • 4language families
  • 30 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 5with a CLDR share

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

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-European34%10,193,812Not endangered
BaouléAtlantic-Congo11%3,297,998Not endangered
SenariAtlantic-Congo4.3%1,289,217Not endangered
Koro (Côte d'Ivoire)Mande0.2%68,958Threatened
Begbere-EjarAtlantic-Congo0.2%50,969Threatened
AbidjiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
AbronAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
AbureAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
AbéAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
AdioukrouAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
AlladianAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
AnyinAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Anyin MorofoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Aproumu AiziAtlantic-CongoThreatened
AttiéAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
AvikamAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
BakwéKruNot endangered
BambaraMandeNot endangered
BengMandeNot endangered
Beti (Côte d'Ivoire)Atlantic-CongoShifting
BissaMandeNot endangered
Bondoukou KulangoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Bouna KulangoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
CermaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Daho-DooKruShifting
Daloa BétéKruNot endangered
DanMandeNot endangered
DegAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Djimini SenoufoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
DogosoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
DogoséAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
DyulaMandeNot endangered
Eastern KaraboroAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Eastern ManinkakanMandeNot endangered
EbriéAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
EgaAtlantic-CongoMoribund
GabogboKruThreatened
Gagnoa BétéKruNot endangered
GbanMandeNot endangered
Gboloo GreboKruNot endangered

Read more: where is French spoken?

Language families in Ivory Coast

All 108 languages in Ivory Coast, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Ivory Coast 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 Ivory Coast

How many languages are spoken in Ivory Coast?

108 living languages are mapped in Ivory Coast, from 4 families, plus 1 language isolate. 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 Ivory Coast?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, French is spoken by 34% of the population, about 10,193,812 people, followed by Baoulé (11%). 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 Ivory Coast?

Atlantic-Congo (50 languages), Kru (29 languages), Mande (26 languages) and Indo-European (2 languages).

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