World Language Map

Languages spoken in Liberia

39 living languages are mapped in Liberia. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is English (83% of the population). They belong to 4 language families, the largest being Kru (22 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 Liberia at a glance

  • 39living languages
  • 4language families
  • 5.4 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 8with a CLDR share

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

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
EnglishIndo-European83%4,512,918Not endangered
Kru Pidgin Englishunclassified74%4,023,565Not endangered
BassaKru14%761,215Not endangered
MannMande7.2%391,482Not endangered
Southern KisiAtlantic-Congo4.3%233,802Not endangered
VaiMande3.8%206,616Not endangered
BandiMande2.9%157,680Not endangered
Mende (Sierra Leone)Mande1.7%92,433Not endangered
Barclayville GreboKruNot endangered
Central GreboKruNot endangered
Daho-DooKruShifting
DanMandeNot endangered
DewoinKruShifting
Eastern ManinkakanMandeNot endangered
GbiiKruShifting
Gboloo GreboKruNot endangered
Glaro-TwaboKruThreatened
Glio-OubiKruThreatened
GolaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Guinea KpelleMandeNot endangered
KlaoKruNot endangered
Konobo-Eastern KrahnKruNot endangered
Konyanka ManinkaMandeNot endangered
KuwaaKruNot endangered
Liberia KpelleMandeNot endangered
Loma (Liberia)MandeNot endangered
ManyaMandeNot endangered
Northern GreboKruNot endangered
Northern KissiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Plapo KrumenKruMoribund
Pye KrumenKruNot endangered
SapoKruNot endangered
Southern GreboKruNot endangered
TajuasohnKruNot endangered
Tepo KrumenKruNot endangered
TomaMandeNot endangered
Western KrahnKruNot endangered
Wè SouthernKruNot endangered
Wè WesternKruNot endangered

Read more: where is English spoken?

Language families in Liberia

About these numbers

The list of languages in Liberia 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 Liberia

How many languages are spoken in Liberia?

39 living languages are mapped in Liberia, from 4 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 Liberia?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, English is spoken by 83% of the population, about 4,512,918 people, followed by Kru Pidgin English (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 Liberia?

Kru (22 languages), Mande (12 languages), Atlantic-Congo (3 languages) and Indo-European (1 language).

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