World Language Map

Languages spoken in Mali

80 living languages are mapped in Mali. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Bambara (48% of the population). They belong to 6 language families, the largest being Mande (25 languages). 2 are language isolates, with no known relatives.

Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

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 Mali at a glance

  • 80living languages
  • 6language families
  • 22 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 12with a CLDR share

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

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
BambaraMande48%10,555,488Not endangered
FrenchIndo-European17%3,738,402Not endangered
Maasina FulfuldeAtlantic-Congo7.7%1,693,276Not endangered
SoninkeMande5.9%1,297,445Not endangered
Kita ManinkakanMande5%1,099,530Not endangered
Koyraboro Senni SonghaiSonghay3.4%747,680Not endangered
Koyra Chiini SonghaySonghay1.7%373,840Not endangered
Tomo Kan DogonDogon1.1%241,897Not endangered
XaasongaxangoMande1%219,906Not endangered
Standard ArabicAfro-Asiatic0.9%197,915Not endangered
BomuAtlantic-Congo0.9%189,119Not endangered
Jenaama BozoMande0.9%186,920Not endangered
Algerian ArabicAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Algerian Saharan ArabicAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Ampari DogonDogonShifting
Ana Tinga DogonDogonThreatened
BangimeIsolateShifting
BankagoomaMandeShifting
Bankan Tey DogonDogonShifting
Ben Tey DogonDogonShifting
BuamuAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Bunoge DogonDogonShifting
Central-Eastern Niger FulfuldeAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Dogul Dom DogonDogonThreatened
Donno So DogonDogonNot endangered
DuungoomaMandeNot endangered
DyulaMandeNot endangered
Eastern ManinkakanMandeNot endangered
Hainyaxo BozoMandeNot endangered
HassaniyyaAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Humburi Senni SonghaySonghayNot endangered
JahankaMandeNot endangered
JalkunanMandeShifting
Jamsay DogonDogonNot endangered
JowuluMandeNot endangered
KagoroMandeThreatened
KalamséAtlantic-CongoShifting
KoromféAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Mamara SenoufoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MarkaMandeNot endangered

Read more: where is Bambara spoken?

Language families in Mali

All 80 languages in Mali, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Mali 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 Mali

How many languages are spoken in Mali?

80 living languages are mapped in Mali, from 6 families, plus 2 language isolates. 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 Mali?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Bambara is spoken by 48% of the population, about 10,555,488 people, followed by French (17%). 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 Mali?

Mande (25 languages), Dogon (20 languages), Atlantic-Congo (19 languages), Afro-Asiatic (7 languages) and Songhay (6 languages), and 1 more.

Embed this map

Copy this code into your web page. It is free to use. Please keep the link under the map, as it is how people find where the map comes from.