World Language Map

Languages spoken in Mozambique

48 living languages are mapped in Mozambique. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Portuguese (27% of the population). They belong to 2 language families, the largest being Atlantic-Congo (46 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 Mozambique at a glance

  • 48living languages
  • 2language families
  • 33.4 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 10with a CLDR share

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

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-European27%9,004,770Not endangered
MakhuwaAtlantic-Congo13%4,335,630Not endangered
NdauAtlantic-Congo9.9%3,301,749Not endangered
TsongaAtlantic-Congo7.9%2,634,729Not endangered
Mozambique LomweAtlantic-Congo6.8%2,267,868Not endangered
SenaAtlantic-Congo4.6%1,534,146Not endangered
Makhuwa-MeettoAtlantic-Congo4.5%1,500,795Not endangered
RongaAtlantic-Congo3.4%1,133,934Not endangered
NyanjaAtlantic-Congo2.6%867,126Not endangered
YaoAtlantic-Congo2.4%800,424Not endangered
AfrikaansIndo-EuropeanNot endangered
BarweAtlantic-CongoThreatened
ChikundaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
ChopiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
ChuwabuAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
DemaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
GitongaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KokolaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KotiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
LoloAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MaindoAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Makhuwa-MarrevoneAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Makhuwa-MonigaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Makhuwa-SakaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Makhuwa-ShirimaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MakondeAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MakweAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Malawi LomweAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Malawi SenaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
ManyawaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
ManyikaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MarenjeAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MatengoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Mozambican NgoniAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MwaniAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NathemboAtlantic-CongoShifting
NsengaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NyungweAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
PhimbiAtlantic-CongoThreatened
ShonaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered

Read more: where is Portuguese spoken?

Language families in Mozambique

All 48 languages in Mozambique, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Mozambique 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 Mozambique

How many languages are spoken in Mozambique?

48 living languages are mapped in Mozambique, 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 Mozambique?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Portuguese is spoken by 27% of the population, about 9,004,770 people, followed by Makhuwa (13%). 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 Mozambique?

Atlantic-Congo (46 languages) and Indo-European (2 languages).

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