World Language Map

Languages spoken in Peru

97 living languages are mapped in Peru. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Spanish (73% of the population). They belong to 16 language families, the largest being Quechuan (33 languages). 4 are language isolates, 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 Peru at a glance

  • 97living languages
  • 16language families
  • 32.6 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 3with a CLDR share

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

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
SpanishIndo-European73%23,798,146Not endangered
Cusco QuechuaQuechuan15%4,890,030Threatened
Central AymaraAymaran1.6%521,603Threatened
Achuar-ShiwiarChichamShifting
AguarunaChichamThreatened
Ajyíninka ApurucayaliArawakanShifting
AmahuacaPano-TacananShifting
AmarakaeriHarakmbutShifting
Ambo-Pasco QuechuaQuechuanThreatened
AndoqueIsolateNearly extinct
ArabelaZaparoanNearly extinct
Arequipa-La Unión QuechuaQuechuanNot endangered
AsháninkaArawakanThreatened
Ashéninka PajonalArawakanShifting
Ashéninka PerenéArawakanShifting
Ayacucho QuechuaQuechuanNot endangered
BoraBoranThreatened
Cajamarca QuechuaQuechuanShifting
Cajatambo North Lima QuechuaQuechuanMoribund
Candoshi-ShapraIsolateThreatened
CapanahuaPano-TacananMoribund
CaquinteArawakanThreatened
Cashibo-CacataiboPano-TacananShifting
CashinahuaPano-TacananShifting
Cauqui of CachuyAymaranNearly extinct
Chachapoyas QuechuaQuechuanShifting
Chaupihuaranga QuechuaQuechuanShifting
Chincha QuechuaQuechuanShifting
Chiquián Ancash QuechuaQuechuanMoribund
Cocama-CocamillaTupianNearly extinct
Colombian IngaQuechuanShifting
Corongo Ancash QuechuaQuechuanThreatened
CulinaArawanShifting
Eastern Apurímac QuechuaQuechuanNot endangered
Ese EjjaPano-TacananThreatened
HuachipaeriHarakmbutNearly extinct
Huallaga Huánuco QuechuaQuechuanThreatened
Huamalíes-Dos de Mayo Huánuco QuechuaQuechuanThreatened
HuambisaChichamShifting
Huaylas Ancash QuechuaQuechuanThreatened

Read more: where is Spanish spoken?

Language families in Peru

All 97 languages in Peru, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Peru 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 Peru

How many languages are spoken in Peru?

97 living languages are mapped in Peru, from 16 families, plus 4 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 Peru?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Spanish is spoken by 73% of the population, about 23,798,146 people, followed by Cusco Quechua (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 Peru?

Quechuan (33 languages), Arawakan (18 languages), Pano-Tacanan (13 languages), Aymaran (4 languages) and Chicham (4 languages), and 11 more.

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