World Language Map

Languages spoken in Senegal

47 living languages are mapped in Senegal. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Wolof (70% of the population). They belong to 4 language families, the largest being Atlantic-Congo (34 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 Senegal at a glance

  • 47living languages
  • 4language families
  • 18.8 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 9with a CLDR share

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

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
WolofAtlantic-Congo70%13,193,250Not endangered
FrenchIndo-European26%4,900,350Not endangered
SereerAtlantic-Congo11%2,073,225Not endangered
Jola-FonyiAtlantic-Congo2.6%490,035Not endangered
Saafi-SaafiAtlantic-Congo1.5%282,712Not endangered
MandjakAtlantic-Congo0.8%145,126Threatened
Balanta-GanjaAtlantic-Congo0.6%114,970Not endangered
NoonAtlantic-Congo0.2%45,234Threatened
MankanyaAtlantic-Congo0.2%39,580Threatened
Bainouk-Gunyaamolo-GutoborAtlantic-CongoShifting
Bainounk-GujaherAtlantic-CongoThreatened
BambaraMandeNot endangered
BandialAtlantic-CongoShifting
Bassari-TandaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
BedikAtlantic-CongoShifting
EjamatAtlantic-CongoThreatened
Gambian WolofAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Gubeeher-Gufangor-GubelorAtlantic-CongoShifting
GusilayAtlantic-CongoThreatened
HassaniyyaAfro-AsiaticNot endangered
Jaad-BadyaraAtlantic-CongoThreatened
JahankaMandeNot endangered
Jola-EsulaluAtlantic-CongoThreatened
KaronAtlantic-CongoThreatened
KasangaAtlantic-CongoNearly extinct
KeerakAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KobianaAtlantic-CongoShifting
KrioIndo-EuropeanNot endangered
Kugere-KuxingeAtlantic-CongoThreatened
KuwaataayAtlantic-CongoShifting
Lebu WolofAtlantic-CongoThreatened
LeharAtlantic-CongoShifting
MandinkaMandeNot endangered
MlompAtlantic-CongoShifting
NdutAtlantic-CongoThreatened
PalorAtlantic-CongoShifting
PapelAtlantic-CongoThreatened
PulaarAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
PularAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
SoninkeMandeNot endangered

Read more: where is Wolof spoken?

Language families in Senegal

All 47 languages in Senegal, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Senegal 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 Senegal

How many languages are spoken in Senegal?

47 living languages are mapped in Senegal, 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 Senegal?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Wolof is spoken by 70% of the population, about 13,193,250 people, followed by French (26%). 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 Senegal?

Atlantic-Congo (34 languages), Mande (8 languages), Indo-European (3 languages) and Afro-Asiatic (2 languages).

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