World Language Map

Languages spoken in the Solomon Islands

71 living languages are mapped in the Solomon Islands. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is English (100% of the population). They belong to 2 language families, the largest being Austronesian (65 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 the Solomon Islands at a glance

  • 71living languages
  • 2language families
  • 727,000people (CLDR estimate)
  • 3with a CLDR share

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

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-European100%726,799Not endangered
PijinIndo-European82%595,975Not endangered
RovianaAustronesian1.4%10,175Not endangered
'Are'areAustronesianNot endangered
Amba (Solomon Islands)AustronesianNot endangered
AnutaAustronesianShifting
ArosiAustronesianNot endangered
AsumboaAustronesianMoribund
BabatanaAustronesianNot endangered
BaegguAustronesianNot endangered
BaeleleaAustronesianNot endangered
BauroAustronesianNot endangered
BiluaIsolateShifting
BiraoAustronesianNot endangered
BlablangaAustronesianShifting
BughotuAustronesianNot endangered
Cheke HoloAustronesianNot endangered
Dori'oAustronesianNot endangered
DukeAustronesianNot endangered
FaganiAustronesianShifting
FatalekaAustronesianNot endangered
GaoAustronesianShifting
GelaAustronesianNot endangered
GhanonggaAustronesianNot endangered
GhariAustronesianNot endangered
GilberteseAustronesianNot endangered
Gula'alaaAustronesianNot endangered
HoavaAustronesianShifting
KahuaAustronesianNot endangered
KokotaAustronesianShifting
Kusaghe-NjelaAustronesianNot endangered
KwaioAustronesianNot endangered
Kwara'aeAustronesianNot endangered
LauAustronesianNot endangered
LavukaleveIsolateShifting
LengoAustronesianNot endangered
LongguAustronesianShifting
LovonoAustronesianNearly extinct
LuangiuaAustronesianNot endangered
LunggaAustronesianNot endangered

Read more: where is English spoken?

Language families in the Solomon Islands

All 71 languages in the Solomon Islands, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in the Solomon Islands 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 the Solomon Islands

How many languages are spoken in the Solomon Islands?

71 living languages are mapped in the Solomon Islands, from 2 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 the Solomon Islands?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, English is spoken by 100% of the population, about 726,799 people, followed by Pijin (82%). 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 the Solomon Islands?

Austronesian (65 languages) and Indo-European (2 languages).

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