World Language Map

Languages spoken in Zambia

51 living languages are mapped in Zambia. The most widely spoken, by Unicode CLDR’s estimate, is Bemba (Zambia) (34% of the population). They belong to 3 language families, the largest being Atlantic-Congo (48 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 Zambia at a glance

  • 51living languages
  • 3language families
  • 20.8 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
  • 11with a CLDR share

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

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
Bemba (Zambia)Atlantic-Congo34%7,071,694Not endangered
NyanjaAtlantic-Congo19%3,951,829Not endangered
EnglishIndo-European16%3,327,856Not endangered
Tonga (Zambia)Atlantic-Congo11%2,287,901Not endangered
LoziAtlantic-Congo5.5%1,143,950Not endangered
NsengaAtlantic-Congo3%623,973Not endangered
Lala-BisaAtlantic-Congo2.8%582,375Not endangered
TumbukaAtlantic-Congo2.6%540,777Not endangered
KaondeAtlantic-Congo1.9%395,183Not endangered
LundaAtlantic-Congo1.9%395,183Not endangered
LuvaleAtlantic-Congo1.5%311,986Not endangered
AfrikaansIndo-EuropeanNot endangered
AushiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
BwileAtlantic-CongoThreatened
ChikundaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
ChokweAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
FweAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
IlaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
KxoeKhoe-KwadiShifting
LambaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
LambyaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
LenjeAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
LuchaziAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
LuyiAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Mambwe-LunguAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Mashi (Zambia)Atlantic-CongoThreatened
MboweAtlantic-CongoShifting
MbukushuAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
MbundaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NambyaAtlantic-CongoShifting
NkoyaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NyamwangaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NyembaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
NyengoAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
Nyiha (Malawi)Atlantic-CongoThreatened
Nyiha (Tanzania)Atlantic-CongoNot endangered
Nyika (Malawi and Zambia)Atlantic-CongoNot endangered
SalaAtlantic-CongoNot endangered
SebaAtlantic-CongoThreatened
ShanjoAtlantic-CongoShifting

Read more: where is Bemba (Zambia) spoken?

Language families in Zambia

All 51 languages in Zambia, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Zambia 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 Zambia

How many languages are spoken in Zambia?

51 living languages are mapped in Zambia, from 3 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 Zambia?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Bemba (Zambia) is spoken by 34% of the population, about 7,071,694 people, followed by Nyanja (19%). 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 Zambia?

Atlantic-Congo (48 languages), Indo-European (2 languages) and Khoe-Kwadi (1 language).

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