Languages of the country
South Africa
Official languages (11): English, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Tswana, Southern Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Venda, South Ndebele. Population (CLDR): 60 million.
The Constitution lists 11 official languages; since 2023 South African Sign Language is the twelfth.
Map of regions
Colours mark the regions where a language is official or predominant; stripes – several languages in one region. Hover over a language in the list to see its regions.
Languages and their status
Share: the estimated part of the population that uses the language (also as a second language), according to CLDR.
| Language | Status | Share |
|---|---|---|
| English | Co-official | 31% |
|
Zulu
isiZulu The most common home language in KwaZulu-Natal. |
Co-official | 24% |
|
Xhosa
IsiXhosa The most common home language in the Eastern Cape. |
Co-official | 18% |
|
Afrikaans
The most common home language in the Western and Northern Cape. |
Co-official | 13% |
|
Northern Sotho
Sepedi The most common home language in Limpopo. |
Co-official | 9.4% |
|
Tswana
Setswana The most common home language in North West. |
Co-official | 8.2% |
|
Southern Sotho
Sesotho The most common home language in the Free State. |
Co-official | 7.9% |
| Tsonga Xitsonga | Co-official | 4.4% |
|
Swati
siSwati The most common home language in Mpumalanga. |
Co-official | 2.7% |
| Venda Tshivenḓa | Co-official | 2.3% |
| South Ndebele isiNdebele | Co-official | 1.6% |
| Hindi हिन्दी | Minority | 2% |
| Swahili Kiswahili | Minority | <0.1% |
South Africa on other Ominuvo maps
- World in NumbersPopulation: 64.7 million (2025)Source: World Bank – WDI: UN World Population Prospects (CC BY 4.0)
- Prices around the worldSouth African rand (ZAR)Source: ISO 4217
- Time zones mapUTC+2Source: IANA tz database (public domain)
- Plugs and sockets of the worldType C, D, M, N · 230 V · 50 Hz
- National dishes of the world8 national dishes
- Plants of the world15 characteristic plants
- Castles map1 castleSource: Wikidata (CC0 1.0)
- Volcano & earthquake map2 volcanoesSource: Smithsonian GVP (Smithsonian Terms of Use)
- Ghost map5 ghost stories and haunted places
- UFO sightings map2 UFO sightings and unexplained cases
- VPN provider mapServers of 34 VPN providersSource: VPN Map (Ominuvo) (CC BY 4.0)