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    Languages of Central Africa: A guide to all 9 countries

    Part 3 of 5 in our series on the languages of Africa
    Digital ReporterBy Updated:7 Views
    Languages of Central Africa
    This image is for illustrative purposes only

    Central Africa has two countries called Congo, three former colonial powers still shaping official life (France, Portugal and Spain, plus a British legacy in Cameroon), and a handful of bridge languages that link millions of people across borders. This guide covers all nine countries in the region: what the law says, what people actually speak, and where the numbers are disputed.

    The big picture

    Most local languages here are Bantu, but not all. Cameroon alone has at least 250 languages, spread across the Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan and Ubangian families [4]. Gabon has about 40 indigenous languages, all Bantu except Baka [26].

    Four bridge languages stand out. Lingala and Kituba connect the two Congos, Sango connects the Central African Republic, and Chadian Arabic connects Chad. Each is used by far more people than speak it as a mother tongue.

    Snapshot by country

    CountryOfficial language(s)Widest everyday language
    AngolaPortuguesePortuguese; Umbundu
    CameroonFrench, EnglishFrench; Pidgin, Camfranglais
    Central African RepublicSango, FrenchSango
    ChadFrench, ArabicChadian Arabic
    Congo (Republic)FrenchKituba, Lingala
    DR CongoFrenchLingala, Swahili, Kituba, Tshiluba by region
    Equatorial GuineaSpanish, French, PortugueseSpanish; Fang
    GabonFrenchFrench; Fang is the largest home language
    São Tomé and PríncipePortuguesePortuguese; Forro

    Angola

    Portuguese is the only official language. All recognised local languages count as national languages, including Chokwe, Kikongo, Kimbundu, Oshiwambo, Luchazi and Umbundu, and over 46 other languages are spoken [1].

    Portuguese is growing fast. The 2014 census found that about 71% of Angolans speak Portuguese at home, with 85% in cities and 49% in rural areas. A 2012 study found that 39% have it as their mother tongue [1]. Another summary gives 12 million first-language speakers (48%) for 2016, so figures vary [2].

    The same 2014 census data put Umbundu at 23%, Kikongo at 8.2%, Kimbundu at 7.8% and Chokwe at 6.5%. These shares add up to more than 100% because some people named more than one language [3]. Foreign languages listed include English, French, Arabic and Chinese [1].

    Cameroon

    French and English are both official, a legacy of being ruled by both France and Britain [4]. The 2005 census found French the most widely spoken (56%), followed by English (23%). Only 11.6% of people were literate in both, and 28.8% in neither [5].

    Cameroonian Pidgin English has about 5% native speakers, but an estimated 50% speak it in some form. Camfranglais, a mix of French, English, Pidgin and local words, has spread among urban youth since the mid-1970s [6]. Fulfulde and Chadian Arabic also work as bridge languages [4].

    Central African Republic

    Sango and French are official [7]. The country has about 73 languages, of which 67 are living indigenous ones [7].

    Sango is a creole based on Ngbandi and is the everyday bridge language [7]. Estimates of its reach vary widely. One source says about 2.5 million speakers [7], another says almost all of the roughly 5.5 million people speak it (2025) [8], and Britannica says nearly nine tenths of the population [9]. Sango is almost never written. An official writing system dates from 1984, and it is not used in schools except for some Protestant religious teaching [7].

    Chad

    French and Arabic are official. Ethnologue counts 123 living indigenous languages and notes that only one indigenous language is used in formal education [11].

    Arabic took hold after Arab migrations from Sudan and Nubia in the 16th century [10]. Chadian Arabic has 2.6 million first-language and 5.8 million second-language speakers, and it is the native language of about 12% of Chadians. Together with its bridge form, it is spoken by 40% to 60% of the population [12].

    How widely French is understood is contested. One source calls French predominant for inter-ethnic communication [10]. Another estimates that only about 30% understand French while up to 70% understand Chadian Arabic [13]. In the south, Ngambay (Sara) is a trade language with about 1.38 million native speakers [14].

    Congo (Republic)

    French is official, and Kituba and Lingala are the two national languages. More than forty other languages are spoken, including Kongo and Téké [15]. Kituba is used mainly in the south, and Lingala in the north and east [16].

    A 2024 study found French spoken by 3.89 million of 6.33 million people (61.4%). A 2006 study had put it at 30%, so the jump reflects both change and different methods [15].

    DR Congo

    French is official. Four Bantu-based languages are national languages: Kituba (called Kikongo ya leta), Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba. An estimated 242 languages are spoken, and Ethnologue lists 215 living ones [19].

    In 2024, about 50.69% of people (55.4 million of 109.3 million) spoke French, and 74% used it as a bridge language [19]. Each national language has its own zone: Lingala in the northwest, Swahili in the east, Kituba in the southwest and Tshiluba in the southeast [20].

    Lingala has about 21 million first-language and 20 million second-language speakers (2021) [22]. Under Belgian rule, the four national languages were already taught in primary schools, which made the country unusual for having local-language literacy during the colonial period [21].

    Equatorial Guinea

    Spanish is the main official language, with French and Portuguese also official (Portuguese as of 2010). It is the only sovereign African country where Spanish is official [23]. For most people Spanish is a second language, and French and Portuguese have few non-immigrant speakers [25].

    Recognised regional languages include Fang, Bube, Annobonese Creole, Kombe and Kwasio. The Fang make up 85.7% of the population by ethnicity (2020) [23]. Annobonese Creole, a Portuguese-based creole, has about 6,600 native speakers (2017) [24].

    Gabon

    French is the official language and the language of schooling. Outside the capital it is less common, and it is used mainly by people with secondary or university education [26]. Fang is the mother tongue of about 32% of people. Baka, the one non-Bantu language, has an estimated 3,000 speakers [26].

    São Tomé and Príncipe

    Portuguese is the official and national language, spoken by virtually everyone. Three Portuguese-based creoles are also spoken: Forro, Angolar and Principense [27]. Cape Verdean Creole is used by 8.5%, while French (6.8%) and English (4.9%) are taught in schools [27].

    Portuguese is used in formal settings, while São Toméan Portuguese and the creoles are preferred in daily life [30]. Forro is traditionally said to be spoken by 85% of people on São Tomé island [29]. Principense is close to disappearing, with about 200 native speakers (2021) [28].

    Patterns across the region

    Bridge languages beat colonial ones for everyday life. Lingala, Kituba, Sango and Chadian Arabic connect people across ethnic lines [22] [17] [8] [12].

    Colonial legacies are mixed. French is official in six countries, Portuguese in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, Spanish in Equatorial Guinea, and English in Cameroon [19] [1] [23] [4].

    Portuguese creoles link the Gulf of Guinea islands. Annobonese in Equatorial Guinea has strong links with the creoles of São Tomé and Príncipe [24]. These are cousins of the creoles of Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau covered in Part 2.

    Some languages are close to vanishing. Principense has about 200 native speakers, and Baka about 3,000 [28] [26].

    Connections beyond Central Africa

    Chadian Arabic came from Arab migrations out of Sudan and Nubia, so it links Chad to the wider Arabic-speaking world [10]. Angola’s foreign languages include Chinese and Arabic [1]. Gabon lists Levantine Arabic and Hausa among its foreign languages [26]. Swahili, which came from the East African coast, is now a national language in eastern DR Congo [19].

    Myths versus documented facts

    • Myth: Swahili or Lingala is spoken across all of DR Congo. Documented: Each of the four national languages dominates its own zone [20].
    • Myth: The two Congos share the same language policy. Documented: DR Congo has four national languages, the Republic of the Congo has two [19] [15]. The same language is called Kituba in one constitution and Kikongo ya leta in the other [18].
    • Myth: Cameroon’s official bilingualism means most Cameroonians speak both French and English. Documented: In the 2005 census, only 11.6% were literate in both and 28.8% in neither [5].
    • Myth: No African country has Spanish as an official language. Documented: Equatorial Guinea does [23].
    • Myth: Portuguese in Angola is spoken only by a small elite. Documented: About 71% speak it at home according to the 2014 census [1].
    • Myth: Making Sango official means it is used in schools. Documented: It is almost never written and not used in education, apart from some Protestant religious teaching [7].
    • Contested figures: French in Chad (predominant or about 30%), and Sango’s speakers (2.5 million or nearly everyone) both differ by source [10] [13] [7] [8].

    A note on Part 1

    Newer figures update two entries in our first article’s ranked table. Lingala now has about 21 million first-language and 20 million second-language speakers, roughly 41 million in total, which would place it above Zulu. Kituba has 17 million first-language speakers (2024), not the older 13 million [22] [17].

    Disclaimer

    Most figures come from Wikipedia summaries of censuses, Ethnologue and other studies of different ages. Language questions in censuses are sensitive, data for several countries are old, and percentages vary by source and definition. Please contact us with feedback or corrections.

    References

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