This table lists languages spoken in South Africa, including official, working, regional, and minority languages.
Percentages and speaker counts may be unavailable for some languages due to census and reporting limitations.
Language details
19 languages| Language | Statuses | Share, % | Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Afrikaans
|
Official
|
10.1 | 6,000,000 |
|
Xhosa
|
Official
National
|
13.5 | 8,000,000 |
|
English
|
Official
Working
|
— | — |
|
Gujarati
|
Minority
|
— | — |
|
Hindi
|
Minority
|
— | — |
|
Khoekhoe
|
Minority
|
— | — |
|
South Ndebele
|
Official
|
— | — |
|
North Ndebele
|
Official
|
— | — |
|
Nǁng
|
Minority
|
— | — |
|
Pedi
|
Official
|
— | — |
|
Southern Sotho
|
Official
National
|
— | — |
|
Swati
|
Official
|
— | — |
|
Tamil
|
Minority
|
— | — |
|
Telugu
|
Minority
|
— | — |
|
Tswana
|
Official
National
|
— | — |
|
Tsonga
|
Official
|
— | — |
|
Urdu
|
Minority
|
— | — |
|
Venda
|
Official
|
— | — |
|
Zulu
|
Official
National
|
20.2 | 12,000,000 |