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 | Language presence |
|---|---|---|
|
English
|
Official
Working
|
31% · ≈ 20.3 m |
|
Zulu
|
Official
National
Regional
|
24% · ≈ 15.7 m |
|
Xhosa
|
Official
National
Regional
|
18% · ≈ 11.8 m |
|
Afrikaans
|
Official
Regional
|
13% · ≈ 8.5 m |
|
Pedi
|
Official
Regional
|
9.4% · ≈ 6.2 m |
|
Tswana
|
Official
National
Regional
|
8.2% · ≈ 5.4 m |
|
Southern Sotho
|
Official
National
Regional
|
7.9% · ≈ 5.2 m |
|
Tsonga
|
Official
Regional
|
4.4% · ≈ 2.9 m |
|
Swati
|
Official
Regional
|
2.7% · ≈ 1.8 m |
|
Venda
|
Official
Regional
|
2.3% · ≈ 1.5 m |
|
Hindi
|
Minority
|
2% · ≈ 1.3 m |
|
South Ndebele
|
Official
Regional
|
1.6% · ≈ 1 m |
|
Gujarati
|
Minority
|
— |
|
Khoekhoe
|
Minority
|
— |
|
North Ndebele
|
Official
|
— |
|
Nǁng
|
Minority
|
— |
|
Tamil
|
Minority
|
— |
|
Telugu
|
Minority
|
— |
|
Urdu
|
Minority
|
— |