Languages of Angola


is the only official language of Angola, but 46 other languages are spoken in the country, mostly Bantu languages. Ethnologue considers six languages to benefit of an institutional status in Angola: Portuguese, Chokwe, Kikongo, Kimbundu, Oshiwambo and Umbundu.

European languages

Portuguese is the sole official language. Due to cultural, social and political mechanisms which date back to the colonial history, the number of native Portuguese speakers is large and growing. A 2012 study by the Angolan National Institute for Statistics found that Portuguese is the mother tongue of 39% of the population. It is spoken as a second language by many more throughout the country, and younger urban generations are moving towards the dominant or exclusive use of Portuguese. The 2014 population census found that about 71% of the nearly 25.8 million inhabitants of Angola speak Portuguese at home.
In urban areas, 85% of the population declared to speak Portuguese at home in the 2014 census, against 49% in rural areas. Portuguese was quickly adopted by Angolans in the mid-twentieth century as a lingua franca among the various ethnic groups. After the Angolan Civil War, many people moved to the cities where they learned Portuguese. When they returned to the countryside, more people were speaking Portuguese as a first language. The variant of the Portuguese language used in Angola is known as Angolan Portuguese. Phonetically, this variant is very similar to the Mozambican variant with some exceptions. Some believe that Angolan Portuguese resembles in some aspects to a pidgin.
However, in Cabinda, wedged between two French-speaking countries — the DRC and the Congo — many people speak French as well as, or better than, Portuguese. In fact, of the literate population, 90 percent speak French while 10 percent speak Portuguese. Also, the Angolan Bakongo who were exiled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo usually speak better French and Lingala than Portuguese and Kikongo.
Most West Africans speak English or French and their native African languages and are usually learning at least some Portuguese. The foreign language most commonly learned by Angolans is English, but among the Bakongo French is often more important. English will soon be a required subject in Angolan schools. French was previously widely offered as an elective.

African languages

All native languages of Angola are considered to be national languages. After independence, the government said it would choose six to be developed as literary languages. The six languages vary between government pronouncements, but commonly included are
Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, Chokwe, Kwanyama, and Mbunda. Angolan radio transmits in fourteen of the "main" national languages: Bangala, Chokwe, Fiote, Herero, Kikongo, Kimbundu, Kwanyama, Lunda, Ngangela, Ngoya, Nyaneka, Ovambo, Songo, Umbundu. Some of the national languages are used in Angolan schools, including the provision of teaching materials such as books, but there is a shortage of teachers.
Umbundu is the most widely spoken Bantu language, spoken natively by about 23 percent of the population, about 5.9 million. It is mainly spoken in the center and south of the country. Kimbundu is spoken in Luanda Province and adjacent provinces. Kikongo is spoken in the northwest, including the exclave of Cabinda. About 8.24% of Angolans use Kikongo. Fiote is spoken by about 2.9%, mainly in Cabinda. Lingala is also spoken in Angola.
The San people speak languages from two families, the !Kung and Khoe, though only a few hundred speak the latter. The majority of San fled to South Africa after the end of the civil war. The extinct Kwadi language may have been distantly related to Khoe, and Kwisi is entirely unknown; their speakers were neither Khoisan nor Bantu.

Asian languages

A number of Angolans of Lebanese descent speak Arabic and/or French. Due to increasing Angola-China relations, there is now a sinophone community of about 300,000.

List of Languages of Angola

Listed below are the languages of Angola.
RankLanguagesNumber of speakers in Angola
7Cokwe/Chokwe456,000
33Dhimba/Zemba18,000
25Gciriku24,000
31Himba/Herero20,000
27Holu23,100
32Khongo20,000
45Khwedam200
42Kibala2,630
3Kikongo2,000,000
-KilariUnknown number in Angola
4Kimbundu1,700,000
39Kung-Ekoka5,500
18Kuvale70,000
-KwadiNo known native speakers in Angola
37Kwandu6,000
30Kwangali22,000
19Luba-Kasai60,000
8Lucazi400,000
21Luimbi43,900
14Lunda178,000
5Luvale464,000
41Makoma3,000
43Mashi2,630
9Mbangala400,000
40Mbukushu4,000
16Mbunda135,000
11Mbwela222,000
23Mpinda30,000
28Ndombe22,300
35Ngandyera13,100
44Ngendelengo900
29Nkangala22,300
15Nkumbi150,000
38Northwestern !Kung5,630
10Nyaneka300,000
12Nyemba222,000
36Nyengo9,380
6Oshiwambo 461,000
1Portuguese15,470,000
17Ruund98,500
26Sama24,000
20Songo50,000
24Suku30,000
2Umbundu6,000,000
13Yaka200,000
34Yauma17,100
22Yombe39,400