English-speaking countries in Africa are legion. But this linguistic practice is not only a sign of the opening of African countries to the world as one could think in the XXIst century. It is also a consequence of history and of the English colonization and occupation policy. Turning past weaknesses into strengths is the adage that could characterize these countries. Today, these English-speaking countries are trying to turn the page on this difficult period in their history and are now considering this linguistic state of affairs as a driving force for the development of their respective economies. Didn’t Rwanda join the club of English-speaking countries in the early 2000s?
1. Nigeria, the country with the largest number of speakers
It is undoubtedly the largest English-speaking country on the entire African continent. Indeed, Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa and it is therefore very logical that it occupies the first place in the ranking of English-speaking African countries.
2. Ethiopia
In this East African country, English is mainly spoken in the big Ethiopian cities. Nevertheless, the official language of Ethiopia is Amharic.
3. South Africa
This country of just over sixty million people is an English-speaking territory.
4. Tanzania
The main language of the country is Swahili. However, the two official languages of Tanzania are Swahili and English. Despite its status as an official language, it is estimated that only 15% of the country’s total population is English-speaking. Nevertheless, there is a real dichotomy between the major cities of Tanzania, the tourist areas, and the rest of the country.
Compared to English, Swahili is undoubtedly the true national language, since demographers and other linguists estimate that it is used by 95% of the population.
5. Kenya
The two official languages of Kenya are English and Swahili. A country that is populated by nearly 54 million people.
6. Sudan
The official languages of this country are literal Arabic and English. For this reason, road and city signs are bilingual. A status for these two languages is supported by Article 8 of the Constitution of 2005.
7. Uganda
There are 45.7 million inhabitants in Uganda and since 1962 English has been one of the main languages of the country. This Central African country is a territory that probably needed a neutral language to unify its inhabitants and maintain a fragile balance. Indeed, Uganda has about sixty different languages and dialects.
These languages are divided into three groups. There are the Bantu languages, the Nilotic languages, and the Sudanic languages. Without forgetting Swahili, an omnipresent language, and the very confidential Kuliak languages.
Even if on paper it is estimated that Uganda is an English-speaking country, it should be remembered that only two million inhabitants speak this language. This represents about five or six percent of the population.
8. Ghana
With 31 million inhabitants, this English-speaking country is located in the west of the African continent.
9. Sierra Leone
It is difficult to determine the exact number of English speakers in Sierra Leone. However, the most optimistic linguists estimate that nearly three-quarters of the population speaks English. That’s about 4.5 million people.
10. Zimbabwe
With almost 12 million English speakers in its territory, Zimbabwe is one of the largest English-speaking countries in Africa.
11. Cameroon
It is estimated that 11% of Cameroon’s population speaks English, which is about three million people. At independence, Cameroon chose English and French as its official languages to highlight its past history and to make multilingualism part of Cameroon’s DNA. The country was once a colony of France and Great Britain, which is why the two languages coexist in the institutions.
12. Liberia
Almost two-thirds of the population speaks English in Liberia. That is 2.5 million people.
13. Zambia
Only 15% of the population speaks English in Zambia. That’s almost two million speakers.
14. South Sudan
This country has almost one million English speakers.
15. Botswana
Forty percent of the population speaks English here. That is about 650,000 people. Although almost the entire population speaks Tswana, English is the official language of Botswana.
16. Malawi
About half a million people in Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, speak English.
English is the official language of Malawi and is also the language that is used in elementary school.
16. Lesotho
This is undoubtedly one of the least populated countries in Africa. But there are still half a million people who speak English.
17. Namibia
This large country in the southwest of the continent has the distinction of being a safe country and is without a doubt one of the most beautiful countries in the world. About 350,000 people in Namibia speak English.
18. Mauritius
This small island in the Indian Ocean located just a stone’s throw from Reunion Island has more than 200,000 English-speaking people in its territory.
19. Gambia
This country located around the mouth of one of the largest rivers in Africa is an English-speaking country. But it is difficult to put numbers to it. This country is facing so many economic and geopolitical difficulties.
20. Seychelles
Along with Mauritius, the archipelago of Seychelles is an English-speaking country in Africa. Although the proportion of the English-speaking population does not exceed 4%, there are an estimated 40,000 bilingual speakers in what is the richest country in Africa.
English-speaking countries in Africa
English-speaking countries are those that have written the English language into their constitutions and recognize it as an official language of the state. For example, the rate of English speakers is quite high in Algeria, Morocco, and Ivory Coast but it is not a state language.