Editing Sub-Saharan Africa (section)

===Languages and ethnic groups===
{{Further|Languages of Africa|Writing systems of Africa#Indigenous writing systems|List of African ethnic groups|African diaspora|Black people}}
[[File:Languages of Africa map.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map showing the traditional language families spoken in Africa]]<!-- for actual ethnic groups, not social constructs -->
[[File:Kwarastatedrummers.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.55|[[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] drummers ([[Niger-Congo languages|Niger-Congo]])]]
[[File:San tribesman.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.55|A [[San people|San]] man ([[Khoisan languages|Khoisan]])]]
[[File:Maasai women and children.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.55|[[Maasai people|Maasai]] women and children ([[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]])]]
[[File:Eritrean Women.jpeg|thumb|left|upright=0.55|[[Saho people|Saho]] women ([[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]])]]
[[File:Boerfamily1886.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.55|A [[Boer]] [[European African]] family ([[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]])]]
Sub-Saharan Africa contains over 1,500 languages.

==== Afroasiatic ====
With the exception of the extinct [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] (a [[language isolate]]) of [[Mesopotamia]], Afroasiatic has the oldest documented history of any language family in the world. Egyptian was recorded as early as 3200&nbsp;BCE. The [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] branch was recorded as early as 2900&nbsp;BCE in the form of the [[Akkadian language]] of Mesopotamia ([[Assyria]] and [[Babylonia]]) and circa 2500&nbsp;BCE in the form of the [[Eblaite language]] of northeastern [[Syria]].<ref>Brown, Keith and Ogilvie, Sarah(2008). Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world ''Concise Encyclopedias of Language and Linguistics Series''. Elsevier, p. 12, {{ISBN|978-0-08-087774-7}}.</ref>

The distribution of the [[Afroasiatic languages]] within Africa is principally concentrated in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. Languages belonging to the family's [[Berber languages|Berber]] branch are mainly spoken in the north, with its speech area extending into the Sahel (northern Mauritania, northern Mali, northern Niger).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hcp.ma/Recensement-general-de-la-population-et-de-l-habitat-2004_a633.html |title=Recensement général de la population et de l'habitat 2004 |first=Youssef |last=Maaroufi |access-date=26 July 2017 |archive-date=6 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906063343/http://www.hcp.ma/Recensement-general-de-la-population-et-de-l-habitat-2004_a633.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Lafkioui |first1=Mena B. |title=Berber Languages and Linguistics |url=https://hal.science/hal-01914346/file/Lafkioui%20Mena%20B_Berber_languages_and_linguistics_-_linguistics_-_oxford_bibliographies_2018.pdf |publisher=Oxford Bibliographies |access-date=25 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203010052/https://hal.science/hal-01914346/file/Lafkioui%20Mena%20B_Berber_languages_and_linguistics_-_linguistics_-_oxford_bibliographies_2018.pdf |archive-date=3 February 2023 |doi=10.1093/OBO/9780199772810-0219 |date=24 May 2018 }}</ref> The [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]] branch of Afroasiatic is centered in the Horn, and is also spoken in the Nile Valley and parts of the African Great Lakes region. Additionally, the Semitic branch of the family, in the form of [[Arabic]], is widely spoken in the parts of Africa that are within the Arab world. [[South Semitic languages]] are also spoken in parts of the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea). The [[Chadic languages|Chadic]] branch is distributed in Central and West Africa.<ref>Peek, Philip M. and Yankah, Kwesi (2004). African folklore: an encyclopedia. London: (Routledge) Taylor & Francis, p. 205, {{ISBN|0-415-93933-X}}, 9780415939331</ref> [[Hausa language|Hausa]], its most widely spoken language, serves as a [[lingua franca]] in West Africa (Niger, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, and Chad).<ref>Schneider, Edgar Werner and Kortmann, Bernd(2004). A handbook of varieties of English: a multimedia reference tool, Volume 1. Berlin: [[Walter de Gruyter]], pp. 867–68, {{ISBN|978-3-11-017532-5}}.</ref>

==== Khoisan ====
The several families lumped under the term [[Khoi-San]] include languages indigenous to [[Southern Africa]] and [[Tanzania]], though some, such as the [[Khoi languages]], appear to have moved to their current locations not long before the [[Bantu expansion]].<ref name=GE>Güldemann, Tom and Edward D. Elderkin (forthcoming) [http://email.eva.mpg.de/~gueldema/pdf/Gueldemann_Elderkin.pdf "On external genealogical relationships of the Khoe family".] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325021922/http://email.eva.mpg.de/~gueldema/pdf/Gueldemann_Elderkin.pdf |date=25 March 2009}} In Brenzinger, Matthias and Christa König (eds.), ''Khoisan languages and linguistics: the Riezlern symposium 2003.'' Quellen zur Khoisan-Forschung 17. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe.</ref> In Southern Africa, their speakers are the [[Khoikhoi]] and [[San people|San]] (Bushmen), in Southeast Africa, the [[Sandawe people|Sandawe]] and [[Hadza people|Hadza]].

==== Niger–Congo ====
The [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]] family is the largest in the world in terms of the number of languages (1,436) it contains.<ref>Bellwood, Peter S.(2005). First farmers: the origins of agricultural societies. Wiley-Blackwell, p. 218, {{ISBN|978-0-631-20566-1}}.</ref> The vast majority of languages of this family are [[tonal language|tonal]], such as [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] and [[Igbo language|Igbo]]. However, others such as [[Fulani language|Fulani]], [[Wolof language|Wolof]] and [[Kiswahili]] are not. A major branch of the Niger–Congo languages is [[Bantu languages|Bantu]], which covers a greater geographic area than the rest of the family. Bantu speakers represent the majority of inhabitants in southern, central and southeastern Africa, though [[San people|San]], [[Pygmy]], and [[Nilotic]] groups, respectively, can also be found in those regions. Bantu-speakers can also be found in parts of [[Central Africa]] such as [[Gabon]], [[Equatorial Guinea]], and southern [[Cameroon]]. [[Swahili language|Swahili]], a Bantu language with many [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Farsi|Persian]], and other Middle Eastern and South Asian [[loan word]]s, developed as a ''[[lingua franca]]'' for trade between the different peoples in southeastern Africa. In the [[Kalahari Desert]] of Southern Africa, the distinct people known as Bushmen (also "San", closely related to, but distinct from "[[Khoikhoi|Hottentots]]") have long been present. The San evince unique physical traits, and are the indigenous people of southern Africa. Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous peoples of Central Africa.

==== Nilo-Saharan ====
The [[Nilo-Saharan languages]] are concentrated in the upper parts of the [[Chari River|Chari]] and [[Nile]] rivers of Central Africa and Southeast Africa. They are principally spoken by [[Nilotic]] peoples and are also spoken in Sudan among the [[Fur people|Fur]], [[Masalit people|Masalit]], [[Nubian people|Nubian]], and [[Zaghawa people|Zaghawa]] peoples and in West and Central Africa among the [[Songhai people|Songhai]], [[Zarma people|Zarma]], and [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]]. The [[Old Nubian language]] is also a member of this family.

Major languages of Africa by region, family and number of [[primary language]] speakers in millions:
{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-valign:top"
|- valign="top"
|
;Central Africa
* [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]], [[Bantu languages|Bantu]]
** [[Lingala]]<ref name = "CIA DRC">{{Citation |title=Congo, Democratic Republic of the |date=22 May 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524102858/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-democratic-republic-of-the/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2023 }}</ref>
** [[Kinyarwanda]]:&nbsp;12<ref name = "CIA Rwanda">{{Citation |title=Rwanda |date=16 May 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/rwanda/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524113734/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/rwanda/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2023 }}</ref>
** [[Kongo language|Kongo]]:&nbsp;5+<ref name = "CIA DRC"/><ref name = "CIA Angola">{{Citation |title=Angola |date=16 May 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/angola/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524100346/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/angola/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2023 }}</ref><ref name = "CIA Congo">{{Citation |title=Congo, Republic of the |date=16 May 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-republic-of-the/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524113611/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/congo-republic-of-the/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2023 }}</ref>
** [[Tshiluba language|Tshiluba]]<ref name = "CIA DRC"/>
** [[Kirundi]]<ref name = "CIA Burundi">{{Citation |title=Burundi |date=16 May 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/burundi/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524100422/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/burundi/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2023 }}</ref>
* [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]
** [[Nubian language|Nubian]]: 5+<ref>{{cite web |title=Memories of Utopia – Infoshop, World Bank |url=http://www.secid.org/usefsociety/pdf/nubian.pdf |website=secid.org |publisher=South East Consortium for International Development |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406044519/http://www.secid.org/usefsociety/pdf/nubian.pdf |archive-date=6 April 2012 |date=31 May 2006 }}</ref>
** [[Fur language|Fur]]: 5+<ref>{{Cite web |title=SSI Finance – Loans and lending guide. |url=http://www.southsudaninfo.net/ |access-date=12 February 2023 |language=en-US }}</ref>
** [[Zaghawa language|Zaghawa]]<ref>{{cite book |author=John A. Shoup |title=Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East |year=2011 |page=333 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=159884363X}} "The Zaghawa is one of the major divisions of the Beri peoples who live in western Sudan and eastern Chad, and their language, also called Zaghawa, belongs to the Saharan branch of the Nilo-Saharan language group."</ref>
** [[Masalit language|Masalit]]
* [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]]
** [[Kordofanian languages]]
*** [[Nuba]]<ref name = "CIA Sudan">{{Citation |title=Sudan |date=23 May 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sudan/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524114855/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sudan/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2023 }}</ref>
|
;Horn of Africa
* [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]]
** [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
*** [[Amharic language|Amharic]]: 20+
*** [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]]: 5
** [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]]
*** [[Somali language|Somali]]: 10–15
*** [[Oromo language|Oromo]]: 30–35
* [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]:&nbsp;<1<!--fewer than 1?! ">1" meant?--><ref name = "CIA Eritrea">{{cite web |title=Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007: Population and Housing Census Results |url=http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf |publisher=[[United Nations Population Fund]] |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305231227/http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2009 |location=[[New York City]] |date=2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Eritrea |date=16 May 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/eritrea/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524103615/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/eritrea/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2023 }}</ref>
** [[Gumuz language|Gumuz]]
** [[Anuak language|Anuak]]
** [[Kunama language|Kunama]]
** [[Nara language|Nara]]
* [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]]:&nbsp;<1<!--error for?--><ref>{{cite web |title=Report on minority groups in Somalia |url=http://www.somraf.org/research%20Matrerials/joint%20british%20danish%20dutch%20fact%20finding%20mission%20in%20Nairobi%20-%202001.pdf |website=somraf.org |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021044246/http://www.somraf.org/research%20Matrerials/joint%20british%20danish%20dutch%20fact%20finding%20mission%20in%20Nairobi%20-%202001.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name = "CIA Somalia">{{Citation |title=Somalia |date=16 May 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524114540/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/somalia/ |archive-date=24 May 2023 |language=en |access-date=25 May 2023 }}</ref>
** [[Zigula language|Zigula]]
** [[Swahili language|Swahili]] ([[Bravanese dialect|Bravanese]] and [[Bajuni dialect|Bajuni]] dialects)
|
;Southeast Africa
* [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]], [[Bantu languages|Bantu]]:
** [[Swahili language|Swahili]]: 5–10
** [[Gikuyu language|Gikuyu]]: 9<ref name = "CIA Kenya"/>
** [[Ganda language|Ganda]]: 20<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.newvision.co.ug/articledetails/90236 |title=20 million people can speak Luganda - linguists |website=New Vision }}</ref>
** [[Luhya languages|Luhya]]: 6<ref name = "CIA Kenya"/>
* [[Austronesian language|Austronesian]]
** [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]]: 20+<ref>{{Cite web |title=Malagasy |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mlg/ |website=Ethnologue |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525173749/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mlg/ |archive-date=25 May 2023 |access-date=25 May 2023 |language=en }}</ref>
* [[Niger-Congo languages|Niger-Congo]], [[Ubangian languages|Ubangian]]
** [[Gbaya languages|Gbaya]]: 2<ref name = "CIA CAR">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/central-african-republic/ "Central African Republic"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110054329/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/central-african-republic |date=10 January 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 13 November 2014.</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2023}}
** [[Banda languages|Banda]]: 1–2<ref name = "CIA CAR"/>
** [[Zande language|Zande]]<ref name = "CIA SSudan">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-sudan/ "South Sudan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112154752/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-sudan |date=12 January 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 13 November 2014.</ref>{{failed verification|date=May 2023}}
* [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]
** [[Kanuri language|Kanuri]]: 10<ref name = "CIA Nigeria">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nigeria/ "Nigeria"]. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 13 November 2014.</ref><ref name = "CIA Niger">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/niger/ "Niger"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032003/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/niger/ |date=30 March 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 13 November 2014.</ref><ref name="CIA Chad">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/chad/ "Chad"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126032225/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/chad/ |date=26 January 2021 }} . CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 16 November 2014.</ref>
** [[Luo languages|Luo]]: 5<ref name = "CIA Kenya">{{Citation |title=Kenya |date=7 February 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kenya/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en |access-date=12 February 2023 }}</ref><ref name = "CIA Uganda">{{Citation |title=Uganda |date=6 February 2023 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uganda/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en |access-date=12 February 2023 }}</ref>
** [[Sara languages|Sara]]: 3–4<ref name = "CIA CAR"/><ref name = "CIA Chad"/>
** [[Kalenjin language|Kalenjin]]: 5<ref name = "CIA Kenya"/>
** [[Dinka language|Dinka]]<ref name = "CIA SSudan"/>
** [[Nuer language|Nuer]]<ref name = "CIA SSudan"/>
** [[Shilluk language|Shilluk]]<ref name = "CIA SSudan"/>
** [[Maasai language|Maasai]]: 1–2<ref>{{cite web |title=Population and Housing Census |url=http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php |website=www.knbs.or.ke |publisher=Kenya National Bureau of Statistics |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202213527/http://www.knbs.or.ke/censusethnic.php |archive-date=2 February 2014 |date=2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thelanguagejournal.com/2012/04/maasai-of-kenya-and-tanzania.html |title=The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania |publisher=The Language Journal |date=22 April 2012 |access-date=29 September 2015 |archive-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905153616/http://www.thelanguagejournal.com/2012/04/maasai-of-kenya-and-tanzania.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|
;Southern Africa
* [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]], [[Bantu languages|Bantu]]
** [[Zulu language|Zulu]]: 10<ref name = "CIA SAfrica">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa/ "South Africa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110042951/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/south-africa |date=10 January 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 16 November 2014.</ref>
** [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]]: 8<ref name = "CIA SAfrica"/>
** [[Shona language|Shona]]: 21
** [[Sotho language|Sotho]]: 5
** [[Tswana language|Tswana]]: 4<ref name = "CIA SAfrica"/><ref name = "CIA Botswana">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana/ "Botswana"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109202201/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/botswana |date=9 January 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. 20 November 2014.</ref>
** [[Umbundu language|Umbundu]]: 4<ref name = "CIA Angola"/>
** [[Northern Sotho language|Northern Sotho]]: 4<ref name = "CIA SAfrica"/>
** [[Chewa language|Chichewa]]: 8<ref name = "CIA Malawi">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malawi/ "Malawi"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204143332/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malawi/ |date=4 February 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 16 November 2014.</ref><ref name = "CIA Zambia">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/zambia/ "Zambia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126032804/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/zambia/ |date=26 January 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. 20 November 2014.</ref>
** [[Makua language|Makua]]: 8<ref name = "CIA Mozambique">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mozambique/ "Mozambique"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110035001/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mozambique |date=10 January 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. 20 November 2014.</ref>
* [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
** [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
*** [[Afrikaans]]: 7–10
** [[Romance languages|Romance]]
*** [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]:&nbsp;14<ref>{{cite web |title=The Future of Portuguese |url=http://www.bbportuguese.com/the-future-of-portuguese.html |publisher=BB Portuguese |access-date=11 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502204211/http://www.bbportuguese.com/the-future-of-portuguese.html |archive-date=2 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|
;West Africa
* [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]]
** [[Benue–Congo]]
*** [[Ibibio language|Ibibio]] (Nigeria): 7<ref name = "CIA Nigeria"/>
** [[Volta–Niger]]
*** [[Igbo language|Igbo]] (Nigeria): 30–35<ref name = "CIA Nigeria"/>
*** [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]: 40<ref name = "CIA Nigeria"/>
** [[Kwa languages|Kwa]]:
*** [[Akan language|Akan]] (Ghana, Ivory Coast): 20–25
** [[Gur languages|Gur]]
*** [[More language|More]]: 5
** [[Senegambian languages|Senegambian]]
*** [[Fula language|Fula]] (West Africa): 40<ref name = "CIA Nigeria"/><ref name = "CIA Niger"/><ref name = "CIA Senegal">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/senegal/ "Senegal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204143936/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/senegal/ |date=4 February 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 20 November 2014.</ref><ref name = "CIA Gambia">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gambia-the/ "The Gambia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201065934/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gambia-the/ |date=1 February 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 20 November 2014.</ref><ref name = "CIA Cameroon">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cameroon/ "Cameroon"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120010000/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cameroon/ |date=20 January 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 20 November 2014.</ref>
*** [[Wolof language|Wolof]]: 8<ref name = "CIA Senegal"/><ref name = "CIA Gambia"/>
* [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]]
** [[Chadic languages|Chadic]]
*** [[Hausa language|Hausa]]: 50<ref name = "CIA Nigeria"/><ref name = "CIA Niger"/>
* [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]
** [[Saharan languages|Saharan]]
*** [[Kanuri language|Kanuri]]: 10<ref name = "CIA Niger"/><ref name = "CIA Chad"/><ref name = "CIA Mali">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mali/ "Mali"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330032030/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mali/ |date=30 March 2021 }}. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 20 November 2014.</ref>
*** [[Songhai language|Songhai]]: 5<ref name = "CIA Niger"/><ref name = "CIA Mali"/>
*** [[Zarma language|Zarma]]: 5<ref name = "CIA Niger"/><ref name = "CIA Mali"/>
|}

==== Genetic history ====
{{Main|Genetic history of Africa|Genetic history of the African diaspora}}