Languages
Native
Swahili
99%
Secondary languages
English
15%
Language Samples
Mambo vipi?
How's it going?
Poa kichizi kama ndizi.
Cool as a banana (I'm doing great).
Asante sana, karibu tena.
Thank you very much, welcome again.
Linguistic History
Tanzania is widely considered the heartland of Swahili culture. The island of Zanzibar and the coastal town of Bagamoyo were historic hubs of the Swahili world, where Bantu-speaking farmers mingled with Arab and Persian traders for over a millennium. After the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964, the new nation made Swahili its sole official language — a rare choice in post-colonial Africa that paid dividends in national unity. Today Tanzania has achieved one of the highest rates of Swahili literacy on the continent, and the language is the primary medium of instruction in primary schools.
Similar Languages
Comorian
65%
Lingala
40%
Kikuyu
35%
Luganda
32%
Media
The historic Stone Town waterfront of Zanzibar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and cradle of Swahili civilisation.
Photo: Mbz1 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Did You Know
01
Tanzania is the only country in Africa to have adopted a single African language — Swahili — as its sole official language, foregoing a European colonial tongue.
02
Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, takes its name from the Swahili-Chagga words meaning roughly 'mountain of whiteness' or 'shining mountain'.
03
Tanzania has over 120 ethnic groups and languages, yet Swahili's universal adoption means nearly every citizen can communicate across tribal lines.