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Languages

Languages of South Africa

PretoriaLocal time

Languages, writing systems and language context

Suid-Afrika
COUNTRY LANGUAGE PROFILE
Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Text direction: LTR

South Africa has 12 official languages after South African Sign Language was constitutionally recognised in 2023. The core set on this page includes all 12 rather than using the earlier 11-language list.

12
Core languages shown
Country-level reference set
Afrikaans
First listed core language
Not a speaker-share estimate
1
Writing system represented
Across the core language set
LTR
Primary text direction
Additional directions noted below

Language Overview

AfrikaansEnglishSouthern NdebeleSepediSouthern SothoSwatiTswanaTsongaVendaXhosaZuluSouth African Sign Language

Read the Characters

Afrikaans · 26 characters

Afrikaans · 26 characters
A
a
B
b
C
c
D
d
E
e
F
f
G
g
H
h
I
i
J
j
K
k
L
l
M
m
N
n
O
o
P
p
Q
q
R
r
S
s
T
t
U
u
V
v
W
w
X
x
Y
y
Z
z

How to Read the Language Landscape

PolicyLegal and administrative language status may differ between national and subnational government.
Everyday useA language can be socially dominant without being the only language used at home, school, work or in media.
Community diversityIndigenous, minority, migrant and sign languages can remain important even when they are not part of a short national headline list.

Frequently Asked Questions

What languages are used in South Africa?

South Africa has 12 official languages after South African Sign Language was constitutionally recognised in 2023. The core set on this page includes all 12 rather than using the earlier 11-language list.

What writing systems are used in South Africa?

The represented writing system is Latin and the primary direction shown is left to right.

More about South Africa

Explore South Africa across the other DigifyWorld country-data sections.

Public HolidaysPublic holidays 2026 and 2027→Digital AdoptionInternet, payments and digital government→Population & DemographicsPopulation, age structure and projections→Economy SnapshotGDP, trade and economic structure→Currency & ExchangeCurrency, exchange rates and money→Human DevelopmentHDI and quality-of-life indicators→Geography & EnvironmentLand, climate and environment→Practical Country InfoTime, driving, electricity and codes→EducationSchool system and education data→

Sources & methodology

View sources used for this page
South African Government Gazette: Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act, 2023

Primary legal source amending section 6 to recognise South African Sign Language as an official language alongside the other eleven official languages.

South Africa: Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Act 3 of 2023

Official government source for the constitutional amendment recognising South African Sign Language as an official language.

Unicode CLDR: Country/Region Names

Localized country display-name reference. CLDR names are customary UI/display names, not claims about a state’s full constitutional long-form name.

Unicode: Supported Scripts

Reference for the writing-system/script families represented in the character component.

Unicode: Writing Direction and Bidirectional Text

Reference for left-to-right and right-to-left script direction and bidirectional text behavior.

Unicode Character Database: NamesList

Reference for Unicode character names used as small readout labels under selected character samples; these labels are not presented as a complete transliteration standard.