Languages of Niger

Languages of Niger
French in use on an official sign in Niger
Official	Hausa
National	Arabic, Buduma, Fulfulde, Gourmanchéma, Kanuri, Zarma & Songhai, Tamasheq, Tassawaq, Tebu
Vernacular	African French, Chadian Arabic
Minority	Tamahaq, Teda, Tasawaq, Tetserret
Foreign	English, Chinese, Japanese
Signed	Francophone African Sign Language
Keyboard layout	AZERTY

Ethnolinguistic map of Niger

Niger has 10 national languages,^[1] with Hausa being the official and most spoken language. Different sources estimate that Niger has between 8 and 20 indigenous languages, belonging to the Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan and Niger–Congo families – the discrepancy stems from the fact that several are closely related, and can be grouped together or considered apart.

Official languages

The sole official language of Niger is Hausa,^[2] which in 2025 replaced French, the previous official language.

French, inherited from the colonial period is spoken mainly as a second language by people who have received an education (20% of Nigeriens are literate in French, and even 47% in cities, growing quickly as literacy improves^[3]). Although educated Nigeriens still constitute a relatively small percentage of the population, the French language is the language used by the official administration (courts, government, etc.), the media and the business community. Niger is a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie. See also: African French^{[citation needed]}

Woman writing on a blackboard in the Hausa language, southern Niger

Niger has ten official national languages, namely Arabic, Buduma, Fulfulde, Gourmanchéma, Hausa, Kanuri, Zarma & Songhai, Tamasheq, Tassawaq, Tebu.^[1] These ten national languages, their language families, the approximate percentage of the population that speak them, their approximate home regions, and additional information are as follows:^{[citation needed]}

Language	Family	Approx %	Main region	Notes
Hausa	Afro-Asiatic / Chadic	55.4%	South, central	Main trade language[4]
Songhai	Songhay languages (nilo-saharan)	21%	Southwest	Zarma and Songhay are considered together
Tamasheq	Afro-Asiatic / Berber	9.3%	North
Fulfulde	Niger–Congo / Atlantic	8.5%	All	Fulfulde of Western Niger & Central-Eastern Niger are considered together
Kanuri	Nilo-Saharan	4.7%	Southeast
Arabic	Afro-Asiatic / Semitic	0.4%	Southeast	Particularly spoken by the Diffa Arabs mainly in the Diffa Region
Gourmanchéma	Niger–Congo / Gur	0.4%	Southwest corner	Spoken mainly by the Gurma people of southwest Niger
Tebu	Nilo-Saharan	0.4%	East	Spoken mainly by the Toubou people of Eastern Niger
Other	N/A	0.1%	Throughout	Any other languages

Languages by number of speakers (according to Ethnologue)

Rank[5]	Language	Speakers in Niger
1	Hausa	14,500,000
2	Zarma	3,590,000
3	French	2,506,000
4	Fulfulde, Central-Eastern Niger	450,000
5	Fulfulde, Western Niger	450,000
6	Tamajaq, Tawallammat	450,000
7	Kanuri, Manga	280,000
8	Tamajeq, Tayart	250,000
9	Kanuri, Yerwa	80,000
10	Dazaga	50,000
11	Kanuri, Tumari	40,000
12	Gourmanchéma	30,000
13	Tagdal	26,900
14	Kanuri, Bilma	20,000
15	Tamahaq, Tahaggart	20,000
16	Arabic, Hassaniyya	19,000
17	Arabic, Algerian Saharan Spoken	10,000
18	Tedaga	10,000
19	Arabic, Libyan Spoken	9,300
20	Arabic, Shuwa	9,300
21	Tasawaq	8,000
22	Arabic, Standard	7,800
23	Tetserret	2,000

By Region

Dominant languages

Region	Languages
Agadez Region	Tuareg, Kanuri
Diffa Region	Kanuri
Dosso Region	Zarma
Maradi Region	Hausa
Niamey	Zarma
Tahoua Region	Hausa
Tillabéri Region	Zarma
Zinder Region	Hausa

See also

• Demographics of Niger

References

1. République du Niger, "Loi n° 2001-037 du 31 décembre 2001 fixant les modalités de promotion et de développement des langues nationales." L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (accessed 14 October 2014)
2. République du Niger, "The massive African country that's just adopted a new official language" express.co.uk (accessed 20 April 2025)
3. http://www.odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/sites/odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/files/odsef_rr_alphab_niger_2015_final2.pdf, page 18-19.
4. Ethnologue, 17th ed., Languages of Niger (accessed 14 October 2014)
5. "Niger". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-08-02.

External links

• Ethnologue report on "Languages of Niger"
• PanAfriL10n page on Niger
• Linguistic situation in Niger (in French)