The CIA World Factbook Edition 1994 People
Languages In 36 editions of 36.
Languages was published in 36 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1990 to 2025. The 1994 edition carries it in 234 entries, in its People section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.
- entries in the 1994 edition
- 234
- the first edition with it
- 1990
- the latest edition with it
- 2025
Published as “Languages” (1992 to 2025) and “Language” (1990 to 1991).
the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Languages, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down; choose one in a row to read that edition’s text there.
No entries match. Try a shorter word.
Entries with Languages in each edition
Select a bar to open that edition.
Africa
57 entriesBenin
- French (official),
- Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south),
- tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
Burkina now Burkina Faso
French (official), tribal languages belong to Sudanic family, spoken by 90% of the population
Burundi
- Kirundi (official),
- French (official),
- Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Central African Republic
- French (official),
- Sangho (lingua franca and national language),
- Arabic,
- Hunsa,
- Swahili
Chad
French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken
Congo now Republic of the Congo
French (official), African languages (Lingala and Kikongo are the most widely used)
Swaziland now Eswatini
English (official; government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
Ethiopia
- Amharic (official),
- Tigrinya,
- Orominga,
- Guaraginga,
- Somali,
- Arabic,
- English (major foreign language taught in schools)
Liberia
English 20% (official), Niger-Congo language group about 20 local languages come from this group
Morocco
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy
Namibia
English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages
Sierra Leone
English (official; regular use limited to literate minority), Mende principal vernacular in the south, Temne principal vernacular in the north, Krio the language of the re-settled ex-slave population of the Freetown area and is lingua franca
South Africa
- eleven official languages,
- including Afrikaans,
- English,
- Ndebele,
- Pedi,
- Sotho,
- Swati,
- Tsonga,
- Tswana,
- Venda,
- Xhosa,
- Zulu
Sudan
- Arabic (official),
- Nubian,
- Ta Bedawie,
- diverse dialects of Nilotic,
- Nilo-Hamitic,
- Sudanic languages,
- English
Tanzania
Swahili (official; widely understood and generally used for communication between ethnic groups and is used in primary education), English (official; primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education)
Togo
- French (official and the language of commerce),
- Ewe (one of the two major African languages in the south),
- Mina (one of the two major African languages in the south),
- Dagomba (one of the two major African languages in the north),
- Kabye (one of the two major African languages in the north)
Arctic Region
3 entriesAsia
22 entriesAfghanistan
- Pashtu 35%,
- Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%,
- Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%,
- 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%,
- much bilingualism
Bhutan
Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects; Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
China
- Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect),
- Yue (Cantonese),
- Wu (Shanghainese),
- Minbei (Fuzhou),
- Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese),
- Xiang,
- Gan,
- Hakka dialects,
- minority languages (see Ethnic divisions entry)
India
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani a popular variant of Hindu/Urdu, is spoken widely throughout northern India
Kazakhstan
Kazakh (Qazaqz) official language spoken by over 40% of population, Russian (language of interethnic communication) spoken by two-thirds of population and used in everyday business
Maldives
Divehi (dialect of Sinhala; script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
Pakistan
- Urdu (official),
- English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries),
- Punjabi 64%,
- Sindhi 12%,
- Pashtu 8%,
- Urdu 7%,
- Balochi and other 9%
Central America and the Caribbean
31 entriesAruba
- Dutch (official),
- Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect),
- English (widely spoken),
- Spanish
Guatemala
Spanish 60%, Indian language 40% (18 Indian dialects, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi)
Netherlands Antilles
- Dutch (official),
- Papiamento a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect predominates,
- English widely spoken,
- Spanish
Europe
46 entriesFinland
- Finnish 93.5% (official),
- Swedish 6.3% (official),
- small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities
France
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
Gibraltar
- English (used in schools and for official purposes),
- Spanish,
- Italian,
- Portuguese,
- Russian
Ireland
- Irish (Gaelic),
- spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard,
- English is the language generally used
Italy
- Italian,
- German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking),
- French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region),
- Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Moldova
- Moldovan (official; virtually the same as the Romanian language),
- Russian,
- Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
United Kingdom
- English,
- Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales),
- Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Middle East
17 entriesIsrael
- Hebrew (official),
- Arabic used officially for Arab minority,
- English most commonly used foreign language
North America
5 entriesOceania
25 entriesAmerican Samoa
Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English; most people are bilingual
Marshall Islands
- English (universally spoken and is the official language),
- two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family,
- Japanese
Micronesia, Federated States of now Federated States of Micronesia
- English (official and common language),
- Trukese,
- Pohnpeian,
- Yapese,
- Kosrean
Nauru
Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
Pacific Islands (Palau), Trust Territory of the now Palau
- English (official in all of Palau's 16 states),
- Sonsorolese (official in the state of Sonsoral),
- Angaur and Japanese (in the state of Anguar),
- Tobi (in the state of Tobi),
- Palauan (in the other 13 states)
Solomon Islands
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
South America
14 entriesSuriname
Dutch (official), English widely spoken, Sranan Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki) is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others, Hindi Suriname Hindustani (a variant of Bhoqpuri), Javanese
Venezuela
Spanish (official), Indian dialects spoken by about 200,000 Amerindians in the remote interior
Southeast Asia
14 entriesCite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 1994, “Languages”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/languages/1994.