What Languages Are Spoken In Djibouti? (Answered!)

The languages of Djibouti include Afar, Arabic, French and Somali; Somali and Afar are the most spoken languages in the country. Interestingly, Arabic and French are the official languages. This list shows how diverse the language in Djibouti is.

Frankly, the average person reading this is unlikely to know much about Djibouti. Some people may not have heard of the country at all.

Djibouti is a country that sits in the Horn of Africa.

It neighbors Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

Despite being a multi-ethnic country, the population is only 920,000.

As a result, Djibouti has the smallest population in mainland Africa.

Djibouti has some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and controls access to the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

Despite being a small country, Djibouti has an exciting culture.

Dialects in this country are diverse, and this article looks into the languages spoken in Djibouti.

In This Article

What is the official language of Djibouti?

An official language is when countries use a specific language for official matters.

For example, governments use the official language to create laws or other significant issues.

The official languages of Djibouti are Arabic and French.

Arabic is an official language due to its religious importance.

Around 94% of the population is Muslim- Arabic is the language used in Islam.

People use standard Arabic during formal events.

It is interesting to note that only 30,000 Arabic speakers.

As Djibouti is an Islamic country, the Arabic taught is mainly classical Quranic Arabic (classical).

French colonialism brought Djibouti their official language of French.

As a result, about 17,000 Djiboutians speak French as their first language.

Djibouti uses French as their language of instruction. As Somali is rarely written down, many schools teach French.

What is the most spoken language in Djibouti?

Despite having the official languages of French and Arabic, they are not the most spoken languages in the country.

Somalis make up 60% of the Djibouti population. Around 593,000 people speak the language.

Somali is the most spoken language in Djibouti.

Compared to the 30,000 Arabic speakers- it is clear that Somali is the dominant language.

French is the second most spoken language in Djibouti.

Around 494,000 people are fluent in French. For many, it is a second language.

Thirdly, Afar is the following most significant language.

There are 296,000 Afar speakers in Djibouti. The people of Afar make up 35% of the whole population.

The difference between an official language and a national language is simple.

As we have talked about, countries use their official language in significant public and legal matters.

The national languages of Somali and Afar are national languages, as most of the population speaks one of the two.

French is often a second language for Djiboutians, and Arabic has religious importance- you can see why Djibouti has four main languages.

Foreign languages of Djibouti

Several languages are not native to Djibouti.

These are the languages spoken by migrants to the country.

Omani Arabic is a dialect spoken in Oman’s Al Hajar mountains.

Omani Arabic is the most popular foreign language spoken in Djibouti.

Around 38,900 people talk about the language in Djibouti.

There are also 1,400 Amharic speakers living in Djibouti.

Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia.

Amharic is spoken by 9 million people worldwide and has found itself in Djibouti too.

Greek is also a language spoken in Djibouti.

With around 1,000 speakers, Greek people came to Djibouti around 1900.

As mentioned before, Djibouti has one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

As a result, a Greek population settled in the country, mainly to work as traders.

There were also many railway workers of Greek origin.

Unexpectedly, Hindi is also one of the languages in Djibouti.

There are around 400-500 settled Indian people living in the country.

People from India usually work as traders and entrepreneurs.

Despite more of an Indian population in the past, there are now only around 600 speakers of the language.

Hindi is one of the least spoken minority languages in Djibouti, yet it is definitely worth a mention.

Do people speak English In Djibouti?

The English proficiency in Djibouti could be better.

Whereas French is the language used in schools, Somali & Afar are the national languages- English is not as widespread.

English is likely to grow in Djibouti as time goes on. Teachers are undergoing training to learn the language; they would like to learn English to teach children and communicate better with other cultures.

The aim is for teachers to be proficient so that students and fellowmen can also learn English.

The answer to the question is no, not in a widespread or consistent way.

You may find taxi drivers, hoteliers and traders speak English, but this is a common theme.

Djibouti is a small nation with so much history and character.

It is a unique nation with two official languages (French and Arabic) and two national languages (Somali and Afar).

It sits in the Horn of Africa and has neighboring cultures which have found their way to Djibouti.

Maybe in the future, we will see more English speakers; however, Djibouti already has enough dominant languages.

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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