South Africa

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Official Name
Republic of South Africa
Population Full

58,775,000 (2019 census)

Principal Languages
Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Setswana, Southern Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu
Literacy Rate
87% (2017 UNESCO)
International Conventions
ACHPR (1996), CDE (2000), CPPDCE (2006), ICCPR (1998), UNCRPD (2007), UNDRIP (2007)
General References
Brenzinger 1998, Campbell and King 2011, Ruhlen 1987, Van der Merwe and van Niekerk 1994, Voegelin and Voegelin 1977
Deaf Population
383,000
Language Counts
The number of established languages listed for South Africa is 36. Of these, 31 are living and 5 are extinct. Of the living languages, 20 are indigenous and 11 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 12 are institutional, 8 are developing, 2 are vigorous, 2 are in trouble, and 7 are dying. Also listed are 17 unestablished languages.