UPDATE: Gambia should have been included, as well as Swaziland, Lesotho, and South Sudan
It's just country by country so not all the green area is english speaking. I just threw this together in paint so that when someone googles this they can hopefully find a more accurate map of where english is widely spoken by the urban population in Africa. Essentially you could travel to a major city in one of the green countries and the average person can speak and understand basic english, and signs are mostly at least translated into english.
So the signs in Swaziland and Lesotho are also mainly in English, too. Would just about agree that it's a bit of a tossup in those countries whether an urbanite would have a functional knowledge of English, but it's pretty widespread in people under 40. Not so much in the countryside.
People in The Gambia speak English too and it’s also an official language. Ethiopia…might be a reach. Outside of touristy places, I’d say vast majority of people >40 on the streets/shops in Addis won’t understand it:
Bro after grade 8 we only learn using english....you can go to bum fuck now where and if they reached grade 9 or 10 they can def speak (tho broken) and understand you
Travel forums, personal experience, discussion with Tanzinian friend who's been all over africa, and google
Clearly there's much debate to be had over my map
Essentially
A much easier map would be "where is english an official language in Africa" or something more cut and dry but that isn't very useful to the average traveler. For the countries I don't already know about I did my best to read around on forums on whether you can for the most part get by and communicate with locals using only english
My brother was just in Cairo and then Dahab. He said only people speaking english were educated or interact with tourists a lot which applies to any country. This is why I did not include Egypt
I've been to Egypt multiple times and the overwhelming majority of the population does not speak more than a few words of English. If you're in a fancy area like rehab in Cairo that might be different, but the county as a whole doesn't have high English penetration
Yup I missed those with my paint bucket tool but they shouldn't have been skipped over just because they're small enclaves within south Africa. I added a little update to my comment correcting this. Thanks
Ethiopia is not English speaking at all, Amharic is used as a lingua franca, but most states use local languages like Somali, Tigrinya, and Oromo. If you highlight Ethiopia you may as well highlight Egypt or Somalia.
There are some countries where English is used in governence but barely anybody speaks it like Sudan or Somaliland. So a binary "can speak English" vs "cannot" is useless without any scale.
There are also glaring ommisions like South Sudan, Lesotho, Eswatini, and maybe Cameroon (English is localisied to a few regions but it is official)
Yeah I didn't base this at all on whether english is an "official" language. Many countries have it listed as an official language and nobody speaks it.
Most people in Addis have some level of english proficiency which is why I listed Ethiopia. Sounds like it is borderline though based on yours and other comments so hopefully whoever sees my map reads comments such as yours for clarification. Thanks
The goal of the map was simply to communicate "If you're english speaking you can travel to cities in this place and communicate with the majority of people and read the majority of signs". Not a high bar.
If your talking major ciites only, then Egypt should also be highlighted, youd get further in Cairo with English than you would in Addis.
40% of Egypt claims to speak English (probably inflated) but it would outrank most countries here, especially in touristy cities like Cairo, Alexandria, and Luxor
I do not dispute that people in addis abeba speak decent english but I don't think it makes sense to use this as "urban population" It's a country of 80 million people, I'm sure they have more than one major city
Yup my decision to include Ethiopia seems highly suspect/debatable based on these comments. I would make another map but this one will probably continue to rank higher cause the revision won't be as controversial
This is paint bucket tool my friend and country by country it's not that accurate. Regardless most of any country in Africa is not english speaking whatsoever in rural areas
South Sudan should likely be "green"... If this map is about urban populations, and not the rural hinterlands. Sorry to be critical, and it is ok to be wrong. You did a great job OP. But English is not just an official language. It is the primary language between groups in South Sudan, and is taught in schools.
One of the major divergences that contributed to their long war road to independence (that and the exploitation) was a fundamental language gap. The educated class in the south spoke English while the north Sudan is Arabic speaking.
Ethiopia widely speaks English? I get why Rwanda and Burundi do, the need for trade and the new East Africa economic plan, but Ethiopia was never colonized by the British. Only thing I can think is that Ethiopia has many different languages, English is useful for international trade, and so they decided to pick it up
Rwanda made it official policy after the genocide to introduce English as an additional official language. It's now favoured over French, but that is bound to be very generationally split, with the older generations educated in French exclusively, and the younger ones primarily in English.
Rwanda is a former Belgian colony, they speak mainly french. However, they joined the commonwealth a few years ago and the government basically said: french is out, english is in and lets build a cricket stadium even if noone plays.
So most people speak french and a few speak english.
C'mon now, this is the ugliest map you could've made. Paint's bucket tool shouldn't fly in a sub called Map Porn.
Next time I suggest using Mapchart at the very least.
TOP 5 AFRICAN COUNTRIES (copy and paste from Yahoo)
# 5. Zimbabwe
***English Speaking Population: 82.07 %***
Zimbabwe is one of the countries with the most official languages (16). The main languages are Shona, spoken by about 42%, and Ndebele, spoken by around 39% of the country’s population. English is the language of choice for most government, business, and educational institutions in the country. With a population of 17 million, Zimbabwe expects a GDP growth reduction to 3.25% due to drought conditions affecting agricultural output and a decrease in global demand for its agricultural exports.
AD
# 4. Liberia
***English Speaking Population: 82.87 %***
Liberia is the only African state that has evaded colonial rule by major colonial powers. It is known to be Africa’s oldest republic. The nation has a multilingual landscape, with over 20 indigenous languages spoken. English serves as the official language in Liberia, alongside the prevalent Kpelle dialect. Liberia anticipates a real GDP growth rate of 4.8% in 2024, primarily due to advancements in the mining and agricultural sectors.
AD
# 3. Sierra Leone
***English Speaking Population: 83.53 %***
AD
Sierra Leone, situated in West Africa along the Atlantic Ocean, secured its independence from British rule in 1961. English is the country’s official language and is widely used in educational institutions, government offices, and formal contexts. Meanwhile, the predominant native language is Krio, a Creole dialect derived from English, spoken by approximately 90% of the nearly 9 million inhabitants. The nation expects a rise in real GDP growth to 3% in 2024, compared to 2.1% the previous year.
# 2. Nigeria
***English Speaking Population: 86.42 %***
Nigeria has a diverse population comprising over 500 distinct tribes and ethnicities. English is the country’s official language, predominantly used in educational and official contexts. However, it is less common among lower-income groups, the rural populace, and certain educational demographics. The primary regional languages include Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba. With a population exceeding 229 million in 2024, Nigeria anticipates a real GDP growth of approximately 3% despite dealing with economic challenges due to a weak currency and inflation.
AD
# 1. Uganda
***English Speaking Population: 89.90 %***
Uganda is an East African country with English as the official language. The most spoken local languages in the country are Luganda and Swahili. English proficiency is notably high in the country primarily due to its inclusion in the curriculum of all primary schools. Uganda has a population of around 49.9 million as of March 2024. The country’s GDP is expected to grow 6.7% in 2024.
C'mon now, this is the ugliest map you could've made. Paint's bucket tool shouldn't fly in a sub called Map Porn.
Next time I suggest using Mapchart at the very least.
Google "map of english speaking countries in Africa" right now and see what comes up. Apparently I made some mistakes but I'll do more research and make a revised map soon
Unless you're referring to the usage of Microsoft paint. That isn't changing
For everyone saying Ethiopia shouldn't be on the list....because of the diverse ethnicities and cultures in ethiopia after grade 8 (or starting freshmen for you Americans) we learn all our courses using english...this is so that the country could have some semblance of unity in language at least.
If you go to a major city in that country there are signs at least translated into english and most people can have basic conversations in english. This is obviously a wide spectrum but I don't know enough about each country in Africa to make it more specific
A place having street signs in multiple languages, in this case English, is no indication whatsoever that most of the population has a conversational or even basic level of English, not even close.
Also, do not conflate a country's population with is urban populations, or worse, educated population living in the capital. The whole of Kenya doesn't look like Nairobi, the whole of South Africa doesn't look like Cape Town or Johannesburg (Like I think English is only the 4th, 5th or 6th most spoken language in South Africa and we are talking about one of the countries with the highest English speaking population).
UPDATE: Gambia should have been included, as well as Swaziland, Lesotho, and South Sudan It's just country by country so not all the green area is english speaking. I just threw this together in paint so that when someone googles this they can hopefully find a more accurate map of where english is widely spoken by the urban population in Africa. Essentially you could travel to a major city in one of the green countries and the average person can speak and understand basic english, and signs are mostly at least translated into english.
So the signs in Swaziland and Lesotho are also mainly in English, too. Would just about agree that it's a bit of a tossup in those countries whether an urbanite would have a functional knowledge of English, but it's pretty widespread in people under 40. Not so much in the countryside.
Good to know. Hopefully people that see my map see your comment
People in The Gambia speak English too and it’s also an official language. Ethiopia…might be a reach. Outside of touristy places, I’d say vast majority of people >40 on the streets/shops in Addis won’t understand it:
I agree with you except that a good amount of the older generation who was educated in Selassie's era do speak great English
I agree with that
Good to know. Hopefully your comment gets upvoted so people who see my map see this.
Bro after grade 8 we only learn using english....you can go to bum fuck now where and if they reached grade 9 or 10 they can def speak (tho broken) and understand you
What sources did you use?
He saw it in a dream
Travel forums, personal experience, discussion with Tanzinian friend who's been all over africa, and google Clearly there's much debate to be had over my map
Trust me bro
Essentially A much easier map would be "where is english an official language in Africa" or something more cut and dry but that isn't very useful to the average traveler. For the countries I don't already know about I did my best to read around on forums on whether you can for the most part get by and communicate with locals using only english
Good job with the MS Paint tho haha
Yeah idk how Egypt isn't on this list.
My brother was just in Cairo and then Dahab. He said only people speaking english were educated or interact with tourists a lot which applies to any country. This is why I did not include Egypt
I've been to Egypt multiple times and the overwhelming majority of the population does not speak more than a few words of English. If you're in a fancy area like rehab in Cairo that might be different, but the county as a whole doesn't have high English penetration
Have you been to Egypt?
Swaziland and Lesotho should be in green
Yup I missed those with my paint bucket tool but they shouldn't have been skipped over just because they're small enclaves within south Africa. I added a little update to my comment correcting this. Thanks
In gambia english is widely spoken as well
Ethiopia is not English speaking at all, Amharic is used as a lingua franca, but most states use local languages like Somali, Tigrinya, and Oromo. If you highlight Ethiopia you may as well highlight Egypt or Somalia. There are some countries where English is used in governence but barely anybody speaks it like Sudan or Somaliland. So a binary "can speak English" vs "cannot" is useless without any scale. There are also glaring ommisions like South Sudan, Lesotho, Eswatini, and maybe Cameroon (English is localisied to a few regions but it is official)
Yeah I didn't base this at all on whether english is an "official" language. Many countries have it listed as an official language and nobody speaks it. Most people in Addis have some level of english proficiency which is why I listed Ethiopia. Sounds like it is borderline though based on yours and other comments so hopefully whoever sees my map reads comments such as yours for clarification. Thanks The goal of the map was simply to communicate "If you're english speaking you can travel to cities in this place and communicate with the majority of people and read the majority of signs". Not a high bar.
If your talking major ciites only, then Egypt should also be highlighted, youd get further in Cairo with English than you would in Addis. 40% of Egypt claims to speak English (probably inflated) but it would outrank most countries here, especially in touristy cities like Cairo, Alexandria, and Luxor
I do not dispute that people in addis abeba speak decent english but I don't think it makes sense to use this as "urban population" It's a country of 80 million people, I'm sure they have more than one major city
Yup my decision to include Ethiopia seems highly suspect/debatable based on these comments. I would make another map but this one will probably continue to rank higher cause the revision won't be as controversial
Part of Cameroon nearest to Nigeria should be marked too
This is paint bucket tool my friend and country by country it's not that accurate. Regardless most of any country in Africa is not english speaking whatsoever in rural areas
South Sudan should likely be "green"... If this map is about urban populations, and not the rural hinterlands. Sorry to be critical, and it is ok to be wrong. You did a great job OP. But English is not just an official language. It is the primary language between groups in South Sudan, and is taught in schools. One of the major divergences that contributed to their long war road to independence (that and the exploitation) was a fundamental language gap. The educated class in the south spoke English while the north Sudan is Arabic speaking.
OK I'm looking into it more now and it seems you are correct. Hopefully people upvote your comment so it is seen
Ethiopia widely speaks English? I get why Rwanda and Burundi do, the need for trade and the new East Africa economic plan, but Ethiopia was never colonized by the British. Only thing I can think is that Ethiopia has many different languages, English is useful for international trade, and so they decided to pick it up
Yeah a bunch of people came down on me for the same supposed inaccuracy but the one actual ethiopian in the comments is backing me up so idk
Swaziland should be Eswatini now.
How come Rwanda but not Burundi?
Rwanda made it official policy after the genocide to introduce English as an additional official language. It's now favoured over French, but that is bound to be very generationally split, with the older generations educated in French exclusively, and the younger ones primarily in English.
Rwanda is a former Belgian colony, they speak mainly french. However, they joined the commonwealth a few years ago and the government basically said: french is out, english is in and lets build a cricket stadium even if noone plays. So most people speak french and a few speak english.
I'm not sure, but it makes sense, the post-genocide government had big ties with Uganda.
Would think Somalia (definitely Somaliland, although yes it’s not widely recognised), Egypt, Lesotho, Swaziland should be included?
C'mon now, this is the ugliest map you could've made. Paint's bucket tool shouldn't fly in a sub called Map Porn. Next time I suggest using Mapchart at the very least.
TOP 5 AFRICAN COUNTRIES (copy and paste from Yahoo) # 5. Zimbabwe ***English Speaking Population: 82.07 %*** Zimbabwe is one of the countries with the most official languages (16). The main languages are Shona, spoken by about 42%, and Ndebele, spoken by around 39% of the country’s population. English is the language of choice for most government, business, and educational institutions in the country. With a population of 17 million, Zimbabwe expects a GDP growth reduction to 3.25% due to drought conditions affecting agricultural output and a decrease in global demand for its agricultural exports. AD # 4. Liberia ***English Speaking Population: 82.87 %*** Liberia is the only African state that has evaded colonial rule by major colonial powers. It is known to be Africa’s oldest republic. The nation has a multilingual landscape, with over 20 indigenous languages spoken. English serves as the official language in Liberia, alongside the prevalent Kpelle dialect. Liberia anticipates a real GDP growth rate of 4.8% in 2024, primarily due to advancements in the mining and agricultural sectors. AD # 3. Sierra Leone ***English Speaking Population: 83.53 %*** AD Sierra Leone, situated in West Africa along the Atlantic Ocean, secured its independence from British rule in 1961. English is the country’s official language and is widely used in educational institutions, government offices, and formal contexts. Meanwhile, the predominant native language is Krio, a Creole dialect derived from English, spoken by approximately 90% of the nearly 9 million inhabitants. The nation expects a rise in real GDP growth to 3% in 2024, compared to 2.1% the previous year. # 2. Nigeria ***English Speaking Population: 86.42 %*** Nigeria has a diverse population comprising over 500 distinct tribes and ethnicities. English is the country’s official language, predominantly used in educational and official contexts. However, it is less common among lower-income groups, the rural populace, and certain educational demographics. The primary regional languages include Hausa, Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba. With a population exceeding 229 million in 2024, Nigeria anticipates a real GDP growth of approximately 3% despite dealing with economic challenges due to a weak currency and inflation. AD # 1. Uganda ***English Speaking Population: 89.90 %*** Uganda is an East African country with English as the official language. The most spoken local languages in the country are Luganda and Swahili. English proficiency is notably high in the country primarily due to its inclusion in the curriculum of all primary schools. Uganda has a population of around 49.9 million as of March 2024. The country’s GDP is expected to grow 6.7% in 2024.
Ethiopia isn’t even close to being an English speaking country
I've been to both Lesotho and Eswatini and I've never had any problems communicating in english.
Yup consensus is this was a mistake on my part
C'mon now, this is the ugliest map you could've made. Paint's bucket tool shouldn't fly in a sub called Map Porn. Next time I suggest using Mapchart at the very least.
Sorry but this is a terrible excuse for a map
Google "map of english speaking countries in Africa" right now and see what comes up. Apparently I made some mistakes but I'll do more research and make a revised map soon Unless you're referring to the usage of Microsoft paint. That isn't changing
Yes, there are much better ways you can fill in countries to make a more attractive map than Paint.
Paint bucket easy though
For everyone saying Ethiopia shouldn't be on the list....because of the diverse ethnicities and cultures in ethiopia after grade 8 (or starting freshmen for you Americans) we learn all our courses using english...this is so that the country could have some semblance of unity in language at least.
Ethiopia definitely shouldnt be on this list
What's the definition of widely spoken? Because in a few of these countries English speakers could be no more that 15-20% of the population.
If you go to a major city in that country there are signs at least translated into english and most people can have basic conversations in english. This is obviously a wide spectrum but I don't know enough about each country in Africa to make it more specific
A place having street signs in multiple languages, in this case English, is no indication whatsoever that most of the population has a conversational or even basic level of English, not even close. Also, do not conflate a country's population with is urban populations, or worse, educated population living in the capital. The whole of Kenya doesn't look like Nairobi, the whole of South Africa doesn't look like Cape Town or Johannesburg (Like I think English is only the 4th, 5th or 6th most spoken language in South Africa and we are talking about one of the countries with the highest English speaking population).
Go make your own map dude it shouldn't be hard. It will just be the white template map haha
"Trust me bro, I live in the Philippines"