English-Speaking Countries in Africa

African countries where English has official or major working status.

Country Capital Region Population
Botswana Gaborone Southern Africa 2,630,000
Eswatini Mbabane Southern Africa 1,200,000
Gambia Banjul West Africa 2,700,000
Ghana Accra West Africa 33,500,000
Kenya Nairobi East Africa 55,100,000
Lesotho Maseru Southern Africa 2,300,000
Liberia Monrovia West Africa 5,400,000
Malawi Lilongwe Southern Africa 20,900,000
Mauritius Port Louis East Africa 1,300,000
Namibia Windhoek Southern Africa 2,600,000
Nigeria Abuja West Africa 223,800,000
Rwanda Kigali East Africa 13,800,000
Seychelles Victoria East Africa 100,000
Sierra Leone Freetown West Africa 8,600,000
South Africa Pretoria Southern Africa 60,400,000
South Sudan Juba East Africa 11,000,000
Tanzania Dodoma East Africa 65,500,000
Uganda Kampala East Africa 47,200,000
Zambia Lusaka Southern Africa 20,000,000
Zimbabwe Harare Southern Africa 16,300,000

English in Africa

The list above shows African countries where English has official or widely-used status. These language groupings largely reflect colonial history — English entered Africa through colonization, missionary education, trade and diplomacy — but today is owned and shaped by African speakers, writers, broadcasters and artists.

Note that most African countries are multilingual; this list reflects official or major working languages, not the dozens of indigenous tongues spoken in each nation.