Languages of Namibia - wikipedia Languages of Namibia Namibia, despite its scant population, is home to a wide diversity of languages, from multiple language families : Indo - European, Bantu, and the various Khoisan families. When Namibia was administered by South Africa, Afrikaans, German, and English enjoyed an equal status as official languages. Upon Namibian independence in 1990, English was enshrined as the nation 's sole official language in the constitution of Namibia. German and Afrikaans were stigmatised as having colonial overtones, while the rising of Mandela 's Youth League and the 1951 Defiance Campaign spread English among the masses as the language of the campaign against apartheid. Contents 1 Language demographics 2 Languages most often spoken in Namibian households 3 See also 4 References Language demographics The most widely spoken languages used in households are Oshiwambo dialects, by 49 % of the population, the Nama / Damara language by 11 %, Afrikaans by 10 %, Kavango language by 9 % and Herero by 9 %. Other native languages include the Bantu languages Tswana, Gciriku, Fwe, Kuhane, Mbukushu, Yeyi ; and the Khoisan Naro, ǃXóõ, Kung - Ekoka, ǂKxʼauǁʼein and Kxoe. English, the official language, is spoken by 3 % of people as their native language. Portuguese was spoken by 4 -- 5 % of the total population, i.e. 100,000 people, made up mostly of the Angolan community in 2014. The number of Angolans in Namibia declined from 2014 to 2015. The economic crisis in the neighbouring country affected the numbers. Among the white population, 60 % speak Afrikaans, 32 % German, 7 % English, and 1 % Portuguese. Indigenous languages are included in the school syllabus at primary level. From secondary level English is the medium of instruction. Afrikaans is the only language that comes close to a lingua franca, and is spoken by most black townspeople together with English and their native language. Distribution of Oshiwambo Distribution of Khoekhoe ( also known as Nama or Damara ) Distribution of Afrikaans Distribution of Otjiherero Distribution of Kavango languages Distribution of Zambezi languages Languages most often spoken in Namibian households Main language 2011 Oshiwambo 48.5 48.9 Nama / Damara 11.5 11.3 Afrikaans 11.4 10.4 Otjiherero 7.9 8.6 Kavango 9.7 8.5 Lozi 5.0 4.8 English 1.9 3.4 German 0.9 San 0.8 Other 1.8 2.4 Source : 2001 Census and 2011 Census See also Namibian Sign Language German language in Namibia References Jump up ^ `` Namibia Travel Guide ''. Retrieved 8 July 2010. Jump up ^ Brutt - Griffler, J. ( 2002 ). World English : a study of its development. Multilingual Matters, p. 165. ISBN 1853595772 Jump up ^ `` Languages Spoken - GRN Portal ''. www.gov.na. Retrieved 2018 - 04 - 22. Jump up ^ Lewis, M. Paul ( ed. ) ( 2009 ). Ethnologue : Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. SIL International. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Portuguese to be introduced in schools ''. The Namibian. Retrieved 19 February 2014. Jump up ^ Marketing, Intouch Interactive. `` Angolan tourists on the decline - Tourism - Namibian Sun ''. Retrieved 2018 - 04 - 22. Jump up ^ Pütz, Martin ( 1995 ). Discrimination through language in Africa ? : perspectives on the Namibian experience. Walter de Gruyter, p. 315. ISBN 311014817X Jump up ^ `` Zambezi Region Caprivi Strip Namibia ''. www.namibian.org. Retrieved 2018 - 04 - 22. Jump up ^ 2001 Census Archived 2014 - 09 - 03 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ 2011 Census Archived 2013 - 10 - 02 at the Wayback Machine. hide Languages of Namibia Official language English Recognized regional Oshiwambo Kwanyama Ndonga Afrikaans German Other Bantu languages Otjiherero Rukwangali Setswana Zemba Gciriku Fwe Kuhane Thimbukushu Shiyeyi Khoisan Nama / Damara Naro ǃXóõ Kung - Ekoka ǂKxʼauǁʼein Kxoe Sign languages Namibian Sign Language hide Languages of Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde ( Cabo Verde ) Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea - Bissau Ivory Coast ( Côte d'Ivoire ) Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla ( Spain ) Madeira ( Portugal ) Mayotte / Réunion ( France ) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha ( United Kingdom ) Western Sahara Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Languages_of_Namibia&oldid=844854907 '' Categories : Languages of Namibia Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Webarchive template wayback links Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages বাংলা Deutsch Français Português Русский Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 7 June 2018, at 16 : 40. 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Question: when did namibia choose english as its main national language
Answer: 1990