How Many Xhosa Speakers In South Africa

What is Xhosa?

Xhosa, formerly spelled Xosa and also known by its local name isiXhosa, are a Nguni language and one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe.

How Many Xhosa Speakers In South Africa?

Xhosa is one of the 11 official languages of South Africa. It is spoken as a first language by approximately 8.2 million people in the country, the majority of which are the Xhosa people.

What percent of South Africa speaks Xhosa?


Our other official languages are isiXhosa (spoken by 16%), Afrikaans (13.5%), English (10%), Sesotho sa Leboa (9%), Setswana and Sesotho (both 8%), Xitsonga (4.5%), siSwati and Tshivenda (both 2.5%), and isiNdebele (2%).

Which came first Xhosa or Zulu?

The first group of early Nguni immigrants to migrate to South Africa consisted of the Xhosa, (made up of the the Gcaleka, Ngqika, Ndlambe, and Dushane clans), the Thembu, and Pondo. However, a second group of Nguni speakers joined these tribes later. These were the tribes that Shaka, the Zulu king, drove out of Zululand.

Which tribe is the largest in South Africa?

Zulu, a nation of Nguni-speaking people in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. They are a branch of the southern Bantu and have close ethnic, linguistic, and cultural ties with the Swazi and Xhosa. The Zulu are the single largest ethnic group in South Africa and numbered about nine million in the late 20th century.

Where do most Xhosa live?

Xhosa, formerly spelled Xosa, is a group of mostly related peoples living primarily in Eastern Cape province, South Africa. They form part of the southern Nguni and speak mutually intelligible dialects of Xhosa, a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family.