Angola has a single official language and several national languages. Portuguese, which was introduced during the country’s period under colonial rule, is spoken widely within the country. Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language of Angola. The most popular indigenous languages of the country include Kikongo, Umbundu, and Kimbundu.

As aforementioned, Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language of Angola. The variant of Portuguese spoken in Angola is called the Angolan Portuguese and shares many similarities to Brazilian Portuguese due to historical reasons. Angolan Portuguese also has some remnants of Old Portuguese which can be found especially in some popular grammar uses. There are local variations of Portuguese which may include some differences when it comes to the lexicon. In the capital of the country, Luanda, Portuguese is quite standard since it isn’t influenced by tribal cultures as much.

Nearly 71% of the population of Angola speak Portuguese, which is the native language of 39% of the country’s population. Many more speak it as a second language, however. Among the younger Angolans, Portuguese is the most spoken and sometimes the only language spoken. Urban areas of Angola are more likely to harbor Portuguese speakers, where nearly 85% of the population utilizes Portuguese in day-to-day conversation. The use of Portuguese is relatively lower in the rural areas of Angola, with about 49% of the people in these areas who speak Portuguese.

All the native languages of Angola are also recognized as national languages of the country. The major Bantu language of Angola is Umbundu, spoken by 23% of the population of Angola as a native language. Kimbundu, Kikongo and Fiote are among the other popular native languages spoken in Angola, as well as the Kung and Khoe language families whose languages are spoken in Angola by the communities of San people.

Among the foreign languages spoken in Angola, French and English are the most prominent. French is spoken in Cabinda, an Angolan province bordered by Congo and the DRC. 90% of the literate population of Cabinda speak French, while the other 10% speak Portuguese.

English is the most popular language taught in schools all over Angola. There are plans to make English a compulsory subject in the country’s schools, unlike French which is offered only as an elective subject.

There is also a handful of Asian languages spoken in Angola, most notably Arabic and Chinese. A small group of the population speaks Arabic, and they are mostly of Lebanese origins. There is also a Chinese speaking community in Angola which accounts for about 300,000 individuals.

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