Rwanda

Summary

Official Name

Republic of Rwanda

International Conventions

ACHPR (1983), CDE (2000), CPPDCE (2012), CSICH (2013), ICCPR (1975), UNCRPD (2008)

Population

12,374,000

Principal Languages

English, French, Kinyarwanda, Swahili

Literacy Rate

73% (2018 UNESCO)

General References

Bendor-Samuel and Hartell 1989, Welmers 1971a

Language Counts

The number of established languages listed for Rwanda is 6. All are living languages. Of these, 3 are indigenous and 3 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 4 are institutional and 2 are developing. Also listed is 1 unestablished language.

Languages

English eng: Users: 1,865,470 in Rwanda, all users. L1 users: 5,470 in Rwanda (2011 UNSD). L2 users: 1,860,000 (Pinyon and Haydon 2010). Status: 1 (National). Statutory national working language (2003, Constitution, Article 5). Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English
French fra: Users: 727,030 in Rwanda, all users. L1 users: 3,030 in Rwanda (2011 UNSD). L2 users: 724,000 (Beck et al 2018). Status: 1 (National). Statutory national working language (2003, Constitution, Article 5). Alternate Names: français Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, French
Kinyarwanda kin: Users: 11,600,000 in Rwanda (2018 J. Leclerc). Total users in all countries: 13,133,980. Status: 1 (National). Statutory national language (2003, Constitution, Article 5). Alternate Names: Hima, Orunyarwanda, Ruanda, Rwanda, Rwandan, Urunyaruanda Autonym: Ikinyarwanda Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, J, Ruanda-Rundi (D.61)
Nyankore nyn: Users: 13,000 in Rwanda (2018 J. Leclerc). Status: 5* (Dispersed). Alternate Names: Hima Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, J, Nyoro-Ganda (E.13)
Rundi run: Users: 565,000 in Rwanda (2018 J. Leclerc). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, J, Ruanda-Rundi (D.62)
Swahili swh: Users: 4,710 in Rwanda (2011 UNSD). Status: Unestablished. Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, G, Swahili (G.42)

Languages by Status

1 (National)

Kinyarwanda

[kin] 1 (National). Statutory national language (2003, Constitution, Article 5). 11,600,000 in Rwanda (2018 J. Leclerc). Total users in all countries: 13,133,980.

English

[eng] 1 (National). Statutory national working language (2003, Constitution, Article 5). 1,865,470 in Rwanda, all users. L1 users: 5,470 in Rwanda (2011 UNSD). L2 users: 1,860,000 (Pinyon and Haydon 2010).

French

[fra] 1 (National). Statutory national working language (2003, Constitution, Article 5). 727,030 in Rwanda, all users. L1 users: 3,030 in Rwanda (2011 UNSD). L2 users: 724,000 (Beck et al 2018).

5 (Dispersed)

Nyankore

[nyn] 5* (Dispersed). 13,000 in Rwanda (2018 J. Leclerc).