Languages of Djibouti

Languages of Djibouti
Bilingual sign in French and Arabic at the Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport.
Official languages	French, Arabic
Indigenous languages	Somali, Afar
Main immigrant languages	Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic, Oromo, Amharic
Main foreign languages	English
Common keyboard layouts	QWERTY

The languages of Djibouti include Somali, Afar, Arabic and French. Somali and Afar are the most widely spoken tongues, and Arabic and French serve as the official languages.

Djibouti is a multilingual country. According to Ethnologue, the majority of the population speaks Somali (524,000 speakers) or Afar (306,000 speakers) as a first language, which are the mother tongues of the Somali and Afar ethnic groups, respectively. Both languages belong to the larger Afro-Asiatic family.

There are two official languages in Djibouti: Arabic (Afro-Asiatic) and French (Indo-European). Arabic is of social, cultural and religious importance. In formal settings, it consists of Modern Standard Arabic. Colloquially, about 59,000 local residents speak the Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic dialect, also known as Djibouti Arabic. French was inherited from the colonial period and is the primary language of instruction. About 17,000 Djiboutians speak it as a first language.

Immigrant languages include Omani Arabic (38,900 speakers), Amharic (1,400 speakers), Greek (1,000 speakers) and Hindi (600 speakers).

Additionally, the Somali deaf community in Djibouti uses the Somali Sign Language.