"Tonga has overtaken Nyanja as the second most widely spoken language in Zambian households." - The Zambian Observer
Figure 10.1 presents the percentage distribution of the population by language of communication at
home, disaggregated by rural and urban residence.
Bemba emerged as the most spoken language
nationwide, accounting for 34.0 percent of the population. It was also the dominant language in
both rural and urban areas.
However, usage varied considerably: In urban areas, 46.7 percent of
people reported Bemba as their main language of communication at home. In rural areas, this figure
dropped to 23.8 percent.
Tonga was the second most commonly spoken language overall (12.8%), and more prevalent in rural
areas (18.2%) compared to urban areas. Nyanja followed with 11.4 percent usage, playing a more
prominent role in urban settings where 21.8 percent of the population used it at home.
Despite its status as the official national language, English was used by only 1.9 percent of the
population as a primary language of communication at home.
The majority of English speakers resided in urban areas (4.1%), while rural usage was minimal (0.1%).
Languages spoken by less than one percent of the population were grouped together and reported
under “Other languages.”
– Nkanionline
