The country that speaks the most Afrikaans is South Africa.
Afrikaans, a West Germanic language that evolved from the Dutch vernacular of South Holland, is predominantly spoken in Southern Africa. While it has speakers in various parts of the world due to migration, the vast majority of Afrikaans speakers reside in its country of origin.
Global Distribution of Afrikaans Speakers
South Africa accounts for an overwhelming majority of all Afrikaans speakers worldwide. The language holds a significant cultural and linguistic presence within the country. Other nations, primarily those with historical ties or a diaspora of South Africans, also have notable Afrikaans-speaking communities, but their numbers are comparatively small.
To illustrate the distribution, consider the following data on Afrikaans speakers by country:
| Country | Number of Speakers | Percentage of Total Afrikaans Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 6,855,082 | 94.71% |
| Namibia | 219,760 | 3.04% |
| Australia | 49,375 | 0.68% |
| New Zealand | 36,966 | 0.51% |
As the table clearly indicates, South Africa is home to over 6.8 million Afrikaans speakers, representing nearly 95% of the total recorded speakers globally. This makes it by far the country with the most Afrikaans speakers. Namibia, a neighboring country, has the second-largest number of speakers, but this figure is significantly lower than South Africa's.
