After Arabic, Swahili is the most widely understood language in Africa.
Swahili is spoken by an estimated 80 million people in East and Central Africa. It is the official language in Tanzania and Kenya, and is also used in Uganda, Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and Congo (formerly Zaire). The vast majority of speakers of Swahili are native speakers of other African languages and use Swahili as a lingua franca. After Arabic, Swahili is the most widely understood language in Africa.