The continent of Africa holds the record of being both the second largest continent in the world, after Asia, and the second more populous continent in the world, also following Asia. Our concentration on this post will be on the list of the best English-speaking countries in Africa.

The continent has an area of 30.3 million square kilometers and is known to stretch over about 6% of the total surface area of the earth. It also stretches across about 20% of the land area of the earth. As of the year 2016, the total population on the continent of Africa was put at a staggering amount of 1.2 billion people, a number that makes up about 16% of the total human population in the whole world. It is immediately clear from comparative statistics, why it is known as the second-largest and second-most populous. 

Top 10 Best English Speaking Countries In Africa

Uganda

The African country, Uganda, comes in at number one on the list of best English-speaking countries in Africa. The country is landlocked and is known to have a diverse landscape that covers the Rwenzori Mountains with their snowy tips, and also, the very large Lake Victoria. The nation is notable for having a wide range of diverse wildlife including chimpanzees, and a good collection of a bird rarely seen anywhere else. Uganda was colonized by the British but still got its independence in 1962. They have since adopted a style of education that is from Great Britain. English is the main language in Ugandan schools, and this is a country with more than 60 other languages spoken amongst its people.

South Africa 

This country is located in the southernmost part of the continent of Africa and is the second-best english-speaking country on the continent. This nation is notable for having several ecosystems that are pretty distinct. Kruger National Park, an Inland Safari destination that is frequented by tourists is known to have a large population of the big game. In the Western Cape, one would be treated to a range of beaches for relaxation as well as lush Winelands found around the locations of Paarl and Stellenbosch and a host of other sights all over this beautiful nation. There are many other languages that are spoken in this country including Afrikaans and isiZulu and the nation is known to have about 11 official languages.

Nigeria 

The beautiful nation of Nigeria is known to be the third-best english-speaking country in Africa. This country located on the Gulf of Guinea is famous for its myriad wildlife and landmarks. One of the most recognizable sites in the country has to be Zuma rock which is a monolith reaching a height of 725 meters located outside Abuja, the federal capital territory of the nation.

Kenya 

Ranking at number four in Kenya, a country in Eastern Africa. Nairobi is the capital as well as the largest city in this nation. There are various ethnic groups in this country that speak their own languages, however, the official languages in this nation are the English language and Swahili, and these are used when communicating with other populations, in varying degrees. When it comes to areas of Government, education, and commerce, English is the commonly spoken language.

Zambia 

This landlocked country which comes in at number five is located in south-central Africa. In this nation, the official language is English and it is used as a means of communicating in the educational sector and in matters of official business. When it comes to local languages, the main local language in Zambia is Nyanja, more commonly spoken in Lusaka, and the next local language is Bemba. In this nation, a total of 73 languages are known to be spoken including Lozi, Kaonde, Lunda as well as Tonga.

Botswana 

Botswana is another landlocked country in Africa and is located in the Southern part of the continent. While Setswana is commonly spoken in this nation, English remains the official language of Botswana. Other languages that one may find spoken in this nation include Kalanga, Sarwa, and Ndebele amongst others.

Zimbabwe 

The seventh-best English-speaking country in Africa is Zimbabwe, a landlocked nation located between the rivers Zambezi and Limpopo in Southern Africa. In the education system and judiciary system, the commonly spoken language is the English language. Shona and Sindebele, both Bantu languages are also commonly spoken as indigenous languages in the nation. 70% of the population speaks Shona while a relatively smaller 20% speaks Sindebele. Venda, Tonga, Shangaan, Sotho, Kalanga, Nambya, and Ndau are other Bantu languages that are spoken in this nation.

Malawi 

Malawi is located in Southeast Africa and is also a landlocked nation. It comes in as the 8th best English-speaking nation in Africa.

Ghana 

This nation is located in West Africa, along with the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. There are eleven government-sponsored languages in Ghana but English remains the language of the State and its commonly used Lingua Franca. As a result of the fact that this nation is surrounded by predominantly French-speaking nations, the French language is also taught in the various schools in the nation.

Rwanda 

This landlocked nation is found in central and eastern Africa. It is one of the smallest nations located on the mainland of Africa. English, Kinyarwanda, French, and Swahili are official languages in this nation. While English is the language mainly used in the educational sector, Kinyarwanda is the main national language of Rwanda. 

How Many Of The Countries In Africa Speak English?

When colonialism on the continent drew to an end, a good number of countries in Africa (Almost all of them), came to adopt official languages that were mostly of external origin. There are, however, several African countries that also legally recognize indigenous languages as well. English as well as French is spoken in many African countries and is generally used as a means of general communication especially when dealing with public matters such as government, media, and education, and so on.

There are 24 countries in Africa that are English speaking, and this article aims to identify the top ten out of those English-speaking countries that rank as the best.

WHAT IS THE BEST ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRY IN AFRICA?

In Africa, Uganda is recognized as being the best English-speaking African country according to research which was carried out by the World Linguistic Agency.

Behind them were countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia, and Kenya. Strong accents aside, Nigerians were noted for being amongst those who construct good English sentences, which are grammatically impeccable.

More About Africa

The continent has the Mediterranean Sea surrounding it as one head north, while to the Northeast, it is surrounded by the Isthmus of Suez as well as the Red Sea. The Indian Ocean surrounds Africa to the Southeast and to the west, the continent is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. There are various Islands and archipelagos that also make up the continent including the Island of Madagascar.

In the continent of Africa, there are 54 states which are fully recognized as such, along with 9 territories as well as 2 de facto independent states, which as of yet, do not command much recognition. The larger percentage of this continent and its countries can be found in its Northern hemisphere, although, a good number of countries are also located in the southern hemisphere as well.

Africa is known to have the youngest average population in comparison to other continents, and as of the year 2012, the median age on the continent was 19.7, while on a worldwide scale, it had a median age of 30.4.

In Africa, the position of the largest country in terms of area is held by none other than Algeria, while the spot for the largest country in terms of population, is held by Nigeria.

This continent (Most especially the Central Eastern part of it) is credited with being the place where humans as we know them, originated from, as well as great apes. All this was due to several discoveries made in the general areas and the results got from the analysis of the findings.

The continent of Africa is known to be the only continent in the world that stretches from the Northern temperate zone, all the way to the Southern temperate zone.

The African Union, established in the year 2001, is a continental union via which African nations cooperate.

The continent of Africa is the host to a wide range of ethnicities, languages, and cultures. In fact, according to most estimates on the matter, there are more than a thousand languages spoken on the continent. UNESCO is even known to have placed that number at close to 2000 different languages.

Of all these languages, a large number of them comprising the larger percentage, are languages that originated from the continent, but the others are of Asian and European origin.

CONCLUSION

There are other nations aside from those listed above where the English language is spoken in an official capacity, but those listed above have the advantage of being the best, in this regard, among the rest. That’s all on the best English-speaking countries in Africa and which African country has the best English accent.

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