Page "Demographics of Djibouti" Paragraph 2

Djibouti is a multilingual nation.

According to Ethnologue, the majority of the population speaks Somali ( 297, 000 speakers ) or Afar ( 99, 200 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 36, 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 10, 200 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 ).