The government of Niger has made a significant linguistic shift, officially adopting Hausa as the country’s national language, while phasing out French as the official language.
This change was announced through a new charter published in the government’s official journal last week.
The charter states, “The national language is Hausa,” but clarifies that both English and French will remain as the country’s working languages for administrative and formal purposes.
Historically, Hausa has been the most widely spoken language in Niger, particularly in the regions of Zinder, Maradi, and Tahoua. Prior to the adoption of this new policy, Hausa was already the dominant language for communication across much of the country.
Reports indicate that a vast majority of Niger’s population—around 26 million people—understand and speak Hausa. In contrast, only about three million people, or roughly 13% of the population, are fluent in French.
In addition to the national language change, the new charter also formally recognizes nine other local languages, including Zarma-Songhay, Fula, Kanuri, Gourmanche, and Arabic, as the country’s spoken languages.
