tsnISO 639
SetswanaAutonyms
Summary
Setswana is an official national language of Botswana. It belongs to the Niger-Congo language family. It is used as a language of instruction in education.
At a Glance
Geography
Population
1M to 1B
Details
This graph provides a simplified visual comparison between the number of users of this language and the global population. The following are the possible population ranges displayed in Starter Ethnologue:
- 1 billion plus - this language has more than 1 billion total users
- 1 million to 1 billion - this language has between 1 million and 1 billion total users
- 10K to 1 million - this language has between 10 thousand and 1 million total users
- 10 thousand or less - this language has between 1 and 10 thousand total users
- None - this language has no users
Language Vitality
Details
This graph shows the vitality of Setswana.
- Institutional — The language has been developed to the point that it is used and sustained by institutions beyond the home and community.
- Stable — The language is not being sustained by formal institutions, but it is still the norm in the home and community that all children learn and use the language.
- Endangered — It is no longer the norm that children learn and use this language.
- Extinct - The language is no longer used and no one retains a sense of ethnic identity associated with the language.
These four summary levels have been derived by grouping levels in the Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (EGIDS), which is the more fine-grained scale that Ethnologue uses to assess the status of every language in terms of development versus endangerment; see Language Status for a description of the levels of that scale. See also the pages on Development and Endangerment for more discussion.
Digital Language Support
Details
This graph shows the level of digital support for this language (as measured by the method described here.
- Still — this language shows no signs of digital support
- Emerging — the language has some content in digital form and/or encoding tools
- Ascending — the language has some spell checking or localized tools or machine translation as well
- Vital — the language is supported by multiple tools in all of the above categories and as well as some speech processing
- Thriving — the language has all of the above plus virtual assistants
Family
It belongs to theNiger-Congolanguage family.
Want to Know More?
Ethnologue Subscriptions
Looking for more detailed information about Setswana? Upgrade to an Essentials or Standard subscription for unlimited access to Ethnologue’s complete collection of country and language profiles—featuring expert-vetted data, interactive maps, and statistics on over 7,000 languages worldwide.
Perfect for researchers, linguists, and anyone passionate about language diversity
View Subscriptions
Ethnologue Country Digests
Browse Country Digests
ExploreSetswanaand28other languages used inBotswanawithEthnologue: Languages ofBotswana—a downloadable PDF document that provides detailed analysis presented in formats not available in the online version of Ethnologue. It includes:
- Comprehensive country overview.
- Statistical summaries by language status, size, and family.
- Alphabetical listing of languages in the country, with in-depth language descriptions.
- Full-color language map(s) for visual reference.
- Listings by population, status, family, and region.
- Indexes of ISO 639 codes and alternate language names.
Want to explore more countries? Visit our online store for additional Ethnologue Country Digests!
Existing Content
Newspapers Periodicals Radio TV Dictionary Grammar Bible (1857–1993) External Resources
