The African Union adopts Kiswahili as an official language for the bloc and Africa. This announcement was made during the Unions Assembly of Heads of state and government in Ethiopia.
This approval comes after Tanzanian Vice President argued that Swahili is spoken by over 100 million people in Africa. Kiswahili was already in use by various blocs including the East Africa Community (EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). Despite that, most African countries use Swahili as a teaching language.
July 7 has been set aside by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The United Nations has also joined forces in celebrating Kiswahili every July 7
Kiswahili speaking languages according to African Union
According to the United Nations, Kiswahili is said to have originated from East Africa. Kiswahili is spoken in over 14 countries:
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Kenya
- Mozambique
- Malawi
- Burundi
- Rwanda
- South Sudan
- Somalia
- The Democratic Republic of Congo
- Zambia
- Comoros
- Oman
- Yemen
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