| Country | Speakers | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 300000 | |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 296000 | |
| Zambia | 3, 300, 000 | in Zambia (Johnstone and Mandryk 2001), decreasing. 741, 114 Bemba, 32, 022 Luunda, 5, 190 Shila, 26, 429 Tabwa, 16, 833 Cishinga, 28, 172 Kabende, 6, 706 Mukulu, 42, 298 Ng’umbo, 14, 040 Twa-Unga (1969 census). Population total all countries: 3, 602, 000. North, Copperbelt, and Luapula provinces. Also in Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi. Alternate names: Chibemba, Chiwemba, Ichibemba, Wemba. Dialects: Lembue, Lomotua (Lomotwa), Ngoma, Nwesi, Town Bemba, Luunda (Luapula), Chishinga, Kabende, Mukulu, Ng’umbo, Twa of Bangweulu, Unga. Town Bemba has a Bemba base with heavy code mixing with English and neighboring Bantu languages. Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantoid, Southern, Narrow Bantu, Central, M, Bemba (M.40) |