section_path: Geographical distribution/Africa/Rest of Africa
section_name: Rest of Africa
paragraph_text: Rest of Africa
  
  An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg. The South African constitution identifies German as a "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it.
  
  Cameroon was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916. However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I. Nevertheless since the 21st century, German has become a popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German.