Swahili, or Kiswahili, is the language of over 50 million people in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, as well as in parts of Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Comoro Islands. Swahili is the lingua franca of many of these countries and is the official and national language of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Swahili is also used as one of the working languages of the African Union, and it is taught in institutions of higher education in many parts of the world.