Senegambia, Guinea-Bissau, southern Mali and northern Guinea eastern (mainly in savanna belt) to southern Chad, northern Central African Republic, southern Sudan, Uganda and western Kenya.
 
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Purple Starling (Lamprotornis purpureus) [XC390563]
by Bram Piot from Banfora, Comoe, Cascades, Burkina Faso (call)
Purple Starling (Lamprotornis purpureus) [XC156988]
by Peter Boesman from Benoue National Park, Cameroon (call)
Subspecies
Populations from Cameroon east to western Kenya often separated as subspecies amethystinus (described from southern Sudan), supposedly somewhat bluer above and slightly longer-tailed than those in west of range. Further study is required.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
purpureus (Müller, 1776) - Western, central.
amethystinus (Heuglin, 1863) - Cameroon to western Kenya.