Most Spoken Languages 🌐

Most Spoken Languages Around the World Today 🌐

Worldwide billions of people converse with each other using over 7000 different languages. It’s not easy to find up to date and accurate statistics so think of this list as a “rough guide” to the most spoken languages in the world. The top 31 most spoken languages in the world are listed below. The totals include native and second language speakers.

Most Spoken Languages FAQs

What’s the Most Spoken Language in the World?

English tops the list of most spoken languages with around 1,268 million speakers. However the Chinese family of languages consists of thirteen different groups including; Chinese Mandarin (which includes Standard Chinese), Wu Chinese (which includes Shanghainese), Yue Chinese (which includes Cantonese) totalling over 1,287 million. In this wider context Chinese is the most spoken language in the world.

ADDucation’s list of most spoken languages was compiled by Robert Junker, last updated Nov 28, 2022 @ 12:59 am.

ADDucation Tips: Click column headings with arrows to sort most spoken languages. Reload page for original sort order. Resize your browser to full screen and/or zoom out to display as many columns as possible. Click the ➕ icon to reveal any hidden columns. Start typing in the Filter table box to find what are the most spoken languages in the world.

Languages	Total speakers (millions)	Language family	🌐Most spoken languages in countries
English	1,268	Indo-European	Countries where English is an official language or primary language: 🇦🇺 Australia 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇬🇧 United Kingdom (UK) 🇺🇸 United States of America (USA) 🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda 🇧🇸 Bahamas 🇧🇧 Barbados 🇧🇿 Belize 🇨🇰 Cook Islands 🇩🇲 Dominica 🇬🇩 Grenada 🇬🇾 Guyana 🇯🇲 Jamaica 🇱🇷 Liberia 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & Grenadines 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago. Countries where English is spoken as a minority language: 🇧🇼 Botswana 🇧🇮 Burundi 🇨🇲 Cameroon 🇨🇦 Canada (not in Quebec, Nunavut and northern New Brunswick) 🇸🇿 Eswatini 🇫🇯 Fiji (used as a “lingua franca” trade language) 🇬🇲 Gambia 🇬🇭 Ghana (used as a “lingua franca” trade language) 🇮🇳 India (used officially and for education) 🇮🇪 Ireland (co-official language with Irish) 🇰🇪 Kenya (used in business and education) 🇰🇮 Kiribati 🇰🇮 Lesotho 🇰🇮 Malawi 🇲🇹 Malta (used officially and for education and business) 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands 🇲🇺 Mauritius 🇫🇲 Micronesia 🇳🇦 Namibia (used as a “lingua franca” trade language) 🇳🇷 Nauru (minority language but widely spoken) 🇳🇬 Nigeria (used as a “lingua franca” trade language) 🇳🇺 Niue 🇵🇰 Pakistan (minority language but used officially and for education) 🇵🇼 Palau 🇵🇭 Philippines (co-official language with Filipi) 🇷🇼 Rwanda (used officially and for education) 🇼🇸 Samoa 🇸🇨 Seychelles 🇸🇬 Singapore (used as a “lingua franca” trade language, widely spoken, used in education) 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands 🇿🇦 South Africa (used as a “lingua franca” for trade and used officially in education) 🇸🇸 South Sudan 🇸🇩 Sudan 🇹🇿 Tanzania 🇹🇴 Tonga 🇹🇻 Tuvalu 🇺🇬 Uganda (used officially for education) 🇻🇺 Vanuatu 🇿🇲 Zambia 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe (used as a “lingua franca” trade language). Tops the list of the most spoken languages in the world.
Mandarin Chinese (includes Standard Chinese)	1,120	Sino-Tibetan	🇨🇳 China (as Putonghua) 🇹🇼Taiwan (as Guoyu) 🇸🇬 Singapore (as Huayu) Countries where Mandarin Chinese is spoken as a minority language: 🇲🇲 Myanmar (Wa State) 🇺🇸 United States of America (Minority language. Chinese is the third most spoken language in the USA). Mandarin is second in the list of the most spoken languages in the world and tops the list of the most spoken first languages in the world.
Hindi	637.3	Indo-European	🇮🇳 India. Hindu is third in the list of the most spoken languages in the world.
Spanish	537.9	Indo-European	🇪🇸 Spain 🇦🇷 Argentina 🇧🇴 Bolivia 🇮🇨 Canary Islands 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇨🇺 Cuba 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇸🇻 El Salvador 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇹 Guatemala 🇭🇳 Honduras 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇳🇮 Nicaragua 🇵🇦 Panama 🇵🇾 Paraguay 🇵🇪 Peru 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico (USA Territory) 🇺🇾 Uruguay 🇺🇸 United States of America. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the USA. 🇻🇪 Venezuela. Spanish is widely spoken across Central & South America, apart from Brazil, and fourth in the list of the most spoken languages in the world.
French	276.6	Indo-European	Countries where French is an official language or primary language: 🇫🇷 France 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 🇧🇮 Burundi 🇨🇲 Cameroon 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇫 Central African Republic 🇹🇩 Chad 🇰🇲 Comoros 🇨🇬 Congo / Congo Republic 🇩🇯 Djibouti 🇨🇩 DR Congo / Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇦 Gabon 🇬🇳 Guinea 🇭🇹 Haiti 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire / Ivory Coast 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇲🇬 Madagascar 🇲🇱 Mali 🇲🇨 Monaco 🇳🇪 Niger 🇷🇼 Rwanda 🇸🇳 Senegal 🇸🇨 Seychelles 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇹🇬 Togo 🇻🇺 Vanuatu. French Territories where French is an official language or primary language: Aosta Valley Clipperton 🇵🇫 French Polynesia 🇹🇫 French Southern Territories 🇳🇨 New Caledonia 🇧🇱 Saint Barthélemy 🇲🇫 Saint Martin Saint-Pierre and Miquelon 🇼🇫 Wallis & Futuna. Fifth in the list of the most spoken languages in the world.
Standard Arabic	274	Afro-Asiatic	🇩🇿 Algeria 🇧🇭 Bahrain 🇹🇩 Chad 🇩🇯 Djibouti 🇪🇬 Egypt 🇮🇶 Iraq 🇯🇴 Jordan 🇰🇼 Kuwait 🇱🇧 Lebanon 🇱🇾 Libya 🇲🇦 Morocco 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 🇸🇴 Somalia 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates (UAE) 🇾🇪 Yemen. Arabic is one of the 10 most spoken languages in the world and the most widely spoken language across the Middle East, Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.
Bengali	265.2	Indo-European	🇧🇩 Bangladesh 🇮🇳 India (West Bengal, Tripura, Assam’s Barak Valley and Jharkhand).
Russian	258	Indo-European	Countries where Russian is an official language or primary language: 🇷🇺 Russia Abkhazia (disputed state, co-official) 🇧🇾 Belarus 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan (co-official) 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan (co-official) 🇲🇩 Moldova (Gagauzia (co-official), Transnistria (disputed state. co-official) South Ossetia (disputed state) 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan (inter-ethnic communication) Countries where Russian is spoken as a minority language: 🇦🇲 Armenia 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 🇨🇳 China 🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇨🇿 Czechia / Czech Republic 🇮🇱 Israel 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇲🇳 Mongolia 🇰🇵 North Korea 🇵🇱 Poland 🇷🇴 Romania (regional and minority) 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇺🇦 Ukraine (disputed Republic of Crimea) 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan (inter-ethnic communication).
Portuguese	252.2	Indo-European	Countries and territories where Portuguese is an official language: 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇧🇷 Brazil (most spoken language) 🇦🇴 Angola (minority and second language) 🇨🇻 Cape Verde / Cabo Verde (mostly spoken as a second language) 🇹🇱 East Timor / Timor-Leste (minority language) 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea (minority language) 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau (minority language) 🇨🇳 Macau China SAR (minority language) 🇲🇿 Mozambique (minority language) 🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe (most spoken language).
Indonesian	199	Austronesian	Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia) is a standardised variety of Malay and tenth in the list of most spoken languages in the world. Indonesian is mostly spoken in: 🇮🇩 Indonesia 🇹🇱 East Timor / Timor-Leste.
Urdu	170.6	Indo-European	🇮🇳 India (as Hindi, Urdu) 🇵🇰 Pakistan (as Urdu).
German	131.6	Indo-European	Countries and territories where German is an official language: 🇩🇪 Germany 🇦🇹 Austria (most spoken language) 🇧🇪 Belgium (minority language spoken in German communities) 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein (most spoken language) 🇱🇺 Luxembourg (co-official language with French and Luxembourgish) 🇨🇭 Switzerland (co-official language at federal level with French, Italian and Romansh).
Japanese	126.4	Japonic	🇯🇵 Japan 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇵🇼 Palau 🇺🇸 United States of America. Japanese is a minority language in the USA.
Swahili	98.5	Niger–Congo	Countries and territories where Swahili is an official language: 🇨🇩 DR Congo / Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇰🇪 Kenya 🇷🇼 Rwanda 🇹🇿 Tanzania 🇺🇬 Uganda. Countries where Swahili is spoken as a minority language: 🇧🇮 Burundi 🇲🇿 Mozambique.
Marathi	95.3	Indo-European	🇮🇳 India (Primarily spoken in Maharashtra, Goa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDD) union territory).
Telugu	93	Dravidian	🇮🇳 India (primarily in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Yanam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands).
Turkish	85.2	Turkic	🇹🇷 Turkey Northern Cyprus (disputed territory) 🇨🇾 Cyprus. Countries where Turkish is spoken as a minority language: 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇶 Iraq 🇽🇰 Kosovo 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 🇷🇴 Romania.
Yue Chinese (including Cantonese)	84.9	Sino-Tibetan	🇨🇳China, Hong Kong as Chinese 🇨🇳 China, Macau as Chinese.
Tamil	83.8	Dravidian	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇮🇳 India (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry) Countries where Tamil is spoken as a minority language: 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇲🇺 Mauritius 🇿🇦 South Africa
Western Punjabi / Lahnda	82.8	Indo-European	🇵🇰 Pakistan (spoken is Punjab, Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions).
Wu Chinese (including Shanghainese)	81.8	Sino-Tibetan	🇨🇳 China (Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shanghai, Zhejiang and SAR Hong Kong and Macau Overseas Chinese communities worldwide with origins from Shanghai, Jiangsu and/or Zhejiang.
Korean	79.4	Koreanic	🇰🇵 North Korea 🇰🇷 South Korea 🇨🇳China (Yanbian Prefecture and Changbai County). Countries where Korean is spoken as a minority language: 🇷🇺Russia (Primorsky Krai).
Vietnamese	77	Austroasiatic	🇻🇳 Vietnam Countries where Vietnamese is spoken as a minority language: 🇨🇿 Czechia / Czech Republic 🇰🇭 Cambodia (Kampong Luong, floating village) 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇺🇸 United States of America (USA).
Hausa	72.7	Afro-Asiatic	🇳🇪 Niger 🇳🇬 Nigeria 🇬🇭 Ghana. Countries where Hausa is spoken as a minority language: 🇧🇯 Benin 🇨🇲 Cameroon 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire / Ivory Coast 🇱🇾 Libya 🇹🇬 Togo.
Javanese	68.3	Austronesian	🇮🇩 Indonesia (Java island).
Egyptian Arabic	67.8	Afro-Asiatic	🇪🇬 Egypt.
Italian	67.7	Indo-European	🇮🇹 Italy 🇸🇲 San Marino 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇻🇦 Vatican City / Holy See. Countries where Italian is spoken as a minority language: 🇸🇮 Slovenia (Slovenian Istria region) 🇭🇷 Croatia (Istria County).
Thai	60.7	Kra–Dai	🇹🇭 Thailand Countries where Thai is spoken as a minority language: 🇰🇭 Cambodia (Koh Kong province) 🇲🇾 Malaysia (Kedah, Kelantan states) 🇲🇲 Myanmar (Tanintharyi region).
Gujarati	60.7	Indo-European	🇮🇳 India (Primarily spoken in Gujarat and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDD) union territory).
Kannada	56.5	Dravidian	🇮🇳 India (Karnataka state).
Persian	55	Indo-European	🇮🇷 Iran 🇦🇫 Afghanistan (as Dari) 🇹🇯 Tajikistan (as Tajik).

Most Spoken Languages 🌐

Most Spoken Languages Around the World Today 🌐

What’s the Most Spoken Language in the World?

Countries where English is an official language or primary language:

Countries where French is an official language or primary language:

Countries where Russian is an official language or primary language:

Countries and territories where Portuguese is an official language:

Countries and territories where German is an official language:

Countries and territories where Swahili is an official language:

See also: Internet acronyms list… | British & American language differences…

Most Spoken Languages Put Into Practice:

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