This is a list of languages by total number of speakers.
It is difficult to define what constitutes a language as opposed to a dialect. For example, Chinese and Arabic are sometimes considered single languages, but each includes several mutually unintelligible varieties, and so they are sometimes considered language families instead. Conversely, colloquial registers of Hindi and Urdu are almost completely mutually intelligible, and are sometimes classified as one language, Hindustani. Such rankings should be used with caution, because it is not possible to devise a coherent set of linguistic criteria for distinguishing languages in a dialect continuum.
There is no single criterion for how much knowledge is sufficient to be counted as a second-language speaker. For example, English has about 450 million native speakers but, depending on the criterion chosen, can be said to have as many as two billion speakers.
There are also difficulties in obtaining reliable counts of speakers, which vary over time because of population change and language shift. In some areas, there is no reliable census data, the data is not current, or the census may not record languages spoken, or record them ambiguously. Sometimes speaker populations are exaggerated for political reasons, or speakers of minority languages may be underreported in favor of a national language.
Ethnologue (2024)
Ethnologue lists the following languages as having 50 million or more total speakers. This section does not include entries that Ethnologue identifies as macrolanguages encompassing several varieties, such as Arabic, Lahnda, Persian, Malay, Pashto, and Chinese.
| Language | Family | Branch | First-language (L1) speakers | Second-language (L2) speakers | Total speakers (L1+L2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English (excl. creole languages) | Indo-European | Germanic | 380 million | 1.135 billion | 1.515 billion |
| Mandarin Chinese (incl. Standard Chinese, but excl. other varieties) | Sino-Tibetan | Sinitic | 941 million | 199 million | 1.140 billion |
| Hindi (excl. Urdu) | Indo-European | Indo-Aryan | 345 million | 264 million | 609 million |
| Spanish (excl. creole languages) | Indo-European | Romance | 486 million | 74 million | 560 million |
| Modern Standard Arabic (excl. dialects) | Afro-Asiatic | Semitic | 0 | 332 million | 332 million |
| French (excl. creole languages) | Indo-European | Romance | 74 million | 238 million | 312 million |
| Bengali | Indo-European | Indo-Aryan | 237 million | 41 million | 278 million |
| Portuguese (excl. creole languages) | Indo-European | Romance | 236 million | 27 million | 264 million |
| Russian | Indo-European | Balto-Slavic | 148 million | 108 million | 255 million |
| Urdu (excl. Hindi) | Indo-European | Indo-Aryan | 70 million | 168 million | 238 million |
| Indonesian (excl. other Malay) | Austronesian | Malayo-Polynesian | 44 million | 155 million | 199 million |
| Standard German | Indo-European | Germanic | 76 million | 58 million | 134 million |
| Japanese | Japonic | — | 123 million | <1 million | 123 million |
| Nigerian Pidgin | English Creole | Krio | 5 million | 116 million | 121 million |
| Egyptian Arabic (excl. other Arabic dialects) | Afro-Asiatic | Semitic | 78 million | 25 million | 103 million |
| Marathi | Indo-European | Indo-Aryan | 83 million | 16 million | 99 million |
| Telugu | Dravidian | South-Central | 83 million | 13 million | 96 million |
| Turkish | Turkic | Oghuz | 84 million | 6 million | 90 million |
| Hausa | Afro-Asiatic | Chadic | 54 million | 34 million | 88 million |
| Tamil | Dravidian | South Dravidian | 79 million | 8 million | 87 million |
| Yue Chinese (incl. Cantonese) | Sino-Tibetan | Sinitic | 86 million | 1 million | 87 million |
| Swahili | Niger–Congo | Bantu | 3 million | 83 million | 87 million |
| Vietnamese | Austroasiatic | Vietic | 85 million | 1 million | 86 million |
| Wu Chinese (incl. Shanghainese) | Sino-Tibetan | Sinitic | 83 million | <1 million | 83 million |
| Tagalog | Austronesian | Malayo-Polynesian | 29 million | 54 million | 83 million |
| Western Punjabi (excl. Eastern Punjabi) | Indo-European | Indo-Aryan | — | — | 82 million |
| Korean | Koreanic | — | 81 million | <1 million | 81 million |
| Iranian Persian (excl. other Persian dialects) | Indo-European | Iranian | 62 million | 17 million | 78 million |
| Javanese | Austronesian | Malayo-Polynesian | — | — | 68 million |
| Italian | Indo-European | Romance | 64 million | 3 million | 67 million |
| Gujarati | Indo-European | Indo-Aryan | 58 million | 5 million | 63 million |
| Thai | Kra–Dai | Zhuang–Tai | 21 million | 40 million | 61 million |
| Amharic | Afro-Asiatic | Semitic | 35 million | 25 million | 60 million |
| Kannada | Dravidian | Southern | 44 million | 15 million | 59 million |
| Levantine Arabic (excl. other Arabic dialects) | Afro-Asiatic | Semitic | 51 million | 2 million | 54 million |
| Bhojpuri | Indo-European | Indo-Aryan | 53 million | <1 million | 53 million |
| Min Nan Chinese (incl. Hokkien) | Sino-Tibetan | Sinitic | 51 million | <1 million | 51 million |
The World Factbook (2022)
The World Factbook, produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), estimates the ten most spoken languages (L1 + L2) in 2022 as follows:
| Language | Percentage of world population (2022) |
|---|---|
| English | 18.8% |
| Mandarin Chinese | 13.8% |
| Hindi | 7.5% |
| Spanish | 6.9% |
| French | 3.4% |
| Arabic | 3.4% |
| Bengali | 3.4% |
| Russian | 3.2% |
| Portuguese | 3.2% |
| Urdu | 2.9% |
See also
- Lingua franca
- Lists of languages
- List of languages by number of native speakers
- List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language
- Number of languages by country
- World language
- Languages used on the Internet
- Extinct language
- Official languages of the United Nations
- Geolinguistics
- Language geography
Explanatory notes
- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is not an L1. Arabic speakers first learn their respective local dialect. MSA is acquired through formal education.
- Tagalog and Filipino are defined as two different languages in the ISO 639 standard. Ethnologue considers that Filipino is a standardized variety of the Tagalog language with no speakers.
References
- Paolillo, John C.; Das, Anupam (31 March 2006). "Evaluating language statistics: the Ethnologue and beyond" (PDF). UNESCO Institute of Statistics. pp. 3–5. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
- Crystal, David (March 2008). "Two thousand million?". English Today. 24: 3–6. doi:10.1017/S0266078408000023. S2CID 145597019.
- Crystal, David (1988). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press. pp. 286–287. ISBN 978-0-521-26438-9.
- "What are the top 200 most spoken languages?". Ethnologue. 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
- Arabic, Standard at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
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- "Most spoken languages in the World". The World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
This is a list of languages by total number of speakers Principal language families of the world and in some cases geographic groups of families For greater detail see Distribution of languages in the world It is difficult to define what constitutes a language as opposed to a dialect For example Chinese and Arabic are sometimes considered single languages but each includes several mutually unintelligible varieties and so they are sometimes considered language families instead Conversely colloquial registers of Hindi and Urdu are almost completely mutually intelligible and are sometimes classified as one language Hindustani Such rankings should be used with caution because it is not possible to devise a coherent set of linguistic criteria for distinguishing languages in a dialect continuum There is no single criterion for how much knowledge is sufficient to be counted as a second language speaker For example English has about 450 million native speakers but depending on the criterion chosen can be said to have as many as two billion speakers There are also difficulties in obtaining reliable counts of speakers which vary over time because of population change and language shift In some areas there is no reliable census data the data is not current or the census may not record languages spoken or record them ambiguously Sometimes speaker populations are exaggerated for political reasons or speakers of minority languages may be underreported in favor of a national language Ethnologue 2024 Ethnologue lists the following languages as having 50 million or more total speakers This section does not include entries that Ethnologue identifies as macrolanguages encompassing several varieties such as Arabic Lahnda Persian Malay Pashto and Chinese Most spoken languages Ethnologue 2024 Language Family Branch First language L1 speakers Second language L2 speakers Total speakers L1 L2 English excl creole languages Indo European Germanic 380 million 1 135 billion 1 515 billionMandarin Chinese incl Standard Chinese but excl other varieties Sino Tibetan Sinitic 941 million 199 million 1 140 billionHindi excl Urdu Indo European Indo Aryan 345 million 264 million 609 millionSpanish excl creole languages Indo European Romance 486 million 74 million 560 millionModern Standard Arabic excl dialects Afro Asiatic Semitic 0 332 million 332 millionFrench excl creole languages Indo European Romance 74 million 238 million 312 millionBengali Indo European Indo Aryan 237 million 41 million 278 millionPortuguese excl creole languages Indo European Romance 236 million 27 million 264 millionRussian Indo European Balto Slavic 148 million 108 million 255 millionUrdu excl Hindi Indo European Indo Aryan 70 million 168 million 238 millionIndonesian excl other Malay Austronesian Malayo Polynesian 44 million 155 million 199 millionStandard German Indo European Germanic 76 million 58 million 134 millionJapanese Japonic 123 million lt 1 million 123 millionNigerian Pidgin English Creole Krio 5 million 116 million 121 millionEgyptian Arabic excl other Arabic dialects Afro Asiatic Semitic 78 million 25 million 103 millionMarathi Indo European Indo Aryan 83 million 16 million 99 millionTelugu Dravidian South Central 83 million 13 million 96 millionTurkish Turkic Oghuz 84 million 6 million 90 millionHausa Afro Asiatic Chadic 54 million 34 million 88 millionTamil Dravidian South Dravidian 79 million 8 million 87 millionYue Chinese incl Cantonese Sino Tibetan Sinitic 86 million 1 million 87 millionSwahili Niger Congo Bantu 3 million 83 million 87 millionVietnamese Austroasiatic Vietic 85 million 1 million 86 millionWu Chinese incl Shanghainese Sino Tibetan Sinitic 83 million lt 1 million 83 millionTagalog Austronesian Malayo Polynesian 29 million 54 million 83 millionWestern Punjabi excl Eastern Punjabi Indo European Indo Aryan 82 millionKorean Koreanic 81 million lt 1 million 81 millionIranian Persian excl other Persian dialects Indo European Iranian 62 million 17 million 78 millionJavanese Austronesian Malayo Polynesian 68 millionItalian Indo European Romance 64 million 3 million 67 millionGujarati Indo European Indo Aryan 58 million 5 million 63 millionThai Kra Dai Zhuang Tai 21 million 40 million 61 millionAmharic Afro Asiatic Semitic 35 million 25 million 60 millionKannada Dravidian Southern 44 million 15 million 59 millionLevantine Arabic excl other Arabic dialects Afro Asiatic Semitic 51 million 2 million 54 millionBhojpuri Indo European Indo Aryan 53 million lt 1 million 53 millionMin Nan Chinese incl Hokkien Sino Tibetan Sinitic 51 million lt 1 million 51 millionThe World Factbook 2022 The World Factbook produced by the Central Intelligence Agency CIA estimates the ten most spoken languages L1 L2 in 2022 as follows Most spoken languages CIA 2022 Language Percentage of world population 2022 English 18 8 Mandarin Chinese 13 8 Hindi 7 5 Spanish 6 9 French 3 4 Arabic 3 4 Bengali 3 4 Russian 3 2 Portuguese 3 2 Urdu 2 9 See alsoLingua franca Lists of languages List of languages by number of native speakers List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language Number of languages by country World language Languages used on the Internet Extinct language Official languages of the United Nations Geolinguistics Language geographyExplanatory notesModern Standard Arabic MSA is not an L1 Arabic speakers first learn their respective local dialect MSA is acquired through formal education Tagalog and Filipino are defined as two different languages in the ISO 639 standard Ethnologue considers that Filipino is a standardized variety of the Tagalog language with no speakers ReferencesPaolillo John C Das Anupam 31 March 2006 Evaluating language statistics the Ethnologue and beyond PDF UNESCO Institute of Statistics pp 3 5 Retrieved 17 November 2018 Crystal David March 2008 Two thousand million English Today 24 3 6 doi 10 1017 S0266078408000023 S2CID 145597019 Crystal David 1988 The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language Cambridge University Press pp 286 287 ISBN 978 0 521 26438 9 What are the top 200 most spoken languages Ethnologue 2024 Retrieved 2024 08 15 Arabic Standard at Ethnologue 27th ed 2024 Most spoken languages in the World The World Factbook CIA Retrieved 2022 01 01
