|
Language |
approximate # of speakers |
|
Where is it spoken as an official language? |
1. |
Mandarin Chinese |
NATIVE: 873 million
2nd: 178 million
TOTAL: 1.051 billion |
|
OFFICIAL: People's Republic of China, Republic of China, Singapore |
2. |
Hindi |
NATIVE: 370 million
2nd:120 million
TOTAL: 490 million |
|
OFFICIAL: India, Fiji |
3. |
Spanish |
NATIVE: 350 million
2nd: 70 million
TOTAL: 420 million |
|
OFFICIAL: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea,
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
Spain, United States (New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela |
4. |
English |
NATIVE: 340 million
TOTAL: 510 million |
|
OFFICIAL: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana,
Hong Kong (People's Republic of China), India, Ireland, Jamaica,
Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Maldives, Malta,
Marshall Islands, Maritius, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, New
Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines,
Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevs, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore,
Solomon Islands, Somolia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland,
Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United
Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe. |
5. |
Arabic |
NATIVE: 206 million
2nd: 24 million
TOTAL: 230 million
[World Almanac est. total 255 million] |
|
OFFICIAL: Modern Standard Arabic: Algeria, Bahrain, Chad,
Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestinian Territories,
Quatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United
Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, Yemen. | Hasaniya Arabic: Mauritania,
Senegal
NATIONAL: Mali
Note: These figures combine all the varieties
of Arabic. Some data sources, e.g. CIA World Fact Book, World
Almanac, Ethnologue, treat these varieties as separate languages.
|
6. |
Portuguese |
NATIVE: 203 million
2nd: 10 million
TOTAL: 213 million |
|
OFFICIAL: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau,
Macau (People's Republic of China), Mozambique, Portugal, São
Tomé e Príncipe. |
7. |
Bengali |
NATIVE: 196 million
TOTAL: 215 million |
|
OFFICIAL: Bangladesh, India (Tripura, West Bengal) |
8. |
Russian |
NATIVE: 145 million
2nd: 110 million
TOTAL: 255 million |
|
OFFICIAL: Abkhazia (part of Georgia), Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyyrgyzstan, Russia, Transnistria (part of Moldova). |
9. |
Japanese |
NATIVE: 126 million
2nd: 1 million
TOTAL: 127 million |
|
OFFICIAL: Japan, Palau |
10. |
German |
NATIVE: 101 million
2nd: 128 million
TOTAL: 229 million |
|
OFFICIAL: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy (South Tyrol),
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Siwtzerland |