In this article, we are going to take a look at the 25 most spoken languages in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of these languages, and go directly to the 5 Most Spoken Languages in the World.
If you are reading this article, chances are that you have a decent understanding of the English language, and maybe you are a native speaker. English is the most spoken language in the world, but, it is not the only language you should know. As you read on, you will realize how important it is to know more than just English. In this article, we will highlight the 25 most spoken languages in the world, and how knowing some of them can open up a world of opportunities for you.
Language is a vital part of human connection. Although all species have their ways of communicating, humans are the only ones that have mastered cognitive language communication. Language allows us to share our ideas, thoughts, and feelings with others. It has the power to build societies, but also tear them down.
Knowing multiple languages is impressive, and worth showing off. However, there is more to being multilingual than just boasting your fluency in more than 2 languages. The more languages you know, the more exposure you can have. While knowing every single language out there is impossible, but having a few up your sleeve may take you a long way. Knowing different languages can bring you academic and professional opportunities, help you develop interpersonal skills, help you gain a perspective by learning about the many different cultures there are in the world, and aid in making contacts all across the globe.
Perhaps learning a new language is one of the best ways to open up new opportunities for yourself for career, education and business. For example, Canada gives a special preference in its immigration pool to those who can speak French. Similarly, you can increase your chances of working in European, Chinese and Japanese companies by learning the local languages.
Amid the tech advancements, it has become easier than ever to learn a new language. Pennsylvania-based language learning app Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ: DUOL), which recently went public, has over 40 million monthly active users. You can also use internet services like Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL)'s YouTube, Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) to learn new languages via tutorials or by interacting with people who speak different languages.
Our Methodology
To compile this list of the 25 most spoken languages in the world, we consulted the Ethnologue. Ethnologue has been a reliable data provider for languages for over 15 years, and over 88 percent of the entire world's population speak the languages mentioned in the Ethnologue 200 as either their first language, or second language. We ordered our list according to the number of total speakers, first and second-language speakers combined, of the language at hand. We provided other valuable information about the languages we mentioned, such as their origin, how difficult they are to learn for a native English speaker, countries where they are most widely used, and the economic status of those countries.
The Swahili language is the official language of Tanzania and Kenya and is widely spoken in Uganda. Swahili is a mix of Bantu languages and Arabic. 35 percent of the vocabulary for Swahili comes from Arabic, but the language has also picked up some words from English, like redio, baiskeli, and polisi.
24. Egyptian Arabic
Number Of Speakers: 70 million
Egyptian Arabic, also known as Masri, belongs to the family of Afro-Asiatic languages and it evolved from Quranic Arabic during the Islamic conquests of the 7th century. Today, there are over 70 million speakers of the language, with the majority in Egypt, to where the language is native.
23. Iranian Persian
Number Of Speakers: 74 million
Persian is the official language of Iran and is widely spoken in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kuwait. It has over 74 million speakers worldwide. Studying Persian would facilitate you in appreciating a rich and diverse culture that produced Sufi poets such as Ferdowsi, Rumi, and Hafez, exquisite miniature paintings, fine carpets, and world-class films.
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22. Hausa
Number Of Speakers: 75 million
The natives of Nigeria known as the Hausa people are the largest ethnic group in West Africa, and they are the primary speakers of this language. Hausa comes second to Arabic in the Afro-Asiatic family of languages.
21. Vietnamese
Number Of Speakers: 77 million
Vietnamese ranks at number 21 on the 25 most spoken languages in the world, having over 77 million speakers worldwide the majority of which reside in Vietnam, where the language is native.
20. Korean
Number Of Speakers: 82 million
Learning Korean can give you access to over 82 million people worldwide.
19. Wu Chinese
Number Of Speakers: 82 million
Wu Chinese is the language of the people of Shanghai and is spoken by over 8 percent of the population of China. The language originated over 3000 years ago and is also spoken in the Chinese cities of Hangzhou, Suzhou, Ningpo, and Wenzhou.
18. Yue Chinese
Number Of Speakers: 85 million
Yue is the official language of Hong Kong and Macau. Knowing conversational Yue can help you avail yourself of academic and professional opportunities in Hong Kong, a full member of the World Trade Organization. With over 85 million speakers of Yue Chinese, it ranks among the top 20 of the 25 most spoken languages in the world.
17. Tamil
Number Of Speakers: 85 million
Tamil is a Dravidian language and is the oldest living language in the world. It is the official language in Singapore and Srilanka. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages in the constitution of India and is spoken widely in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Moreover, the language is spoken by people of Tamil descent, also known as Tamil diaspora, who are found in countries including Mauritius, South Africa, Malaysia, Fiji, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
16. Turkish
Number Of Speakers: 88 million
Recognized as one of the most important languages by the United States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Turkish is the 16th most spoken language in the world. Turkish is natively spoken in Turkey and Cyprus and is widely spoken in over 30 countries including Germany, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, the Caucasus, and other parts of Europe and Central Asia.
15. Telugu
Number Of Speakers: 96 million
Telugu is another Dravidian language and is the fourth most spoken language in India, and is among the top 20 of the 25 most spoken languages in the world. Telugu is natively spoken in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Yanam district of Puducherry. The language is also recognized as a minority language in South Africa.
Apps like Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ: DUOL), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL)'s YouTube, Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) come in handy while learning new languages.
14. Marathi
Number Of Speakers: 99 million
Marathi is a derivative of Sanskrit and is an Indo-Aryan language. The language has 99 million speakers that makes it one of the most spoken languages in the world. It also happens to be the third most spoken language in India, primarily in the states of Goa and Maharashtra. Moreover, the language is also widely spoken in Israel and Mauritius.
13. Japanese
Number Of Speakers: 126 million
Japanese is the language native to Japan and is also the official language spoken in Palau, more specifically in the state of Angaur.
12. Standard German
Number Of Speakers: 135 million
There are 135 million total speakers of the German language all across the world, meriting its place among the top 15 of the 25 most spoken languages in the world. It is the mother tongue of four countries of the European Union namely, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg. It is also the official language used to communicate in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Of the 135 million German speakers in the world, about 7.5 million people are spread in over 42 countries.
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11. Indonesian
Number Of Speakers: 199 million
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia, the fourth most populous country and 10th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, according to The World Bank.
10. Urdu
Number Of Speakers: 230 million
Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. Learning Urdu can make it easier for you to pick up other languages in the process like Hindi, Arabic, and Persian.
9. Portuguese
Number Of Speakers: 258 million
Portugal may be a small country, but the language of the country has over 258 million speakers worldwide. It shares similarities with Spanish since both are Latin-based languages. It is the 12th most spoken language in the United States and is among the top 10 of the 25 most spoken languages in the world. Apart from the U.S., Portuguese is also spoken widely in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Macau, and Mozambique.
You can easily learn Portuguese by using apps like Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ: DUOL), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL)'s YouTube, Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR).
8. Russian
Number Of Speakers: 258 million
The official language of Russia is still used by many countries, such as Poland and the Czech Republic. This explains how the language has 258 million speakers all across the globe. Russian is the 8th most spoken language in the world, and certainly worth the effort and time investment.
Russia is a resource-based economy, and estimates suggest that 50% of the natural gas used in Europe will be controlled by Russia by the year 2030. You can expand your horizons by learning Russian, as Russia is one of the largest producers of natural materials in the world. You can easily learn Russian by using apps like Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ: DUOL), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL)'s YouTube, Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR).
7. French
Number Of Speakers: 267 million
French is the official language in 29 countries. 79.6 million people speak French as their first language, and there are 187.4 million speakers who speak it as a second language. In Canada, French and English are the two official languages. In Quebec, 85.4 percent of locals speak the language as their mother tongue.
6. Bengali
Number Of Speakers: 268 million
Bengali is another Indo-Aryan language that stands among the top 10 of the 25 most spoken languages in the world.
You can easily learn Bengali by using apps like Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ: DUOL), Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL)'s YouTube, Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB) and Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR).
