English-speaking world

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The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions which use the English language to one degree or another.

The English-speaking world. Countries in dark blue have a majority of native speakers. Countries in light blue have English as an official language, de jure or de facto.
The English-speaking world. Countries in dark blue have a majority of native speakers. Countries in light blue have English as an official language, de jure or de facto.

[edit] Number of native speakers by country

Country Native speakers
1 Flag of the United States United States 214,809,000[1]
2 Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom 58,200,000[2]
3 Flag of Canada Canada 18,232,195[3]
4 Flag of Australia Australia 15,581,334[4]
5 Flag of Ireland Ireland 4,200,000+ (approx.)[2]
6 Flag of South Africa South Africa 3,673,203[5]
7 Flag of New Zealand New Zealand 3,500,000+ (approx.)[6]
8 Flag of Singapore Singapore 665,087[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003, Section 1 Population (pdf) (English) 59 pages. U.S. Census Bureau. Table 47 gives the figure of 214,809,000 for those five years old and over who speak exclusively English at home. Based on the American Community Survey, these results exclude those living communally (such as college dormitories, institutions, and group homes), and by definition exclude native English speakers who speak more than one language at home.
  2. ^ a b The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, Second Edition, Crystal, David; Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, [1995 (2003-08-03).]
  3. ^ Population by mother tongue and age groups, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data, Census 2006, Statistics Canada.
  4. ^ [1] Main Language Spoken at Home. The figure is the number of people who only speak English at home.
  5. ^ Census in Brief, page 15 (Table 2.5), 2001 Census, Statistics South Africa.
  6. ^ Languages spoken, 2006 Census, Statistics New Zealand. No figure is given for the number of native speakers, but it would be somewhere between the number of people who spoke English only (3,008,058) and the total number of English speakers (3,673,623), if one ignores the 197,187 people who did not provide a usable answer.
  7. ^ 2000 Census. Native speakers aged 5 or more

[edit] Related articles

Languages