List of languages by number of native speakers
For various estimates of the total speakers of the top languages, see List of languages by total number of speakers.
Current distribution of human language families
Half of the world's population speaks the 13 most populous languages. The following table lists the languages of the world with the largest number of native speakers as estimated by the Swedish Nationalencyklopedin (2007, 2010).
Since the distinction of language and dialect is often arbitrary, some mutually intelligible idioms with separate national standards or self-identification have been unified, including Indonesian and Malay; Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian; etc., but not Standard Hindi and Urdu.
For a list of languages with the smallest numbers of native speakers, see Lists of endangered languages.
Nationalencyklopedin
The following table contains the top 100 languages by estimated number of speakers in the 2007 edition of Nationalencyklopedin. As census methods in different countries vary to a considerable extent, and some countries do not record language in their censuses, any list of languages by native speakers, or total speakers, is based on estimates. Updated estimates from 2010 are also provided.[1]
Hindustani has been divided into the sociolinguistic units of Hindi and Urdu, while a number of northern Indian languages have been partially merged into "Hindi", reflecting self-identity reported in the Indian census. This Hindi is thus not a language in the linguistic sense.
Note: Languages with an asterisk (*) have been updated with figures from the 2010 edition of the Nationalencyklopedin.
| Language | Native name | Native speakers (millions) | % of world population | Mainly spoken in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mandarin | 官話 / 普通话 | 955* | 14.4% | China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia | Part of Chinese language family |
| Spanish | Español | 405* | 6.15% | Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Western Sahara. See List of countries where Spanish is an official language | Partially mutually intelligible with Portuguese[2][3][4] and Italian[5] |
| English | English | 360* | 5.43% | United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. See List of countries where English is an official language | |
| Hindi | हिन्दी | 310* | 4.70% | India, Nepal, and Fiji | Part of Hindi languages family. Includes approx. 100 million speakers of other Hindi languages not counted below. Mutually intelligible with Urdu. Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Arabic | العربيَّة | 295* | 4.43% | Arab League. See List of countries where Arabic is an official language. | Arabic also is a liturgical language of 1.6 billion Muslims.[6][7] The Arabic language contains many different dialects. Many are not mutually intelligible. See Varieties of Arabic |
| Portuguese | Português | 215* | 3.27% | Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Timor-Leste, and Macau. See List of countries where Portuguese is an official language | Partially mutually intelligible with Spanish[2][3][4] |
| Bengali | বাংলা | 205* | 3.11% | Bangladesh, India (West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands,[8][9] Jharkhand (secondary)), Sierra Leone[10](honorary official language), Karachi, Pakistan (as a recognized secondary language)[11][12][13] | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Russian | Русский | 155* | 2.33% | Russia, Ukraine, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. See List of countries where Russian is an official language. | Partially mutually intelligible with Ukrainian[14] and Belarusian.[14] |
| Japanese | 日本語 | 125* | 1.90% | Japan | |
| Punjabi | ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی | 102* | 1.44% | India, Pakistan (Punjab region) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| German | Deutsch | 89* | 1.39% | Germany, Austria, Belgium (Eupen-Malmedy), Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Italy (South Tyrol). See List of countries where German is an official language. | Wide dialect variety, within which many dialects are not mutually intelligible with the standard language. |
| Javanese | Basa Jawa | 82 | 1.25% | Indonesia (Java) | Javanese is the largest language without an official status anywhere (and thus the largest minority language in the world), despite being used throughout Southeast Asia and Suriname. In terms of native speakers, Javanese is also more widely spoken than Indonesia's sole official language, Bahasa Indonesia. |
| Wu | 吳語 / 吴语 | 80 | 1.20% | China (Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu) | Part of Chinese language family |
| Malay/Indonesian | Bahasa Melayu بهاس ملايو Bahasa Malaysia بهاس مليسيا Bahasa Indonesia | 77 | 1.16% | Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore | |
| Telugu | తెలుగు | 76 | 1.15% | India (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Vietnamese | Tiếng Việt | 76 | 1.14% | Vietnam | |
| Korean | 한국어 조선말 | 76 | 1.14% | North Korea, South Korea | |
| French | Français | 74 | 1.12% | France and its territories, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Haiti, Luxembourg, Algeria, Central African Republic and other Francophonie member states. See Geographical distribution of French speakers | |
| Marathi | मराठी | 73 | 1.10% | India (Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Tamil | தமிழ் | 70 | 1.06% | India (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry), Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Urdu | اُردُو | 66 | 0.99% | India, Pakistan | Mutually intelligible with Hindi. Schedule 8 official language of India also official and National Language of Pakistan. |
| Persian | فارسی | 65 | 0.99% | Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan | |
| Turkish | Türkçe | 63 | 0.95% | Turkey, Northern Cyprus | Partially mutually intelligible with Azerbaijani |
| Italian | Italiano | 59 | 0.90% | Italy, Switzerland, San Marino | |
| Cantonese | 粵語 / 粤语 | 59 | 0.89% | Mainland China (Guangdong (Canton) and southern Guangxi), Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei | Part of Chinese language family |
| Thai | ภาษาไทย | 56 | 0.85% | Thailand | |
| Gujarati | ગુજરાતી | 49 | 0.74% | India (Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Jin | 晉語 / 晋语 | 48 | 0.72% | China (Shanxi, parts of Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi) | Part of Chinese language family |
| Min Nan | 閩南語 / 闽南语 | 47 | 0.71% | Mainland China (Fujian, Guangdong, and Hainan), Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei | Part of Chinese language family |
| Polish | Polski | 40 | 0.61% | Poland | |
| Pashto | پښتو | 39 | 0.58% | Afghanistan, Pakistan | |
| Kannada | ಕನ್ನಡ | 38 | 0.58% | India (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Xiang | 湘語 / 湘语 | 38 | 0.58% | China (Hunan) | Part of Chinese language family |
| Malayalam | മലയാളം | 38 | 0.57% | India (Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mahé) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Sundanese |  | 38 | 0.57% | Indonesia (Java) | Sundanese is the second largest language (after Javanese) without an official status anywhere (not counting Chinese languages such as Wu, Yue, Jin, Min Nan, Xiang). |
| Hausa | هَرْشَن هَوْسَ | 34 | 0.52% | Nigeria | |
| Oriya | ଓଡ଼ିଆ | 33 | 0.50% | India (Odisha) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Burmese | မြန်မာစာ | 33 | 0.50% | Burma | |
| Hakka | 客家話 / 客家话 | 31 | 0.46% | China (Southern) | Part of Chinese language family |
| Ukrainian | українська мова | 30 | 0.46% | Ukraine | Partially mutually intelligible with Russian[14] and Belarusian.[14] |
| Bhojpuri | भोजपुरी | 29 | 0.43% | India (Bihar) | Part of Bihari. This is only a fraction of the speakers; the others are counted under Hindi above. |
| Tagalog | Wikang Tagalog | 28 | 0.42% | Philippines | |
| Yoruba | Èdè Yorùbá | 28 | 0.42% | Nigeria, Benin, Togo | |
| Maithili | मैथिली, মৈথিলী | 27 | 0.41% | India (Bihar), Nepal | Part of Bihari. This is only a fraction of the speakers; the others are counted under Hindi above. Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Swahili | Kiswahili | 26 | 0.39% | Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda | |
| Uzbek | Oʻzbek Ўзбек اوزبیک | 26 | 0.39% | Uzbekistan | |
| Sindhi | سنڌي सिन्धी  | 26 | 0.39% | India, Pakistan (Sindh) | Schedule 8 official language of India. Sindhi is the official language of the Pakistani province of Sindh. |
| Amharic | አማርኛ | 25 | 0.37% | Ethiopia | |
| Fula | Fulfulde | 24 | 0.37% | West and Central Africa, from Senegal to Sudan | |
| Romanian | Română | 24 | 0.37% | Romania, Moldova | |
| Oromo | Afaan Oromo | 24 | 0.36% | Ethiopia, Kenya | |
| Igbo | Asụsụ Igbo | 24 | 0.36% | Nigeria | |
| Azerbaijani | Azərbaycan | 23 | 0.34% | Azerbaijan, Iran | Partially mutually intelligible with Turkish |
| Awadhi | अवधी | 22 | 0.33% | India (Uttar Pradesh) | Part of Hindi languages family. This is only a fraction of the speakers; the others are counted under Hindi above. |
| Gan | 贛語 / 赣语 | 22 | 0.33% | China (Jiangxi) | Part of Chinese language family |
| Cebuano | Binisaya | 21 | 0.32% | Philippines (Central and Southern) | |
| Dutch | Nederlands Vlaams | 21 | 0.32% | Netherlands, Dutch Caribbean islands, Belgium (Flanders, Brussels), Suriname | Highly mutually intelligible with Afrikaans, a daughter language of Dutch spoken primarily in South Africa and Namibia |
| Kurdish | كوردی | 21 | 0.31% | “Kurdistan” (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria) | |
| Serbo-Croatian | Srpskohrvatski hrvatskosrpski српскохрватски хрватскосрпски | 19 | 0.28% | Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo | |
| Malagasy | Malagasy | 18 | 0.28% | Madagascar | |
| Saraiki | سرائیکی | 17 | 0.26% | Pakistan (Sindh) and Punjab | |
| Nepali | नेपाली | 17 | 0.25% | Nepal, India (Sikkim, Darjeeling, Assam), Bhutan, Myanmar | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Sinhalese | සිංහල | 16 | 0.25% | Sri Lanka | |
| Chittagonian | টগাঁইয়া বুলি | 16 | 0.24% | Bangladesh (Chittagong) | |
| Zhuang | Vahcuengh 话壮 | 16 | 0.24% | China (Guangxi) | Actually 13 or more languages; related to Thai, not part of Chinese language family. |
| Khmer | ភាសាខ្មែរ | 16 | 0.24% | Cambodia | |
| Assamese | অসমীয়া | 15 | 0.23% | India Assam (India) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
| Madurese | Madhura | 15 | 0.23% | Indonesia ( Madura, and Java) | |
| Somali | Af-Soomaali | 15 | 0.22% | Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Dijibouti, Yemen | |
| Marwari | मारवाड़ी | 14 | 0.21% | India, Pakistan (Rajasthan), Nepal | This is only a fraction of the speakers; the others are counted under Hindi above. |
| Magahi | मगही | 14 | 0.21% | India (Bihar) | Part of Bihari |
| Haryanvi | हरियाणवी | 14 | 0.21% | India (Haryana) | Part of Hindi languages family |
| Hungarian | Magyar | 13 | 0.19% | Hungary | |
| Chhattisgarhi | छत्तीसगढ़ी | 12 | 0.19% | India (Chhattisgarh) | Part of Hindi languages family. This is only a fraction of the speakers; the others are counted under Hindi above. |
| Greek | ελληνικά | 12 | 0.18% | Greece, Cyprus | |
| Chewa | Nyanja | 12 | 0.17% | Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe | |
| Deccan | دکنی | 11 | 0.17% | India (Deccan) | Part of Urdu |
| Akan | Twi Fante | 11 | 0.17% | Ghana, Ivory Coast | |
| Kazakh | Qazaqşa Қазақша قازاق ٴتىلى; | 11 | 0.17% | Kazakhstan | |
| Min Bei | 閩北語 / 闽北语 | 10.9 | 0.16% | China (Fujian) | Part of Chinese language family |
| Sylheti | ছিলটী | 10.7 | 0.16% | Bangladesh, India | |
| Zulu | isiZulu | 10.4 | 0.16% | South Africa | |
| Czech | Čeština | 10.0 | 0.15% | Czech Republic | |
| Kinyarwanda | Ikinyarwanda | 9.8 | 0.15% | Rwanda | Part of Rwanda-Rundi |
| Dhundhari | 9.6 | 0.15% | India (Rajasthan) | ||
| Haitian Creole | Kreyòl Ayisyen | 9.6 | 0.15% | Haiti | |
| Min Dong | 閩東語 / 闽东语 | 9.5 | 0.14% | China (Fujian) | Part of Chinese language family |
| Ilokano | 9.1 | 0.14% | Philippines (Luzon) | ||
| Quechua | 8.9 | 0.13% | Peru, Bolivia | A language family, not a language | |
| Kirundi | 8.8 | 0.13% | Burundi, Uganda | Part of Rwanda-Rundi | |
| Swedish | 8.7 | 0.13% | Sweden, Finland | ||
| Hmong | 8.4 | 0.13% | Laos | A language family, not a language | |
| Shona | 8.3 | 0.13% | Zimbabwe | ||
| Uyghur | ئۇيغۇرچە | 8.2 | 0.12% | China (Xinjiang) | |
| Hiligaynon | 8.2 | 0.12% | Philippines (Western Visayas) | ||
| Mossi | 7.6 | 0.11% | Burkina Faso | ||
| Xhosa | 7.6 | 0.11% | South Africa | ||
| Belarusian | беларусы | 7.6 | 0.11% | Belarus | Only half this many use it as their home language. Partially mutually intelligible with Russian[14] and Ukrainian.[14] |
| Balochi | بلوچی | 7.6 | 0.11% | Iran, Pakistan (Balochistan) | |
| Konkani | कोंकणी ಕೊಂಕಣಿ | 7.4 | 0.11% | India (Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra) | Schedule 8 official language of India. |
See also
- Global language system
- Linguistic demography
- Linguistic Diversity Index
- List of ISO 639-3 codes
- List of languages by total number of speakers
- List of languages by number of native speakers in India (uses a different definition of Hindi)
- List of most widely spoken languages (by number of countries)
- List of sign languages by number of native signers
- Lists of languages
- World language
References
- ↑ Nationalencyklopedin "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007. In parentheses are the 2010 estimates for the top languages.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 GAVILANES LASO, J. L. (1996) Algunas consideraciones sobre la inteligibilidad mutua hispano-portuguesa In: Actas del Congreso Internacional Luso-Español de Lengua y Cultura en la Frontera, Cáceres, Universidad de Extremadura, 175–187.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Comparação Português e Castelhano". Omniglot.com. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Algumas observações sobre a noção de língua portuguesa" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-04-23.
- ↑ Ruhlen, M. (1991). A guide to the world's languages: Classification (Vol. 1). Stanford University Press.
- ↑ "Executive Summary". The Future of the Global Muslim Population. Pew Research Center. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ↑ "Table: Muslim Population by Country | Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project". Features.pewforum.org. 2011-01-27. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
- ↑ "Profile: A&N Islands at a Glance". Andaman District. National Informatics Center. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ↑ "Andaman District". Andaman & Nicobar Police. National Informatics Center. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ↑ "Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan". eb.archive.org. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ↑ Syed Yasir Kazmi (October 16, 2009). "Pakistani Bengalis". DEMOTIX. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ↑ "کراچی کے 'بنگالی پاکستانی'(Urdu)". محمد عثمان جامعی. 17 November 2003. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ↑ "The Language Movement : An Outline". Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 Alexander M. Schenker. 1993. "Proto-Slavonic," The Slavonic Languages. (Routledge). Pp. 60–121. Pg. 60: "[The] distinction between dialect and language being blurred, there can be no unanimity on this issue in all instances..."
C.F. Voegelin and F.M. Voegelin. 1977. Classification and Index of the World's Languages (Elsevier). Pg. 311, "In terms of immediate mutual intelligibility, the East Slavic zone is a single language."
Bernard Comrie. 1981. The Languages of the Soviet Union (Cambridge). Pg. 145–146: "The three East Slavonic languages are very close to one another, with very high rates of mutual intelligibility...The separation of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian as distinct languages is relatively recent...Many Ukrainians in fact speak a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian, finding it difficult to keep the two languages apart...
External links
- Ethnologue's most recent list of languages arranged by number of speakers
- List of top 100 languages in 13th edition of Ethnologue (1996)
- Different lists of the most spoken languages (the Ethnologue list is from a previous, not the 2005, edition).
- Ethnologue – SIL's Ethnologue, widely referenced source for the world's languages
- Languages Spoken by More Than 10 Million People (Archived 2009-10-31) – Encarta list, based on data from Ethnologue, but some figures (e.g. for Arabic) widely vary from it
- Top 30 languages of the world
- 30 most widely spoken world languages
- Interactive world map of language distribution
- Map of World Languages. Download of MP3 audio files in 1600 language combinations.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||