Top 15 Most Spoken Languages Worldwide

Leading the popularity charts in the top most spoken languages globally is English with over 1.3 billion users, encompassing both native and non-native speakers. Among these, non-native English speakers outnumber native speakers, with the highest concentration in Africa.

English has spread worldwide since the 17th century due to the global influence of the British Empire and the United States. Through the print and mass media of these nations, the position of the English language has been elevated to the forefront of international discourse, making it prevalent in various regions and professional contexts such as science, maritime affairs, and law.

Currently, English is a common language used in 146 countries. It is also the language used in global commercial transactions and general diplomacy. This prevalence stems from the influence of the former British Empire in previous colonial conquests and later from the impact of American culture – the nation with the world's leading economy. Prominent countries using English include: England, India, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, and Canada.

Users: 1.348 billion people

Hindi ranks among the top 10 most spoken languages globally, stemming from India's massive population, ranking third worldwide. Similar to English, Hindi is written in Devanagari script, one of the 22 official languages recognized by the Indian government.

Hindi originates from the Indo-Aryan language family, amidst the myriad of languages spoken in India, belonging to different language families. The main languages include the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages, along with Austroasiatic, Tai-Kadai, and Sino-Tibetan languages. India stands second only to Papua New Guinea in the number of languages spoken.

For beginners, understanding Hindi grammar can be challenging due to the gender assigned to all nouns, leading to changes in verbs and adjectives. However, unlike English, there are no articles like “the” or “a,” “an,” so you don't have to worry about adding them when writing or speaking. Hindi uses the Devanagari script, modeled after the ancient Brahmi script, developed between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. It contains 11 vowels and 33 consonants. The Hindi alphabet is called Varnmala. Nevertheless, it is not the national language of India, as the constitution does not specify that. The number of Hindi speakers is around 600 million people, including those in India, Pakistan, Fiji, Trinidad, Tobago, Suriname, Mauritius, Nepal, and more.

Users: 600 million people

Ranked 2nd on the list is Mandarin Chinese, with over 1.1 billion users. Mandarin has several dialects, but the most common are Standard Mandarin, Cantonese, and Wu. Among them, Standard Mandarin is the most widely used language by the majority of China's massive population, the world's most populous country. Next is Cantonese, spoken by approximately 85 million people in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and Southeast Asian countries. Lastly, Wu is used by around 82 million Chinese, predominantly in Southeastern China regions like Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang.

Mandarin Chinese is an isolating language, meaning it does not alter words in terms of ownership, manner, morphology, or number. It follows the sequence of words and uses particles to convey meaning, similar to Vietnamese and other languages in Southeast Asia. Mandarin is the native language of the Han people, the majority in China, and serves as the main or secondary language for ethnic minorities. Nearly 1.2 billion people (about 16% of the world's population) speak some variant of the Chinese language.

Users: 1.12 billion people

Securing the 5th position in the list of the most spoken languages globally is Standard Arabic, the oldest human language, with over 274 million users. Currently, Arabic is the official language in 26 countries and is the language used for Islamic rituals. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

Countries in the Middle East, such as Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, UAE, Egypt, are where Arabic is most commonly used. However, the spoken Arabic in these countries differs and is often classified into groups like Standard Arabic and Egyptian Arabic, Levantine Arabic, and Northeast African Arabic. Among these, Egyptian Arabic is the most widespread, with over 89 million users.

Standard Arabic (commonly used in Middle Eastern countries) is not only spoken but is also prevalent in written texts, the Quran, literature, business communication, media, and more. Arabic uses the abjad script, written from right to left, and is known for its intricate and eye-catching characters.
Users: 274 million people

Spanish, also known as Castilian, is spoken by 543 million people, ranking 4th in the top 10 most spoken languages globally. Of the total, approximately 471 million people use Spanish as their native language. Alongside Spain, Castilian is the official language in 21 countries across Equatorial Guinea, North America, South America, and other regions. Linguistically, Spanish belongs to the Iberian-Roman group, originating from Latin during the Roman Empire.

Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. Estimated total Spanish speakers range from 470 to 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language globally by native speakers. Spanish and Portuguese share similar grammar and vocabulary, with up to 89% of their vocabulary being alike.

Spanish is the third most commonly used language in the world (after Mandarin Chinese and English). According to 2007 language usage statistics on the Internet, Spanish is also the third most used language online, following English and Mandarin Chinese.

Users: 543 million people

Ranking 7th among the top 15 most spoken languages globally is French, with over 267 million users. It serves as the official language in 29 countries, widely spread across continents such as Europe, Africa, and the Americas. In Africa, many countries, especially in the 'Black Continent,' consider French as their second language. Some African nations, like Gabon and Ivory Coast, even designate French as their official language. In the Americas, Canada stands out, where approximately 29% of the population considers French their native language. Specific regions in Canada, such as Nunavut, Yukon, and Quebec, use French as a common language. Other countries and regions globally that use French include Congo, Haiti, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Monaco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Chad, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and more.

Characteristically, French belongs to the Indo-European language group, originating from Vulgar Latin in ancient Rome. It developed significantly in Gallo-Romance, especially in Northern Gaul. French is also renowned as one of the most romantic languages globally. The majority of French speakers reside in Africa. According to a 2018 estimate from the International Organization of the Francophonie, around 141 million people in Africa, from 34 countries and territories, speak French as their first or second language.

Users: 267 million people

Spoken by 268 million people and ranking 6th among the most widely spoken languages globally is Bengali or Bangla. This language belongs to the Indo-European language group but is also influenced by other language groups in the South Asian region, such as Tibeto-Burman and Dravidian. Additionally, it is the second most commonly used language in India and recognized as the official language in several regions of the country, including Tripura, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, West Bengal, Assam (Barak Valley), and more.

Many people speak Bengali in Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, and cities like Mumbai, Varanasi, Vrindavan, and others in India. There are also significant Bengali diaspora communities in the Middle East, Japan, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Maldives, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Italy. The history of the Bengali language is often divided into three periods: Old Bengali (900/1000–1400), influenced by Kamrupi Prakrit; Middle Bengali (1400–1800), influenced by Persian; and Modern Bengali (since 1800).

Users: 268 million people

Ranking 9th in the list of the world's most spoken languages is Portuguese, with 258 million users. Among them, native speakers account for approximately 215 million, and just under 40 million use it as a second language. Portuguese is the sole official language in Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe. It is also a co-official language in Equatorial Guinea, Macau, and East Timor.

Moreover, it is the third most widely spoken European language globally, with extensive coverage in South America, the entire Southern Hemisphere, and Latin America. It is also among the top 10 most spoken languages in Africa. Originating from the Iberian Peninsula in Europe, Portuguese belongs to the Romance language family.

According to UNESCO statistics, Portuguese and Spanish are the fastest-growing European languages after English, and Portuguese has a strong potential for international development in southern Africa and South America.[90] Portuguese-speaking African countries are expected to have a total of 83 million users by 2050. The total number of Portuguese speakers in these countries at that time is estimated to be around 335 million.

Users: 258 million people

Ranked 8th in the list of the world's most spoken languages by Ethnologue is Russian. Approximately 258 million people globally use this language, with the primary distribution being in Russia. Following are countries including Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Baltic, Caucasus, Mongolia, Israel, and Central Asia...

It is one of the six official languages recognized by the United Nations and stands second in popularity on the internet after English. Russian is the largest native language in Europe, belonging to the Indo-European language family. It is one of the surviving languages in the East Slavic group and a significant part of the larger Balto-Slavic branch, sharing linguistic roots with Ukrainian and Belarusian.

According to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, Russian is classified as a Level III language in terms of difficulty for native English speakers, requiring around 1,100 hours of instruction to achieve intermediate fluency. It is also considered a 'hard target' language by the U.S. Intelligence Community due to the challenges faced by both non-native English speakers and its crucial role in U.S. global policy.

Users: 258 million people

Ranked 11th in the top 15 most spoken languages in the world is Indonesian with over 199 million users. It is the official language in Indonesia and the second most common language in East Timor (which was a province of Indonesia from 1975 to 1999). Indonesian, also known as Bahasa Indonesia, belongs to the standardized form of Malay language, originating from the Austronesian language group (Malayo-Polynesian). Indonesian does not distinguish pronouns, lacks tones like Vietnamese, and differs slightly from Malay in the limited use of complex characters, using the Latin alphabet instead.

However, Indonesian is less complex in terms of affixes and has many exceptions, making it user-friendly for beginners learning the basics. Achieving proficiency in this language, however, requires considerable effort. Indonesians use the language in all business activities, media, and education. For people of other language-speaking ethnicities, Indonesian serves as a second language alongside their native tongue. In daily activities in major centers or tourist areas, people primarily use this language for communication.

Users: 199 million people

Following Portuguese, Urdu Language is currently one of the most widely spoken languages in the world with over 230 million users. Modern standard Urdu is the standardized and Persianized form of Hindustani. It is the official language, national language, and serves as the lingua franca of Pakistan. In India, Urdu is one of the 22 officially recognized languages by the constitution and has 6 states in the country where it is considered an official language such as Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir.

In terms of characteristics, Urdu Language is nearly intelligible with Standard Hindi, as both languages are standardized from Hindustani. However, in terms of writing system and vocabulary, Urdu uses the script of Persian-Indian origin. Additionally, Urdu vocabulary is influenced by Prakrit, Pali, English, Arabic, and Persian. Urdu is seen as a tool serving political and religious purposes. During the rule of Islamic dynasties, Urdu was encouraged to be spread as a means of uniting society and reconciling relationships between Muslims and Hindus. When the British colonized India, they did the same.

Users: 230 million people

Ranking 13th in the list of the most spoken languages globally is Japanese Language, with over 126 million users. It serves as the official language in Japan and is widely used in Japanese diaspora communities worldwide. Japanese belongs to the East Asian language group and is considered one of the most challenging languages to learn globally. This complexity is attributed to its intricate writing system with three different scripts, coupled with a complex system of honorifics, hierarchical address, and various verb forms and vocabulary.

The majority of approximately 50,000 Chinese characters have been incorporated into Japanese language. Alongside, there are characters created by the Japanese themselves. For example, the character 峠 (touge) is composed of 3 characters: mountain, upper, lower, meaning a mountain pass. However, in daily life, it is not necessary to memorize a large number of Chinese characters. Currently, each person should remember around 1945 characters in the commonly used Chinese character list, regulated by the Japanese Ministry of Education and translated by Do Thong Minh. Despite its difficulty, with the economic, technological, educational, and entertainment advancements in Japan, there has been a significant increase in the number of people worldwide wanting to immigrate to this country for study and work. This has created opportunities for a substantial growth in the number of Japanese language speakers globally.

Users: 126 million people

Ranked among the top 15 most spoken languages globally is German with 135 million users. It is the native language most commonly used in Europe, considered the official language in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Austria, South Tyrol (Italy), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Opole Voivodeship (Poland). In the United States, German is the third most commonly taught language after Spanish and French. German also holds the third position in popularity on the internet, following English and Russian. In the field of science, German research documents currently rank second globally.

When starting to learn a new language, each of us encounters various challenges in adapting and familiarizing ourselves with the language, from grammar to communication. However, in terms of difficulty, German is not the hardest language globally, ranking below Arabic, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Hungarian. Nevertheless, compared to English, German has many differences – some points you should know when exploring the German language. Additionally, you need to prepare yourself mentally before truly delving into learning German, as perseverance is essential to achieve the ultimate goal, especially since most people are not exposed to this language from an early age like English.

Users: 135 million people

Ranked 15th among the most spoken languages globally is Telugu with over 96 million users. Telugu is a native Dravidian language. Alongside Hindi, English, and Bengali, it holds the official status in more than one state. It serves as the primary language in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with significant minority communities in other states. Recognized as one of the six classical languages by the Indian government, speakers simply refer to it as Telugu or Telugoo. Older forms include Teluṅgu, Tenuṅgu, and Teliṅga. In the 13th century, Atharvana Acharya wrote a Telugu grammar called Trilinga Śabdānusāsana, and in the 17th century, Appa Kavi emphasized its Trilinga origin. Charles P. Brown, a scholar, noted it as an 'odd notion' since Appa Kavi's predecessors were unaware of such an origin. Known as the 'Italian of the East,' Telugu's nouns often end with vowels. While traditionally no spaces existed between words in written Telugu, modern usage incorporates English punctuation.

Users: 96 million people

Ranking 14th among the most spoken languages globally is Marathi with over 99 million users. A language derived from Sanskrit, within the Indo-Aryan language group, predominantly spoken by the Marathi people in Maharashtra, India. It holds official status in this region and is co-official in Goa, two states in Western India.

Marathi is primarily spoken in Maharashtra and neighboring states such as Gujarat (in Surat, Vadodara), Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka. The Maratha, who once ruled cities like Baroda, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Tanjore, left a significant Marathi-speaking population over the centuries. Marathi is also spoken by Maharashtrian migrants in various parts of India and abroad. For instance, those from Western India migrated to Mauritius in the early 19th century, and they continue to speak Marathi.

There are also Marathi speakers in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh in India. Brief overview of Marathi: Native name: मराठी (Marāṭhī) [məˈɾaʈʰi] Language family: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Southern Indo-Aryan, Maharashtri, Marathi-Konkani Number of speakers: 95.3 million Spoken in: India, USA, Australia, Israel, Canada, UK, New Zealand First written: 739 CE Writing system: Balbodh Devanagari (current), Modi, Kadamba (historical). Marathi speakers are also found in the US (73,600), Australia (13,100), Israel (11,000), and several other countries. Marathi is also known as Maharashtra, Maharathi, Malhatee, Marthi, and Muruthu. It is considered the descendant of Maharashtri, one of the Prakrit languages that developed from Pali around the 3rd century BCE.

Users: 99 million people