What is the most spoken language in the world?

Ever wondered what the most widely spoken languages are in the world? Although there are currently more than 7,000 languages, more than half of the world’s population speaks 23 of them only.

The estimates claim that about 31,000 languages have existed in human history, while 6,500 are living languages within the world today. It can be proven that several hundred living and dead languages exist, but the figures become murky and simply estimations after this.

Ethnologue is an annual reference publication, which provides information and statistics for all of the world’s known living languages. Currently, the number is estimated to be 7,117, although it should be noted that it refers to the known languages and does not delve into hypotheticals existing in remote areas.

86% of people use Asian or European languages, according to The Intrepid Guide. Another interesting fact is that 150 to 200 languages are spoken by more than a million people around the world.

What’s more, there are about (depending on when you read this the person may be deceased or not) 46 languages existing that have only a single speaker of the language. Many of these are native languages to a particular region and when the language is lost it may be lost forever.

Asia as a continent by itself has close to 3,000 languages spoken. Africa, meanwhile, has 2,144 languages existing. The Americas have 1,061. The Pacific has 1,313. And, lastly Europe has the smallest number at 287 spoken languages existing today within the continent.

But which one is the most spoken language?

5 most spoken languages in the world

1. English (1,452 million speakers)

According to Ethnologue, English is the most-spoken language in the world including native and non-native speakers.

Like Latin or Greek at the time, English has become the world’s common language. It is the default language in international business, tourism, technology, and much more.

A bilingual person who speaks Spanish and English can understand 1 in 3 people who connect to the Internet. They can also access over 60% of everything published on the web.

2. Mandarin (1,118 million speakers)

Looking at total speakers, Mandarin is the second most widely spoken language in the world. However, it’s the most spoken language in the world if you count only first-language (native) speakers due to China’s significant population.

Mandarin is not actually a language, but a set of dialects of the Chinese language. What unifies these dialects under the same name is that their speakers can understand each other.

3. Hindi (602+ million speakers)

Hindi is, along with English, one of the 22 official languages of India, the second most inhabited country in the world. India’s incredible linguistic diversity (more than 121 languages coexist) explains the high rate of non-native speakers who use it as a lingua franca. In addition to India, Hindi is spoken by over a quarter of the population of Nepal!

4. Spanish (548+million speakers)

Spanish is the second most widely spoken language globally in terms of native speakers. In addition, it is the most spoken of the Romance languages and the third most used on the internet.

Spain’s enormous colonial expansion took this language not only to the Americas but also to Africa and Asia. Today, there are 21 Spanish-speaking countries in the world, with dozens more that have a significant Spanish-speaking population. Interestingly, the United States is the second country with the largest number of Spanish speakers in the world!

5. French (280+ million speakers)

Like Spanish and English, French spread throughout the world along with the French colonial empire. Today, there are 29 French-speaking countries all around the world!

If English is the language of business, then French is considered the language of culture. Its enormous importance is also reflected in the fact that it is the third language with the largest number of non-native speakers.

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