Most Spoken Languages in the World

19 JAN 2024

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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.

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English (1,452 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.

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Mandarin (1,118 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. 

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Hindi (602+ 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.

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Spanish (548+ 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!

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French (280 million speakers)

Indeed, Arabic is a large language with many different dialects, and all Arabic speakers grow up speaking a local dialect, like Egyptian Arabic, Levantine Arabic, Mesopotamian Arabic or another local variety.

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Modern Standard Arabic (274 million speakers)

The Ram temple in Ayodhya is set to receive a bell weighing 2,400 kg. The monumental bell has been made of 'ashtadhatu' (eight metals) and costs Rs 25 lakhs. This extraordinary creation, transported via train, made its way to Ayodhya on Tuesday after its journey through various subdivisions of the Etah district.

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Bengali (272+ million speakers)

Less surprising is the inclusion of Russian among the most widely spoken languages globally considering that Russia is the largest country in the world by territory. 

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Russian (258+ million speakers)

Portuguese is another language that expanded worldwide during the European colonial period. Today, Portuguese is the official language of nine countries in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia.

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Portuguese (257+ million speakers)

Urdu is one of the two official languages in Pakistan and is also widely used in certain regions of India. The spoken part of Urdu is widely intelligible with Hindi, as both speakers can understand each other without much issue.

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Urdu (231.3 million speakers)