12 Most Spoken Languages in the World, Indonesian and Hindi Included

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As of 2024, there are an estimated number of nearly 8.2 billion people living on Earth, according to Wordometer. People come from different ethnicities and cultures and speak different languages.

Speaking of the latter, SIL's publication Ethnologue revealed that there are 6,909 distinct languages in the world. Among those numbers, some have gained global prominence, while others remain largely regional.

In this article, we will discover the most spoken languages in the world based on Ethnologue’s findings. Scroll down to read more.

1. English (1.5 billion speakers)

As the global lingua franca, English is the most widely spoken language worldwide. With approximately 1.5 billion speakers, including native and second-language speakers.

According to Berlitz, English is the official language of over 60 countries, including the United States, Ireland, Canada, and Australia.

2. Mandarin Chinese (1.1 billion speakers)

Despite its complex writing system and tonal nature, Mandarin Chinese follows after English as the most spoken language in the world. With 1.1 billion speakers, standard Mandarin Chinese is officially spoken in Mainland China and Taiwan, Britannica notes.

3. Hindi (608.8 million speakers)

Hindi, spoken by over 608 million people, belongs to the Indo-Aryan group language. While it is widely recognized as one of India's official languages, certain communities in South Africa, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Yemen, and Uganda use Hindi to communicate, Britannica points out.

4. Spanish (559.5 million speakers)

With almost 560 million speakers, Spanish is regarded as, specifically, the most spoken of the Romance languages. Citing Berlitz, 21 countries have Spanish as their official language.

While it is widely used in Latin American countries, like Mexico and Argentina, Spanish is also the second most spoken language in the United States.

5. Standard Arabic (332.5 million speakers)

Berlitz reveals that Standard Arabic is the only most-spoken language without any native speakers. This is because rather than being used in daily conversation, Standard Arabic is more an academic language you commonly find in newspapers, TV broadcasts, or official speeches/documents.

Even so, according to Forbes, learning Standard Arabic can be the foundation for you to master the numerous Arabic dialects.

6. French (311.6 million speakers)

French is another most spoken language worldwide, thanks to the influence of the French colonial empire. Besides its usage on a daily basis, French holds an important place in international diplomacy, as it is recognized as one of the official languages of the UN, European Union, and a handful of international organizations.

7. Bengali (278.2 million speakers)

Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and is also spoken in the Indian state of West Bengal. The language is part of the Indo-Iranian and has contributed to literature, music, and cinema.

8. Portuguese (263.8 million speakers)

Portuguese is spoken by over 260 million people globally. While only 5 percent of Portuguese speakers live in Portugal, the larger portions actually come from other countries, namely South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. To note, Brazil has become the largest country with the most Portuguese speakers.

9. Russian (255.4 million speakers)

Given its geographical advantage, Russian is easily one of the most spoken languages. Along with Russia, people in 19 countries, notably post-Soviet states, around the world also communicate in the Slavic language, Berlitz says.

10. Urdu (237.9 million speakers)

Urdu shares similarities with Hindi. Also belonging to the Indo-Aryan group, it is the official state language of Pakistan, according to Britannica, and has nearly 238 million speakers worldwide.

11. Indonesian (199 million speakers)

Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia, spoken by approximately 199 million people. The language derives from Malay and has been influenced by, namely, Dutch, Arabic, Sanskrit, and English.

12. Standard German (133.9 million speakers)

With more than 130 million speakers, Standard German is the official language of Germany and Austria. It is a part of the West Germanic group of the Indo-European language family and has many dialects as a spoken language.

Editor's Choice: List of 10 Musicians Who Support Kamala Harris 2024 Presidency

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News