| Country | LANGUAGES(%) |
|---|
| Afghanistan |
Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 80% (Dari functions as the lingua franca), Pashto (official) 47%, Uzbek 11%, English 5%, Turkmen 2%, Urdu 2%, Pashayi 1%, Nuristani 1%, Arabic 1%, Balochi, Shughni, Pamiri, Hindi, Russian, German, French <.5% each, don't know/refused <1%
note 1: data represent most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because there is much bilingualism in the country and because respondents were allowed to select more than one language
note 2: the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them (2017 est.)
|
| Akrotiri |
English, Greek
|
| Albania |
Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Romani, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
|
| Algeria |
Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Berber or Tamazight (official); dialects include Kabyle Berber (Taqbaylit), Shawiya Berber (Tacawit), Mzab Berber, Tuareg Berber (Tamahaq)
|
| American Samoa |
Samoan 88.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 3.9%, Tongan 2.7%, other Pacific islander 3%, other 1.8%
note: most people are bilingual (2010 est.)
|
| Andorra |
Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese
|
| Angola |
Portuguese 71.2% (official), Umbundu 23%, Kikongo 8.2%, Kimbundu 7.8%, Chokwe 6.5%, Nhaneca 3.4%, Nganguela 3.1%, Fiote 2.4%, Kwanhama 2.3%, Muhumbi 2.1%, Luvale 1%, other 3.6%
note: most widely spoken languages; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2014 est.)
|
| Anguilla |
English (official)
|
| Antigua and Barbuda |
English (official), Antiguan creole
|
| Argentina |
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French, indigenous (Mapudungun, Quechua)
|
| Armenia |
Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurdish (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1% (2011 est.)
|
| Aruba |
Papiamento (official) (a creole language that is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, and, to a lesser extent, French, as well as elements of African languages and the language of the Arawak) 69.4%, Spanish 13.7%, English (widely spoken) 7.1%, Dutch (official) 6.1%, Chinese 1.5%, other 1.7%, unspecified 0.4% (2010 est.)
|
| Australia |
English 76.8%, Mandarin 1.6%, Italian 1.4%, Arabic 1.3%, Greek 1.2%, Cantonese 1.2%, Vietnamese 1.1%, other 10.4%, unspecified 5% (2011 est.)
|
| Austria |
German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in South Carinthia, and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 est.)
|
| Azerbaijan |
Azerbaijani (Azeri) (official) 92.5%, Russian 1.4%, Armenian 1.4%, other 4.7% (2009 est.)
|
| Bahamas, The |
English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
|
| Bahrain |
Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu
|
| Bangladesh |
Bangla 98.8% (official, also known as Bengali), other 1.2% (2011 est.)
|
| Barbados |
English (official), Bajan (English-based creole language, widely spoken in informal settings)
|
| Belarus |
Russian (official) 70.2%, Belarusian (official) 23.4%, other 3.1% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities), unspecified 3.3% (2009 est.)
|
| Belgium |
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%
|
| Belize |
English 62.9% (official), Spanish 56.6%, Creole 44.6%, Maya 10.5%, German 3.2%, Garifuna 2.9%, other 1.8%, unknown 0.3%, none 0.2% (cannot speak)
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2010 est.)
|
| Benin |
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)
|
| Bermuda |
English (official), Portuguese
|
| Bhutan |
Sharchhopka 28%, Dzongkha (official) 24%, Lhotshamkha 22%, other 26% (includes foreign languages) (2005 est.)
|
| Bolivia |
Spanish (official) 60.7%, Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, foreign languages 2.4%, Guarani (official) 0.6%, other native languages 0.4%, none 0.1%
note: Bolivia's 2009 constitution designates Spanish and all indigenous languages as official; 36 indigenous languages are specified, including a few that are extinct (2001 est.)
|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Bosnian (official) 52.9%, Serbian (official) 30.8%, Croatian (official) 14.6%, other 1.6%, no answer 0.2% (2013 est.)
|
| Botswana |
Setswana 77.3%, Sekalanga 7.4%, Shekgalagadi 3.4%, English (official) 2.8%, Zezuru/Shona 2%, Sesarwa 1.7%, Sembukushu 1.6%, Ndebele 1%, other 2.8% (2011 est.)
|
| Brazil |
Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language)
note: less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
|
| British Virgin Islands |
English (official)
|
| Brunei |
Malay (Bahasa Melayu) (official), English, Chinese dialects
|
| Bulgaria |
Bulgarian (official) 76.8%, Turkish 8.2%, Romani 3.8%, other 0.7%, unspecified 10.5% (2011 est.)
|
| Burkina Faso |
French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population
|
| Burma |
Burmese (official)
note: minority ethnic groups have their own languages
|
| Burundi |
Kirundi 29.7% (official), Kirundi and other language 9.1%, French (official) and French and other language 0.3%, Swahili and Swahili and other language 0.2% (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area), English (official) and English and other language 0.06%, more than 2 languages 3.7%, unspecified 56.9%
note: data represent language read and written by people 10 years of age or older; spoken Kirundi is widespread (2008 est.)
|
| Cabo Verde |
Portuguese (official), Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
|
| Cambodia |
Khmer (official) 96.3%, other 3.7% (2008 est.)
|
| Cameroon |
24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
|
| Canada |
English (official) 58.7%, French (official) 22%, Punjabi 1.4%, Italian 1.3%, Spanish 1.3%, German 1.3%, Cantonese 1.2%, Tagalog 1.2%, Arabic 1.1%, other 10.5% (2011 est.)
|
| Cayman Islands |
English (official) 90.9%, Spanish 4%, Filipino 3.3%, other 1.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)
|
| Central African Republic |
French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages
|
| Chad |
French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects
|
| Chile |
Spanish 99.5% (official), English 10.2%, indigenous 1% (includes Mapudungun, Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui), other 2.3%, unspecified 0.2%
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2012 est.)
|
| China |
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
note: Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)
|
| Christmas Island |
English (official), Chinese, Malay
|
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
Malay (Cocos dialect), English
|
| Colombia |
Spanish (official)
|
| Comoros |
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (official; a blend of Swahili and Arabic) (Comorian)
|
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
|
| Congo, Republic of the |
French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)
|
| Cook Islands |
English (official) 86.4%, Cook Islands Maori (Rarotongan) (official) 76.2%, other 8.3%
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2011 est.)
|
| Costa Rica |
Spanish (official), English
|
| Cote d'Ivoire |
French (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken
|
| Croatia |
Croatian (official) 95.6%, Serbian 1.2%, other 3% (including Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and Albanian), unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)
|
| Cuba |
Spanish (official)
|
| Curacao |
Papiamento (official) (a creole language that is a mixture of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English, and, to a lesser extent, French, as well as elements of African languages and the language of the Arawak) 81.2%, Dutch (official) 8%, Spanish 4%, English (official) 2.9%, other 3.9% (2001 census)
|
| Cyprus |
Greek (official) 80.9%, Turkish (official) 0.2%, English 4.1%, Romanian 2.9%, Russian 2.5%, Bulgarian 2.2%, Arabic 1.2%, Filipino 1.1%, other 4.3%, unspecified 0.6%
note: data represent only the government-controlled area of Cyprus (2011 est.)
|
| Czechia |
Czech (official) 95.4%, Slovak 1.6%, other 3% (2011 census)
|
| Denmark |
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language
|
| Dhekelia |
English, Greek
|
| Djibouti |
French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
|
| Dominica |
English (official), French patois
|
| Dominican Republic |
Spanish (official)
|
| Ecuador |
Spanish (Castilian) 93% (official), Quechua 4.1%, other indigenous 0.7%, foreign 2.2%
note: (Quechua and Shuar are official languages of intercultural relations; other indigenous languages are in official use by indigenous peoples in the areas they inhabit) (2010 est.)
|
| Egypt |
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
|
| El Salvador |
Spanish (official), Nawat (among some Amerindians)
|
| Equatorial Guinea |
Spanish (official) 67.6%, other (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) 32.4% (1994 census)
|
| Eritrea |
Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages
|
| Estonia |
Estonian (official) 68.5%, Russian 29.6%, Ukrainian 0.6%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
|
| Ethiopia |
Oromo (official working language in the State of Oromiya) 33.8%, Amharic (official national language) 29.3%, Somali (official working language of the State of Sumale) 6.2%, Tigrigna (Tigrinya) (official working language of the State of Tigray) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Gurage 2%, Afar (official working language of the State of Afar) 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, Gedeo 1.3%, Opuuo 1.2%, Kafa 1.1%, other 8.1%, English (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (2007 est.)
|
| European Union |
Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish
note: only the 24 official languages are listed; German, the major language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is the most widely spoken mother tongue - about 16% of the EU population; English is the most widely spoken foreign language - about 38% of the EU population is conversant with it (2012)
|
| Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
English 89%, Spanish 7.7%, other 3.3% (2006 est.)
|
| Faroe Islands |
Faroese 93.8% (derived from Old Norse), Danish 3.2%, other 3% (2011 est.)
|
| Fiji |
English (official), Fijian (official), Hindustani
|
| Finland |
Finnish (official) 88.3%, Swedish (official) 5.3%, Russian 1.4%, other 5% (2016 est.)
|
| France |
French (official) 100%, declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish, Occitan, Picard)
overseas departments: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect)
|
| French Polynesia |
French (official) 70%, Polynesian (official) 28.2%, other 1.8% (2012 est.)
|
| Gabon |
French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
|
| Gambia, The |
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
|
| Gaza Strip |
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
|
| Georgia |
Georgian (official) 87.6%, Azeri 6.2%, Armenian 3.9%, Russian 1.2%, other 1%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia (2014 est.)
|
| Germany |
German (official)
note: Danish, Frisian, Sorbian, and Romani are official minority languages; Low German, Danish, North Frisian, Sater Frisian, Lower Sorbian, Upper Sorbian, and Romani are recognized as regional languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
|
| Ghana |
Asante 16%, Ewe 14%, Fante 11.6%, Boron (Brong) 4.9%, Dagomba 4.4%, Dangme 4.2%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.9%, Kokomba 3.5%, Akyem 3.2%, Ga 3.1%, other 31.2%
note: English is the official language (2010 est.)
|
| Gibraltar |
English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
|
| Greece |
Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1%
|
| Greenland |
Greenlandic (East Inuit) (official), Danish (official), English
|
| Grenada |
English (official), French patois
|
| Guam |
English 43.6%, Filipino 21.2%, Chamorro 17.8%, other Pacific island languages 10%, Asian languages 6.3%, other 1.1% (2010 est.)
|
| Guatemala |
Spanish (official) 68.9%, Maya languages 30.9% (K'iche 8.7%, Q'eqchi 7%, Mam 4.6%, Kaqchikel 4.3%, other 6.3%), other 0.3% (includes Xinca and Garifuna)
note: the 2003 Law of National Languages officially recognized 23 indigenous languages, including 21 Maya languages, Xinka, and Garifuna (2001 est.)
|
| Guernsey |
English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts
|
| Guinea-Bissau |
Crioulo (lingua franca), Portuguese (official; largely used as a second or third language), Pular (a Fula language), Mandingo
|
| Guinea |
French (official)
note: each ethnic group has its own language
|
| Guyana |
English (official), Guyanese Creole, Amerindian languages (including Caribbean and Arawak languages), Indian languages (including Caribbean Hindustani, a dialect of Hindi), Chinese (2014 est.)
|
| Haiti |
French (official), Creole (official)
|
| Holy See (Vatican City) |
Italian, Latin, French, various other languages
|
| Honduras |
Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects
|
| Hong Kong |
Cantonese (official) 88.9%, English (official) 4.3%, Mandarin (official) 1.9%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 1.9% (2016 est.)
|
| Hungary |
Hungarian (official) 99.6%, English 16%, German 11.2%, Russian 1.6%, Romanian 1.3%, French 1.2%, other 4.2%
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; Hungarian is the mother tongue of 98.9% of Hungarian speakers (2011 est.)
|
| Iceland |
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
|
| India |
Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
note: English enjoys the status of subsidiary official language but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language (2001 est.)
|
| Indonesia |
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (of which the most widely spoken is Javanese)
note: more than 700 languages are used in Indonesia
|
| Iran |
Persian (official), Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic, other
|
| Iraq |
Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect), Syriac (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian are official in areas where native speakers of these languages constitute a majority of the population)
|
| Ireland |
English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official, spoken by approximately 39.8% of the population as of 2016; mainly spoken in areas along Ireland's western coast known as gaeltachtai, which are officially recognized regions where Irish is the predominant language)
|
| Isle of Man |
English, Manx Gaelic (about 2% of the population has some knowledge)
|
| Israel |
Hebrew (official), Arabic (used officially for Arab minority), English (most commonly used foreign language)
|
| Italy |
Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
|
| Jamaica |
English, English patois
|
| Japan |
Japanese
|
| Jersey |
English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)
|
| Jordan |
Arabic (official), English (widely understood among upper and middle classes)
|
| Kazakhstan |
Kazakh (official, Qazaq) 74% (understand spoken language), Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 94.4% (understand spoken language) (2009 est.)
|
| Kenya |
English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
|
| Kiribati |
I-Kiribati, English (official)
|
| Korea, North |
Korean
|
| Korea, South |
Korean, English (widely taught in junior high and high school)
|
| Kosovo |
Albanian (official) 94.5%, Bosnian 1.7%, Serbian (official) 1.6%, Turkish 1.1%, other 0.9% (includes Romani), unspecified 0.1%
note: in municipalities where a community's mother tongue is not one of Kosovo's official languages, the language of that community may be given official status according to the 2006 Law on the Use of Languages (2011 est.)
|
| Kuwait |
Arabic (official), English widely spoken
|
| Kyrgyzstan |
Kyrgyz (official) 71.4%, Uzbek 14.4%, Russian (official) 9%, other 5.2% (2009 est.)
|
| Laos |
Lao (official), French, English, various ethnic languages
|
| Latvia |
Latvian (official) 56.3%, Russian 33.8%, other 0.6% (includes Polish, Ukrainian, and Belarusian), unspecified 9.4%
note: data represent language usually spoken at home (2011 est.)
|
| Lebanon |
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
|
| Lesotho |
Sesotho (official) (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
|
| Liberia |
English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages few of which can be written or used in correspondence
|
| Libya |
Arabic (official), Italian, English (all widely understood in the major cities); Berber (Nafusi, Ghadamis, Suknah, Awjilah, Tamasheq)
|
| Liechtenstein |
German 94.5% (official) (Alemannic is the main dialect), Italian 1.1%, other 4.3% (2010 est.)
|
| Lithuania |
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other 0.9%, unspecified 3.5% (2011 est.)
|
| Luxembourg |
Luxembourgish (official administrative and judicial language and national language (spoken vernacular)) 55.8%, Portuguese 15.7%, French (official administrative, judicial, and legislative language) 12.1%, German (official administrative and judicial language) 3.1%, Italian 2.9%, English 2.1%, other 8.4% (2011 est.)
|
| Macau |
Cantonese 80.1%, Mandarin 5.5%, other Chinese dialects 5.3%, Tagalog 3%, English 2.8%, Portuguese 0.6%, other 2.8%
note: Chinese and Portuguese are official languages (2016 est.)
|
| Macedonia |
Macedonian (official) 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Romani 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 est.)
note: minority languages are co-official with Macedonian in municipalities where they are spoken by at least 20% of the population; Albanian is co-official in Tetovo, Brvenica, Vrapciste, and other municipalities; Turkish is co-official in Centar Zupa and Plasnica; Romani is co-official in Suto Orizari; Aromanian is co-official in Drusevo; Serbian is co-official in Cucer Sandevo
|
| Madagascar |
French (official), Malagasy (official), English
|
| Malawi |
English (official), Chichewa (common), Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chilomwe, Chinkhonde, Chingoni, Chisena, Chitonga, Chinyakyusa, Chilambya
|
| Malaysia |
Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note: Malaysia has 134 living languages - 112 indigenous languages and 22 non-indigenous languages; in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
|
| Maldives |
Dhivehi (official, dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English (spoken by most government officials)
|
| Mali |
French (official), Bambara 46.3%, Peul/Foulfoulbe 9.4%, Dogon 7.2%, Maraka/Soninke 6.4%, Malinke 5.6%, Sonrhai/Djerma 5.6%, Minianka 4.3%, Tamacheq 3.5%, Senoufo 2.6%, Bobo 2.1%, unspecified 0.7%, other 6.3%
note: Mali has 13 national languages in addition to its official language (2009 est.)
|
| Malta |
Maltese (official) 90.1%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.9% (2005 est.)
|
| Marshall Islands |
Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language
|
| Mauritania |
Arabic (official and national), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French
note: the spoken Arabic in Mauritania differs considerably from the modern standard Arabic used for official written purposes or in the media; the Mauritanian dialect, which incorporates many Berber words, is referred to as Hassaniya
|
| Mauritius |
Creole 86.5%, Bhojpuri 5.3%, French 4.1%, two languages 1.4%, other 2.6% (includes English, the official language of the National Assembly, which is spoken by less than 1% of the population), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
|
| Mexico |
Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%
note: indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)
|
| Micronesia, Federated States of |
English (official and common language), Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi
|
| Moldova |
Moldovan/Romanian 80.2% (official) (56.7% identify their mother tongue as Moldovan, which is virtually the same as Romanian; 23.5% identify Romanian as their mother tongue), Russian 9.7%, Gagauz 4.2% (a Turkish language), Ukrainian 3.9%, Bulgarian 1.5%, Romani 0.3%, other 0.2% (2014 est.)
note: data represent mother tongue
|
| Monaco |
French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque
|
| Mongolia |
Mongolian 90% (official) (Khalkha dialect is predominant), Turkic, Russian (1999)
|
| Montenegro |
Serbian 42.9%, Montenegrin (official) 37%, Bosnian 5.3%, Albanian 5.3%, Serbo-Croat 2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 4% (2011 est.)
|
| Montserrat |
English
|
| Morocco |
Arabic (official), Berber languages (Tamazight (official), Tachelhit, Tarifit), French (often the language of business, government, and diplomacy)
|
| Mozambique |
Emakhuwa 25.3%, Portuguese (official) 10.7%, Xichangana 10.3%, Cisena 7.5%, Elomwe 7%, Echuwabo 5.1%, other Mozambican languages 30.1%, other 0.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2007 est.)
|
| Namibia |
Oshivambo languages 48.9%, Nama/Damara 11.3%, Afrikaans 10.4% (common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population), Otjiherero languages 8.6%, Kavango languages 8.5%, Caprivi languages 4.8%, English (official) 3.4%, other African languages 2.3%, other 1.7%
note: Namibia has 13 recognized national languages, including 10 indigenous African languages and 3 Indo-European languages (2011 est.)
|
| Nauru |
Nauruan 93% (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English 2% (widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes), other 5% (includes I-Kiribati 2% and Chinese 2%)
note: percentages represent main language spoken at home; Nauruan is spoken by 95% of the population, English by 66%, and other languages by 12% (2011 est.)
|
| Nepal |
Nepali (official) 44.6%, Maithali 11.7%, Bhojpuri 6%, Tharu 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.2%, Magar 3%, Bajjika 3%, Urdu 2.6%, Avadhi 1.9%, Limbu 1.3%, Gurung 1.2%, other 10.4%, unspecified 0.2%
note: 123 languages reported as mother tongue in 2011 national census; many in government and business also speak English (2011 est.)
|
| Netherlands |
Dutch (official)
note: Frisian is an official language in Fryslan province; Frisian, Low Saxon, Limburgish, Romani, and Yiddish have protected status under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages; Dutch is the official language of the three special municipalities of the Caribbean Netherlands, English is a recognized regional language on Sint Eustatius and Saba, and Papiamento is a recognized regional language on Bonaire
|
| New Caledonia |
French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
|
| New Zealand |
English (de facto official) 89.8%, Maori (de jure official) 3.5%, Samoan 2%, Hindi 1.6%, French 1.2%, Northern Chinese 1.2%, Yue 1%, other or not stated 20.5%, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official)
note: shares sum to 120.8% due to multiple responses on census (2013 est.)
|
| Nicaragua |
Spanish (official) 95.3%, Miskito 2.2%, Mestizo of the Caribbean coast 2%, other 0.5%
note: English and indigenous languages found on the Caribbean coast (2005 est.)
|
| Nigeria |
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages
|
| Niger |
French (official), Hausa, Djerma
|
| Niue |
Niuean (official) 46% (a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan), Niuean and English 32%, English (official) 11%, Niuean and others 5%, other 6% (2011 est.)
|
| Norfolk Island |
English (official) 67.6%, other 32.4% (includes Norfolk 23.7% - also known as Norfuk or Norf'k - which is a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian) (2011 est.)
|
| Northern Mariana Islands |
Philippine languages 32.8%, Chamorro (official) 24.1%, English (official) 17%, other Pacific island languages 10.1%, Chinese 6.8%, other Asian languages 7.3%, other 1.9% (2010 est.)
|
| Norway |
Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
note: Sami is an official language in nine municipalities
|
| Oman |
Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
|
| Pakistan |
Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Saraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashto (alternate name, Pashtu) 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
|
| Palau |
Palauan (official on most islands) 65.2%, other Micronesian 1.9%, English (official) 19.1%, Filipino 9.9%, Chinese 1.2%, other 2.8%
note: Sonsoralese is official in Sonsoral; Tobian is official in Tobi; Angaur and Japanese are official in Angaur (2015 est.)
|
| Panama |
Spanish (official), indigenous languages (including Ngabere (or Guaymi), Buglere, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Naso (or Teribe), and Bri Bri), Panamanian English Creole (similar to Jamaican English Creole; a mixture of English and Spanish with elements of Ngabere; also known as Guari Guari and Colon Creole), English, Chinese (Yue and Hakka), Arabic, French Creole, other (Yiddish, Hebrew, Korean, Japanese)
note: many Panamanians are bilingual
|
| Papua New Guinea |
Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 839 indigenous languages spoken (about 12% of the world's total); many languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers
note: Tok Pisin, a creole language, is widely used and understood; English is spoken by 1%-2%; Hiri Motu is spoken by less than 2%
|
| Paraguay |
Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
|
| Peru |
Spanish (official) 84.1%, Quechua (official) 13%, Aymara (official) 1.7%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages (includes a large number of minor Amazonian languages) 0.7%, other (includes foreign languages and sign language) 0.2% (2007 est.)
|
| Philippines |
Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
|
| Pitcairn Islands |
English (official), Pitkern (mixture of an 18th century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect)
|
| Poland |
Polish (official) 98.2%, Silesian 1.4%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.3%
note: data represents the language spoken at home; shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census; Poland ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2009 recognizing Kashub as a regional language, Czech, Hebrew, Yiddish, Belarusian, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian, Slovak, and Ukrainian as national minority languages, and Karaim, Lemko, Romani (Polska Roma and Bergitka Roma), and Tatar as ethnic minority languages (2011 est.)
|
| Portugal |
Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used)
|
| Puerto Rico |
Spanish, English
|
| Qatar |
Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
|
| Romania |
Romanian (official) 85.4%, Hungarian 6.3%, Romani 1.2%, other 1%, unspecified 6.1% (2011 est.)
|
| Russia |
Russian (official) 85.7%, Tatar 3.2%, Chechen 1%, other 10.1%
note: data represent native language spoken (2010 est.)
|
| Rwanda |
Kinyarwanda (official, universal Bantu vernacular) 93.2%, French (official) <.1, English (official) <.1, Swahili (or Kiswahili, used in commercial centers) <.1, more than one language, other 6.3%, unspecified 0.3% (2002 est.)
|
| Saint Barthelemy |
French (primary), English
|
| Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha |
English
|
| Saint Kitts and Nevis |
English (official)
|
| Saint Lucia |
English (official), French patois
|
| Saint Martin |
French (official), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles)
|
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
French (official)
|
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
English, French patois
|
| Samoa |
Samoan (Polynesian) (official), English
|
| San Marino |
Italian
|
| Sao Tome and Principe |
Portuguese 98.4% (official), Forro 36.2%, Cabo Verdian 8.5%, French 6.8%, Angolar 6.6%, English 4.9%, Lunguie 1%, other (including sign language) 2.4%
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2012 est.)
|
| Saudi Arabia |
Arabic (official)
|
| Senegal |
French (official), Wolof, Pular, Jola, Mandinka, Serer, Soninke
|
| Serbia |
Serbian (official) 88.1%, Hungarian 3.4%, Bosnian 1.9%, Romani 1.4%, other 3.4%, undeclared or unknown 1.8%
note: Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Ruthenian (Rusyn) are official in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (2011 est.)
|
| Seychelles |
Seychellois Creole (official) 89.1%, English (official) 5.1%, French (official) 0.7%, other 3.8%, unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.)
|
| Sierra Leone |
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
|
| Singapore |
Mandarin (official) 36.3%, English (official) 29.8%, Malay (official) 11.9%, Hokkien 8.1%, Cantonese 4.1%, Tamil (official) 3.2%, Teochew 3.2%, other Indian languages 1.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.1%, other 1.1% (2010 est.)
|
| Sint Maarten |
English (official) 67.5%, Spanish 12.9%, Creole 8.2%, Dutch (official) 4.2%, Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 2.2%, French 1.5%, other 3.5% (2001 census)
|
| Slovakia |
Slovak (official) 78.6%, Hungarian 9.4%, Roma 2.3%, Ruthenian 1%, other or unspecified 8.8% (2011 est.)
|
| Slovenia |
Slovenian (official) 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4%, Italian (official, only in municipalities where Italian national communities reside), Hungarian (official, only in municipalities where Hungarian national communities reside) (2002 census)
|
| Solomon Islands |
Melanesian pidgin (in much of the country is lingua franca), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages
|
| Somalia |
Somali (official, according to the 2012 Transitional Federal Charter), Arabic (official, according to the 2012 Transitional Federal Charter), Italian, English
|
| South Africa |
isiZulu (official) 22.7%, isiXhosa (official) 16%, Afrikaans (official) 13.5%, English (official) 9.6%, Sepedi (official) 9.1%, Setswana (official) 8%, Sesotho (official) 7.6%, Xitsonga (official) 4.5%, siSwati (official) 2.5%, Tshivenda (official) 2.4%, isiNdebele (official) 2.1%, sign language 0.5%, other 1.6% (2011 est.)
|
| South Sudan |
English (official), Arabic (includes Juba and Sudanese variants), regional languages include Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Zande, Shilluk
|
| Spain |
Castilian Spanish (official nationwide) 74%, Catalan (official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community (where it is known as Valencian)) 17%, Galician (official in Galicia) 7%, Basque (official in the Basque Country and in the Basque-speaking area of Navarre) 2%, Aranese (official in the northwest corner of Catalonia (Vall d'Aran) along with Catalan, <5,000 speakers)
note: Aragonese, Aranese Asturian, Basque, Calo, Catalan, Galician, and Valencian are recognized as regional languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
|
| Sri Lanka |
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (official and national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English, spoken competently by about 10% of the population, is commonly used in government and is referred to as the link language in the constitution
|
| Sudan |
Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur
|
| Suriname |
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is the native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
|
| Svalbard |
Norwegian, Russian
|
| Swaziland |
English (official, used for government business), siSwati (official)
|
| Sweden |
Swedish (official)
note: Finnish, Sami, Romani, Yiddish, and Meankieli are official minority languages
|
| Switzerland |
German (or Swiss German) (official) 63%, French (official) 22.7%, Italian (official) 8.1%, English 4.9%, Portuguese 3.7%, Albanian 3%, Serbo-Croatian 2.4%, Spanish 2.2%, Romansch (official) 0.5%, other 7.1%
note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages; totals more than 100% because some respondents indicated more than one main language (2015 est.)
|
| Syria |
Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, English
|
| Taiwan |
Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
|
| Tajikistan |
Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
note: different ethnic groups speak Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Pashto
|
| Tanzania |
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
|
| Thailand |
Thai (official) 90.7%, Burmese 1.3%, other 8%
note: English is a secondary language of the elite (2010 est.)
|
| Timor-Leste |
Tetun Prasa 30.6%, Mambai 16.6%, Makasai 10.5%, Tetun Terik 6.1%, Baikenu 5.9%, Kemak 5.8%, Bunak 5.5%, Tokodede 4%, Fataluku 3.5%, Waima'a 1.8%, Galoli 1.4%, Naueti 1.4%, Idate 1.2%, Midiki 1.2%, other 4.5%
note: data represent population by mother tongue; Tetun and Portuguese are official languages; Indonesian and English are working languages; there are about 32 indigenous languages
|
| Togo |
French (official, the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north)
|
| Tokelau |
Tokelauan 88.1% (a Polynesian language), English 48.6%, Samoan 26.7%, Tuvaluan 11.2%, Kiribati 1.5%, other 2.8%, none 2.8%, unspecified 0.8%
note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2016 ests.)
|
| Tonga |
English and Tongan 87%, Tongan (official) 10.7%, English (official) 1.2%, other 1.1%, unspecified 0.03% (2006 est.)
|
| Trinidad and Tobago |
English (official), Trinidadian Creole English, Tobagonian Creole English, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Trinidadian Creole French, Spanish, Chinese
|
| Tunisia |
Arabic (official, one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce), Berber (Tamazight)
note: despite having no official status, French plays a major role in the country and is spoken by about two-thirds of the population
|
| Turkey |
Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages
|
| Turkmenistan |
Turkmen (official) 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
|
| Turks and Caicos Islands |
English (official)
|
| Tuvalu |
Tuvaluan (official), English (official), Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
|
| Uganda |
English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
|
| Ukraine |
Ukrainian (official) 67.5%, Russian (regional language) 29.6%, ther (includes small Crimean Tatar-, Moldovan/Romanian-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities) 2.9% (2001 est.)
note: 2012 legislation enables a language spoken by at least 10% of an oblast's population to be given the status of "regional language," allowing for its use in courts, schools, and other government institutions; Ukrainian remains the country's only official nationwide language
|
| United Arab Emirates |
Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
|
| United Kingdom |
English
note: the following are recognized regional languages: Scots (about 30% of the population of Scotland), Scottish Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland), Welsh (about 20% of the population of Wales), Irish (about 10% of the population of Northern Ireland), Cornish (some 2,000 to 3,000 in Cornwall) (2012 est.)
|
| United States |
English 79%, Spanish 13%, other Indo-European 3.7%, Asian and Pacific island 3.4%, other 1% (2015 est.)
note: data represent the language spoken at home; the US has no official national language, but English has acquired official status in 32 of the 50 states; Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii, and 20 indigenous languages are official in Alaska
|
| Uruguay |
Spanish (official), Portunol, Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)
|
| Uzbekistan |
Uzbek (official) 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
note: in the Karakalpakstan Republic, both the Karakalpak language and Uzbek have official status
|
| Vanuatu |
local languages (more than 100) 63.2%, Bislama (official; creole) 33.7%, English (official) 2%, French (official) 0.6%, other 0.5% (2009 est.)
|
| Venezuela |
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
|
| Vietnam |
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer, mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
|
| Virgin Islands |
English 71.6%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 17.2%, French or French Creole 8.6%, other 2.5% (2010 est.)
|
| Wallis and Futuna |
Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language) 58.9%, Futunian 30.1%, French (official) 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census)
|
| West Bank |
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
|
| Western Sahara |
Standard Arabic (national), Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
|
| World |
Mandarin Chinese 12.2%, Spanish 5.8%, English 4.6%, Arabic 3.6%, Hindi 3.6%, Portuguese 2.8%, Bengali 2.6%, Russian 2.3%, Japanese 1.7%, Punjabi, Western 1.2%, Javanese 1.2% (2016 est.)
note 1: percents are for "first language" speakers only; the six UN languages - Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Russian, and Spanish (Castilian) - are the mother tongue or second language of about half of the world's population, and are the official languages in more than half the states in the world; some 300 languages have more than a million first-language speakers
note 2: all told, there are an estimated 7,100 languages spoken in the world; approximately 80% of these languages are spoken by less than 100,000 people; about 130 languages are spoken by less than 10 people; communities that are isolated from each other in mountainous regions often develop multiple languages; Papua New Guinea, for example, boasts about 840 separate languages
note 3: approximately 2,300 languages are spoken in Asia, 2,140, in Africa, 1,310 in the Pacific, 1,060 in the Americas, and 290 in Europe (2016)
|
| Yemen |
Arabic (official)
note: a distinct Socotri language is widely used on Socotra Island and Archipelago; Mahri is still fairly widely spoken in eastern Yemen
|
| Zambia |
Bembe 33.4%, Nyanja 14.7%, Tonga 11.4%, Lozi 5.5%, Chewa 4.5%, Nsenga 2.9%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda (North Western) 1.9%, Kaonde 1.8%, Lala 1.8%, Lamba 1.8%, English (official) 1.7%, Luvale 1.5%, Mambwe 1.3%, Namwanga 1.2%, Lenje 1.1%, Bisa 1%, other 9.7%, unspecified 0.2%
note: Zambia is said to have over 70 languages, although many of these may be considered dialects; all of Zambia's major languages are members of the Bantu family (2010 est.)
|
| Zimbabwe |
Shona (official; most widely spoken), Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken), English (official; traditionally used for official business), 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa)
|
