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This chart lists the thirty American Indian languages of Latin America which have the most native speakers. Note that this is only a chart of Native American languages, not ALL languages spoken in these countries. Among all languages, the top two languages spoken in Latin America are Spanish (with 360 million speakers) and Portuguese (with 190 million speakers.) Other non-indigenous languages with more than a million speakers in Latin America include English (with 5 million speakers) and Italian (with 2 million.)
Language name | Country/region spoken | Approximate number of speakers |
1. Quechua | Andean region of South America | 8 million |
2. Mayan languages | Mexico and Guatemala | 6 million |
3. Guarani | Paraguay and surrounding area | 5 million |
4. Aymara | Peru and Bolivia | 2.5 million |
5. Nahuatl | Mexico | 2 million |
6. Mapudungun | Chile | 500,000 |
7. Mixtec | Mexico | 475,000 |
8. Zapotec | Mexico | 450,000 |
9. Otomi | Mexico | 285,000 |
10. Totonac | Mexico | 240,000 |
11. Mazatec | Mexico | 220,000 |
12. Guajiro | Venezuela and Colombia | 200,000 |
13. Miskito | Nicaragua | 180,000 |
14. Mazahua | Mexico | 150,000 |
15. Ngäbere | Panama | 150,000 |
16. Garifuna | Honduras and surrounding area | 120,000 |
17. Chinantec | Mexico | 135,000 |
18. Mixe | Mexico | 130,000 |
19. Purepecha | Mexico | 125,000 |
20. Tlapanec | Mexico | 120,000 |
21. Tarahumara | Mexico | 85,000 |
22. Embera | Colombia and Panama | 80,000 |
23. Paez | Colombia | 60,000 |
24. Zoque | Mexico | 60,000 |
25. Ashaninka | Peru and Brazil | 50,000 |
26. Tojolabal | Mexico | 50,000 |
27. Kuna | Panama and Colombia | 50,000 |
28. Chatino | Mexico | 45,000 |
29. Huichol | Mexico | 45,000 |
30. Popoluca | Mexico | 40,000 |
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