Most spoken languages in the world

In today's globalized world, learning a second language has become essential, offering numerous opportunities for both personal and professional development. In this blog post, we will explore which languages have the largest number of speakers, both in terms of native speakers and those learning the language as a foreign language.

English  

In 2024, about 1.52 billion people worldwide speak English. Although it has the most speakers globally, only 25% of them are native speakers, with the rest having learned it as a second language. English is spoken in 186 countries, making it the most widely spread language in the world [2]. English also dominates online media, with over half of all websites (52.1%) using it for their content [3].

Chinese (Mandarin)

Mandarin Chinese is the second most spoken language in the world, but unlike English, it has the highest number of native speakers — 941 million, nearly 2.5 times more than English [2]. According to Ethnologue.com [2], 79% of Chinese speakers live in China, and only 199 million people have learned Mandarin as a foreign language, reflecting its more limited reach, — Chinese is spoken in 83 countries. Despite its vast number of speakers, only 1.3% of websites had content in Chinese as of January 2024 [3].

Hindi

Although India has 22 officially recognized languages, Hindi is the most widely spoken, with 52.83% of Indians speaking it. In contrast, Bengali and Marathi, the second and third most spoken languages in the country, together account for only 18.02% of speakers [4]. With 345 million native speakers and 609 million speakers overall [2], Hindi ranks as the third most spoken language in the world. Like Mandarin, Hindi is primarily concentrated in Asia. It has only a minor (less than 0.5%) presence online [3].

Spanish 

In 2024, Spanish is spoken by 560 million people, with fewer than 1/7 of those being foreigners. Surprisingly, Spanish has about 100 million more native speakers than English [2]. It’s either the official or national language in 21 countries, mostly in Latin America, and it’s the second most widely spoken language online [3]. Spanish also has around 11 dialects, with "Spanglish" being a common variation that blends Spanish and English [5].

Arabic

Like Chinese and Spanish, Arabic has a wide range of dialects that vary from Morocco to Oman. In total, Arabic is spoken by 422 million people around the world, with 313 million being native speakers [7]. However, it’s not widely used online, with only 0.6% of content available in Arabic [3].

French 

As of June 2022, there were 321 million French speakers worldwide, with 41% being non-native speakers. French is an official language in 32 countries, and about two-thirds of its speakers live across Africa [6]. French is the sixth most used language online, accounting for 4.3% of content [3].

Bengali

As the official language of Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India [4], Bengali is used by 273 million people, with 230 million being native speakers [10]. However, like Hindi, its presence online is minimal, making up less than 0.5% of content [3].

Portuguese 

Portuguese is the 8th most-spoken language globally [1], the 6th most-spoken native language, and the 3rd most-spoken European language in terms of native speakers [8]. There are 264 million native speakers and 36 million learners [8]. Despite its wide use around the world, Portuguese has a relatively low online presence, making up only 3.1% of content [3].

Russian

Although Russia is the largest country in the world, it doesn’t have as many speakers compared to some of the previously mentioned languages. In total, 255 million people have mastered Russian and 148 million native speakers, making it the #9 most spoken language and the #7 most spoken language by native speakers. Russian is predominantly used in post-Soviet countries like Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan due to historical ties. It is the fourth most used language online, representing 4.3% of content [3].

Urdu

There are nearly 232 million Urdu speakers in total [1], but less than one-third are native speakers [11]. Urdu is primarily used in Pakistan, where it serves as both the national and lingua franca. However, like Hindi and Bengali, its presence online is minimal, making up less than 0.5% of content [3].

Interesting facts:

• By learning English and Spanish, you can communicate with nearly 2 billion people worldwide, about 25% of the global population. Combining English with Chinese allows you to connect with over 2.4 billion people.  
• Despite the widespread use of English, the Indo-Iranian language family, which includes Hindi and Bengali, has the most speakers overall.
• There’s growing mutual interest between Russia and China: around 120,000 Chinese students are learning Russian, while about 113,000 Russians are studying Chinese [9].

Ready to pursue your language learning journey? 

ICLS is your gateway to language proficiency and cultural understanding. Our private language classes are held both online and in-person in 85+ languages (including all the languages listed above), while our Online Group Program offers a wide range of group language classes on a budget in Arabic, Chinese, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Our highly experienced teachers create a dynamic learning environment through interactive and engaging classes. With a focus on communicative exercises and lively discussions, you’ll build the skills needed to confidently communicate in real-world situations. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to expand your language skills and open doors to new possibilities.

Sources

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/266808/the-most-spoken-languages-worldwide/

[2] ​​https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/most-spoken-language/

[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/262946/most-common-languages-on-the-internet/

[4] https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/most-spoken-languages-in-india-by-number-of-speakers-1541764100-1 

[5] https://www.languagetesting.com/blog/how-many-spanish-dialects-are-there/#:~:text=However%2C%20most%20experts%20recognize%20between,of%20why%20estimates%20can%20vary.

[6] https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/francophony-and-the-french-language/the-french-language-in-figures/

[7] https://industryarabic.com/how-many-countries-speak-arabic/ 

[8]  Statistics, in Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2024). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (27th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.

[9]  https://www.languagemagazine.com/2024/07/12/young-russians-learning-chinese/

[10] https://celt.indiana.edu/portal/Bengali/index.html 

[11] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Urdu-language