The world’s population now exceeds 7.7 billion and more than 6,900 languages are spoken around the world, of which only 230 are spoken in Europe compared to more than 2,000 in Asia. Papua New Guinea has a population of just 3.9 million, but 840 different languages are spoken there.
Below, we take a look at the five most widely spoken languages in the world:
1. Mandarin
Mandarin is, to this day, the most widely spoken language in the world, with 1.120 billion native speakers. It belongs to the large family of Sinitic languages, along with Wu, which is widely spoken in Shanghai (77 million speakers), Cantonese, Min, and Xiang with 36 million speakers, and Hakka and Gan with 31 million speakers. Contrary to popular belief, not all Chinese therefore speak Mandarin. Geographically, Chinese remains the official language in China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.
2. Spanish
The second most spoken language in the world is none other than Spanish, with an estimated 460 million native speakers. It is the official language of the majority of Latin American countries in addition to Spain, and a significant part of the North American population. Spanish is widely spoken in Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, and even in Equatorial Guinea, which is the only African country to have Spanish as one of its official languages alongside French and Portuguese.
3. English
Unsurprisingly, English is the third most spoken language in the world, with 380 million people using it as their mother tongue. Moreover, it remains the world's leading language if you also consider non-native speakers. More than 1 billion people speak English as a second or third language and its use is particularly important in business, travel, and international relations. More than 50 countries use English as an official language and it is also an official language in at least one country on every continent. In developing countries, fluency in English can be seen as a sign of success.
4. Hindi
Fourth place goes to Hindi, with its 340 million native speakers. Although India has 23 official languages, the main one is Hindi/Urdu. It is mainly spoken in the north of the country as well as in Nepal and a large part of Pakistan. Hindi is written using the Devanagari script, whilst Urdu is written using the Arabic-Persian script.
5. Arabic
Arabic is fifth out of the most spoken languages in the world, with the number of native speakers amounting to 319 million. Originating in the Arabian Peninsula, Arabic has several dialects that are not necessarily compatible with each other and the dialects do differ from one another. However, for convenience they have been grouped together under the term "Arabic language". The dialectal Arabic spoken in Morocco is therefore not identical to that spoken in Syria. It should also be noted that classical Arabic is considered the sacred language of Islam and during prayers; the Koran is only recited in Arabic.
and receive an answer within a few hours
- Choose the service you require
- Get a quote
- Confirm and receive your order
Your questions and answers about the top five most spoken languages in the world...
What will be the most widely spoken language in the world in 2050?
According to a study carried out by the investment bank Natixis in 2013 and a projection by INED (French Institute for Demographic Studies) which foresees an increase in the African population, it is highly likely that French will become the most widely spoken language in the world in 2050, ahead of Mandarin and English. However, Forbes pointed out that this study only considered, as French-speaking, the inhabitants of countries using French as an official language.
What is the richest language in the world?
Taking into account the number of entries in the dictionary, English comes out on top, with more than 200,000 words listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. Of these, 171,476 are in use, while 47,156 words are considered obsolete.
What is the language of the future?
Mandarin Chinese will undoubtedly be the language of the future and for several years now, the study of this language has really taken off. In addition to being the mother tongue of more than a billion people, it is also the language of a country with important demographic growth. The second most popular language in the business world, Mandarin will certainly surpass English in the future thanks to the importance of Chinese economic activity in a variety of sectors.
Comments
"Mandarin is, to this day, the most widely spoken language in the world"
This is in correct. The author of this article fails to grasp the difference between the most widely spoken NATIVE language and the most widely spoken language. English is the most widely spoken language in the world, not Mandarin. Mandarin is the most widely spoken NATIVE language in the world - very few people outside of mainland China speak Mandarin.
Although, the author of this article does mention later that English "...remains the world's leading language if you also consider non-native speakers...", he or she fails to mention that the article is only accounting for native speakers and not overall speakers. Therefore, the opening sentence should read, "Mandarin is, to this day, the most widely spoken NATIVE language in the world."
"The second most spoken language in the world is none other than Spanish."
This is also incorrect. Spanish is the FOURTH most widely spoken language in the world.
1. English
2. Mandarin
3. Hindi
4. Spanish
Spanish is the second most spoken NATIVE language, but your website fails to mention this. Precise language is important. If there is a room containing 10 individuals who speak English, but only two of whom are native speakers, there are still 10 English speakers in that room. We live in a multilingual society. The author of this article fails to convey the difference between native and non native, therefore, this listing is incorrect.
Add new comment