List of languages by total number of speakers: Difference between revisions
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| [[Indonesian/ |
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| [[Punjabi]] |
| [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] |
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Revision as of 12:06, 13 June 2008
This is the list of languages by the total number of speakers. Estimation of the total number of speakers can vary: highest, usual and lowest estimation. Some languages like Arabic and French also include creoles and other variants and these are considered during the process of evaluating.
Highest Estimation
| Language | Total number of speakers (million) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| English | 1800 | 1 |
| Chinese (all dialects) | 1300 | 2 |
| Hindustani | 905 | 3 |
| Arabic (all variants) | 873 | 4 |
| French• | 600 | 5 |
| Spanish | 500 | 6 |
| Russian | 285 | 7 |
| Portuguese | 230 | 8 |
| Bengali | 230 | 8 |
| Indonesian/Malay | 200 | 9 |
| Punjabi | 191 | 10 |
| German | 185 | 11 |
| Farsi | 144 | 12 |
| Japanese | 130 | 13 |
| Italian | 120 | 14 |
Usual Estimation
| Language | Total number of speakers (million) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese (all dialects) | 1120 | 1 |
| English | 480 | 2 |
| Spanish | 320 | 3 |
| Russian | 285 | 4 |
| French | 265 | 5 |
| Hindustani¶ | 250 | 6 |
| Arabic↓ | 221 | 7 |
| Portuguese | 188 | 8 |
| Bengali | 185 | 9 |
| German | 170 | 10 |
| Japanese | 133 | 11 |
• Creoles and third language speakers in the Magrheb area are considered as these aren't included in the native speakers' list or most language lists. Augmentation of speakers is especially apparent upon the rapid rise of population in Africa.
¶ Hindi and Urdu are essentially the same language, Hindustani. As the official language of Pakistan it is written in modified Arabic script and thus called Urdu. As the official language of India it is written in the Devanagari script and called Hindi.
↓ Includes 16 variants of the Arabic language.
See Also
Sources
[1] http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm