What Are the 10 Most Spoken Languages in the World?

Language is the foundation of all learning, a vital skill that we learn from a young age and carry with us for the rest of our lives. Meanwhile, learning a second, or even third, new language can be a powerful tool that opens up a wealth of new opportunities in far-flung places, particularly in a world that is more globalized than ever before.

These are the top 10 most spoken languages, according to 2023 analytical statistics. When looking at language statistics, native speakers means people who were born speaking a language, or first language speakers. Total speakers refers to all of the speakers of a language, including second-language speakers, third-language speakers, and beyond.

Urdu is the tenth most spoken language in the world, with 231.3 million speakers. With a Sanskrit and Prakit-derived base of vocabulary, Urdu is the official language of Pakistan as well as several Indian states. Nepal also recognizes Urdu as a regional dialect, and it is also spoken in Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

9. Portuguese

Portuguese is in the ninth position of the world’s most spoken languages, and its speakers cover a wide geographical area. The language originated in the Iberian Peninsula, but it has traveled far. It is, of course, the official language of Portugal, and it is also officially established in eight other countries including Brazil, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and more.

8. Russian

In seventh place is the Russian language, which is spoken by 258.2 million people worldwide. It is an official language of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. While it is only officially established in those four countries, it is spoken in several other places including Estonia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Ukraine, where it is an unofficial lingua franca.

7. Bengali

The official language of Bangladesh, Bengali, is spoken by 233.7 million first-language speakers, while 272.7 million people speak the language in varying dialects worldwide. Bengali is less widespread than many of the other languages on our list, spreading from Bangladesh into certain areas of India and Burma, and as a second language in areas including Canada and the United States. However, the high numbers of Bengali speakers reveal just how highly populated this part of the world is.

Arabic as a whole is spoken across 26 different countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, but each has developed its own distinct dialects that differ from one another. Curiously, the language known as Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is rarely actually spoken in day-to-day life, as it is reserved for written form, or a means of global communication for speakers of one dialect to communicate with another. This means there are no actual native speakers of Modern Standard Arabic, but there are 274 million speakers who do use this dialect for communication. Meanwhile, if we group all the Arabic dialects, there are around 422 million native and non-native speakers worldwide.

5. French

Coming in 5th place worldwide, French has at least 300 million speakers worldwide and 79.9 million mother-tongue speakers. 29 different countries use French as their official, formal language, including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Switzerland, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Rwanda, and Senegal. Meanwhile, France has 11 Overseas Territories spread across the world which speak French, including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, and New Caledonia.

4. Spanish

According to a poll in 2022, Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the world, with 548 million speakers including first and second languages. However, Spanish has the second highest number of native speakers in the world, at 474.7 million, and is the most spoken of all the Romance languages (which are derived from ancient Rome). Looking at the world map, there are 21 different Spanish-speaking countries, including Spain, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Many others have strong Spanish-speaking communities, particularly the United States.

Studies show Hindi is the third most spoken language in the world, with approximately 615 million speakers worldwide. This statistic from the 25th edition of Ethnologue includes both first and second-language speakers. Hindi is the official language of India, and it is also spoken in numerous other countries in differing dialects. Many speak Hindi as a second language, including Mauritius, Suriname, Nepal, Trinidad, Tobago, and the United States, among others. Meanwhile, 343.9 million people speak Hindi as their first, native language.

2. Mandarin Chinese

By comparison, approximately 1.118 billion people speak Mandarin Chinese worldwide. It is the official language of Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore, while Mandarin Chinese is spoken in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, and Tibet. Chinese people and communities live all around the world and continue to speak Mandarin Chinese as either a first or second language, meaning the language is spoken in nations around the globe, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, and Madagascar. However, it is worth noting that some Chinese communities also speak Cantonese, as is the case in New York’s Chinatown. As far as native speakers go, Mandarin is much higher than English, with 929 million first-language speakers.

1. English

Including both natives and non-natives, English is the most spoken language in the world, with approximately 1.4 billion speakers. Little wonder then that English is a native language across more than 60 different countries, while many, many more are fluent in English as a second language. Intriguingly, as far as native speakers go the numbers are less; there are nearly 400 million people in the world who speak English as their mother tongue. The most prominent of these are the United States, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand.

Above are the top ten most spoken languages in the world, from English with 1.452 billion speakers to Urdu with 231.3 million speakers. Incredibly, studies suggest there are more than 7,000 different languages spoken by people all around the world. Of these thousands, only around 23 take up half of the world’s population. While languages are diverse, varied, and unique, there are also many people worldwide who share at least one language in common. In some countries, there are many official languages in the interest of supporting citizens of different backgrounds and native languages.

Originally published: September 8, 2023. Last update: September 13, 2024, by Elizabeth Berry