Indo-European · ISO 639-3 eng · en
English Language
English is an Indo-European language spoken by about 1.27 billion people in 151 countries. It is an official language of India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Canada, Sudan and 79 more. It is written in the Latin, Deseret and Shavian scripts.
Where English is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak English
Language family
- Indo-European
- Classical Indo-European
- Germanic
- Northwest Germanic
- West Germanic
- North Sea Germanic
- Anglo-Frisian
- Anglic
- Later Anglic
- Middle-Modern English
- Macro-English
- English
Writing system
Latin, Deseret and Shavian scripts
Related languages
All 151 countries
| Country | Speakers | Share | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
 United States | 328,284,480 | 96% | De facto official |
 India | 267,734,700 | 19% | Official |
 Pakistan | 126,182,000 | 50% | Official |
 Nigeria | 125,475,910 | 53% | Official |
 Philippines | 75,697,280 | 64% | Official |
 United Kingdom | 67,089,918 | 98% | Official |
 Germany | 53,836,224 | 64% | — |
 Ethiopia | 50,976,500 | 43% | — |
 Tanzania | 46,548,849 | 69% | Official |
 Egypt | 38,936,450 | 35% | — |
 Canada | 33,751,476 | 87% | Official |
 Sudan | 30,785,053 | 61% | Official |
 Bangladesh | 30,365,460 | 18% | — |
 France | 26,666,094 | 39% | — |
 Australia | 25,697,856 | 96% | De facto official |
 Indonesia | 23,000,000 | 8.17% | — |
 Italy | 20,728,066 | 34% | — |
 Thailand | 18,878,670 | 27% | — |
 South Africa | 18,737,206 | 31% | Official |
 Brazil | 17,604,160 | 8% | — |
 Mexico | 16,996,200 | 13% | — |
 Netherlands | 15,995,160 | 90% | — |
 Iraq | 14,729,190 | 35% | — |
 Türkiye | 14,300,315 | 17% | — |
 Malawi | 13,710,879 | 63% | Official |
 Poland | 12,786,279 | 33% | — |
 Cameroon | 11,767,118 | 38% | Official |
 Spain | 11,347,296 | 24% | — |
 Kenya | 11,066,816 | 19% | Official |
 Sweden | 9,107,228 | 86% | — |
 Israel | 7,992,227 | 85% | — |
 Ghana | 7,263,711 | 21% | Official |
 Malaysia | 7,258,608 | 21% | — |
 Zimbabwe | 7,203,168 | 42% | Official |
 Belgium | 7,066,784 | 59% | — |
 Austria | 6,546,625 | 73% | — |
 Romania | 5,625,942 | 31% | — |
 Russia | 5,351,198 | 3.8% | — |
 Greece | 5,335,161 | 51% | — |
 Madagascar | 5,301,486 | 18% | Official |
 Morocco | 5,234,264 | 14% | — |
 Denmark | 5,136,900 | 86% | — |
 Ireland | 5,128,790 | 98% | Official |
 New Zealand | 5,057,985 | 98% | De facto official |
 Jordan | 5,028,300 | 45% | — |
 Papua New Guinea | 5,023,100 | 50% | Official |
 United Arab Emirates | 5,016,100 | 50% | — |
 Singapore | 4,822,768 | 80% | Official |
 Liberia | 4,512,917 | 83% | Official |
 Switzerland | 3,987,256 | 45% | — |
 Finland | 3,938,487 | 70% | — |
 Eritrea | 3,742,936 | 59% | Official |
 Hong Kong | 3,721,888 | 51% | Official |
 South Sudan | 3,429,999 | 27% | Official |
 Zambia | 3,327,856 | 16% | Official |
 Algeria | 3,291,575 | 7% | — |
 Argentina | 3,289,608 | 7% | — |
 Sierra Leone | 3,192,367 | 35% | Official |
 Kazakhstan | 3,039,000 | 15% | — |
 Czechia | 2,926,233 | 27% | — |
 Yemen | 2,892,636 | 9% | — |
 Jamaica | 2,767,235 | 98% | Official |
 Portugal | 2,755,944 | 27% | — |
 Sri Lanka | 2,198,260 | 10% | — |
 Lebanon | 2,145,792 | 40% | — |
 Rwanda | 2,043,495 | 15% | Official |
 Croatia | 2,033,558 | 49% | — |
 Botswana | 1,985,042 | 81% | Official |
 Hungary | 1,971,150 | 20% | — |
 Uganda | 1,922,037 | 3.9% | Official |
 Chile | 1,773,146 | 9.5% | — |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,709,401 | 45% | — |
 Bulgaria | 1,695,665 | 25% | — |
 Puerto Rico | 1,479,530 | 49% | De facto official |
 Slovakia | 1,446,549 | 26% | — |
 Trinidad and Tobago | 1,239,893 | 88% | Official |
 Slovenia | 1,237,755 | 59% | — |
 Gambia | 1,009,332 | 40% | Official |
 Lithuania | 998,712 | 38% | — |
 Cyprus | 963,986 | 73% | — |
 Mauritius | 943,560 | 72% | Official |
 Nepal | 933,672 | 3% | — |
 Eswatini | 910,472 | 80% | Official |
 Fiji | 894,514 | 94% | Official |
 Latvia | 828,575 | 46% | — |
 Guyana | 794,099 | 100% | Official |
 Solomon Islands | 726,799 | 100% | Official |
 Panama | 625,833 | 14% | — |
 Lesotho | 601,438 | 27% | Official |
 Estonia | 596,895 | 50% | — |
 Guatemala | 565,911 | 3.1% | — |
 Malta | 413,362 | 88% | Official |
 Bahamas | 410,862 | 100% | Official |
 Luxembourg | 375,902 | 56% | — |
 Belize | 320,157 | 77% | Official |
 Barbados | 304,139 | 100% | Official |
 Maldives | 291,643 | 75% | — |
 Vanuatu | 263,945 | 83% | Official |
 Namibia | 196,256 | 7% | Official |
 Guam | 154,274 | 91% | De facto official |
 Saint Lucia | 151,234 | 90% | Official |
 Macau | 148,217 | 23% | — |
 Kiribati | 116,545 | 100% | Official |
 Grenada | 110,036 | 96% | Official |
 Jersey | 98,217 | 95% | Official |
 Bhutan | 97,300 | 11% | — |
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 96,621 | 96% | Official |
 Isle of Man | 92,269 | 100% | Official |
 Antigua and Barbuda | 88,265 | 86% | Official |
 Virgin Islands | 78,282 | 75% | De facto official |
 Marshall Islands | 76,270 | 93% | Official |
 Dominica | 70,181 | 94% | Official |
 Guernsey | 67,787 | 100% | Official |
 Bermuda | 66,976 | 92% | Official |
 Cayman Islands | 65,319 | 98% | Official |
 China | 63,721 | 0% | — |
 Turks and Caicos Islands | 59,230 | 98% | Official |
 Micronesia | 56,773 | 57% | Official |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis | 54,030 | 98% | Official |
 Northern Mariana Islands | 49,584 | 97% | De facto official |
 American Samoa | 42,578 | 97% | De facto official |
 Honduras | 41,928 | 0.44% | — |
 British Virgin Islands | 39,299 | 98% | Official |
 Seychelles | 37,311 | 38% | Official |
 Sint Maarten | 31,426 | 68% | Official |
 Tonga | 29,368 | 28% | Official |
 Gibraltar | 23,746 | 80% | Official |
 Anguilla | 18,445 | 95% | Official |
 Sao Tome and Principe | 10,954 | 4.9% | — |
 Nauru | 9,397 | 95% | Official |
 Dominican Republic | 8,003 | 0.07% | — |
 Brunei | 7,870 | 1.6% | — |
 Cook Islands | 7,761 | 100% | Official |
 Burundi | 6,251 | 0.05% | Official |
 Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha | 5,401 | 68% | Official |
 Samoa | 4,385 | 2.1% | Official |
 British Indian Ocean Territory | 3,500 | 100% | Official |
 Montserrat | 3,499 | 64% | Official |
 Aruba | 3,001 | 2.4% | — |
 Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | 2,819 | 77% | Official |
 Andorra | 2,561 | 3% | — |
 Palau | 1,880 | 8.6% | Official |
 Norfolk Island | 1,678 | 96% | Official |
 Christmas Island | 1,404 | 83% | Official |
 Niue | 1,120 | 56% | Official |
 Tuvalu | 1,067 | 9.1% | Official |
 Tokelau | 625 | 38% | Official |
 Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 189 | 3.7% | — |
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands | 100 | 17% | De facto official |
 Pitcairn Islands | 46 | 92% | Official |
 Curacao | — | — | — |
About the English language
English is spoken by about 1.27 billion people, which makes it the 2nd most spoken language in the world — just behind Mandarin Chinese (1.29 billion) and ahead of Hindi (544 million). It belongs to the Indo-European language family and, more precisely, to the Macro-English group within the Germanic branch.
Where is English spoken?
English is used in 151 countries. The largest communities live in United States (328 million), India (268 million), Pakistan (126 million), Nigeria (125 million) and Philippines (76 million). More than half of the population speaks it in Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Canada, Sudan, Malawi, Ireland, Papua New Guinea and 68 more — the places where travellers will hear it everywhere.
Share of the population that speaks English: United States 96% (328 million), India 19% (268 million), Pakistan 50% (126 million), Nigeria 53% (125 million), Philippines 64% (76 million) and United Kingdom 98% (67 million).
English is an official language in 87 countries: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Canada, Sudan, South Africa, Malawi, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and 72 more.
Writing system and status
English is written in the Latin, Deseret and Shavian scripts. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Nigerian Pidgin, Krio, Tok Pisin, Ghanaian Pidgin English, Jamaican Creole English, Cameroon Pidgin and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-1 en, ISO 639-3 eng.
Frequently asked questions about English
How many people speak English?
Where is English spoken?
In which countries is English an official language?
What language family does English belong to?
Is English an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.