Languages · 7,929 languages in the database

Languages of the World: Most Spoken Languages

Q: How many languages are there in the world?

About 7,028 living languages (ISO 639-3), plus 834 extinct ones.

Q: What is the most spoken language in the world?

Mandarin Chinese with 1.29 billion speakers, followed by English (1.27 billion) and Hindi (544 million).

Q: Which country has the most languages?

Papua New Guinea with about 845 living languages, followed by Indonesia (691) and Nigeria (499).

Humanity speaks about 7,028 living languages, but half the world uses just a couple of dozen of them. 2,174 languages are endangered. Explore the 555 biggest languages, their families and where they are spoken.

7,028

Living languages

2,174

Endangered languages

219

Language families

1.29 billion

Speakers of Mandarin Chinese

Most spoken languages

1.29 billion

1.27 billion

544 million

485 million

335 million

300 million

288 million

254 million

208 million

200 million

First- and second-language speakers.

Indo-European
Sino-Tibetan
Afro-Asiatic
Atlantic-Congo
Austronesian
Turkic
Dravidian
Other families

The 555 biggest languages of the world

Rank	Language	Speakers	Family	Official in	Status
1	Mandarin Chinese	1.29 billion	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
2	English	1.27 billion	Indo-European	87	Safe
3	Hindi	544 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
4	Spanish	485 million	Indo-European	21	Safe
5	Standard Arabic	335 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
6	Bengali	300 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
7	Urdu	288 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
8	Portuguese	254 million	Indo-European	10	Safe
9	French	208 million	Indo-European	39	Safe
10	Panjabi	200 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
11	Indonesian	199 million	Austronesian	1	Safe
12	Russian	170 million	Indo-European	5	Safe
13	Japanese	128 million	Japonic	1	Safe
14	Western Panjabi	113 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
15	Telugu	95 million	Dravidian	—	Safe
16	Marathi	93 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
17	German	92 million	Indo-European	6	Safe
18	Javanese	91 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
19	Vietnamese	85 million	Austroasiatic	1	Safe
20	Wu Chinese	84 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
21	Swahili	82 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
22	Turkish	82 million	Turkic	2	Safe
23	Caribbean Javanese	82 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
24	Tamil	82 million	Dravidian	2	Safe
25	Yue Chinese	79 million	Sino-Tibetan	1	Safe
26	Egyptian Arabic	78 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
27	Korean	77 million	Koreanic	2	Safe
28	Filipino	66 million	Austronesian	1	Safe
29	Italian	65 million	Indo-European	4	Safe
30	Jinyu Chinese	63 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
31	Gujarati	60 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
32	Thai	55 million	Tai-Kadai	1	Safe
33	Iranian Persian	53 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
34	Bhojpuri	52 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
35	Min Nan Chinese	50 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
36	Kannada	49 million	Dravidian	—	Safe
37	Hakka Chinese	48 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
38	Nigerian Pidgin	48 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
39	Levantine Arabic	44 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
40	Hausa	44 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
41	Algerian Arabic	42 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
42	Malayalam	42 million	Dravidian	—	Safe
43	Xiang Chinese	40 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
44	Polish	40 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
45	Sindhi	38 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
46	Yoruba	38 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
47	Sudanese Arabic	37 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
48	Amharic	36 million	Afro-Asiatic	1	Safe
48	Burmese	36 million	Sino-Tibetan	1	Safe
50	Odia	35 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
51	Maithili	34 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
52	Sundanese	32 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
53	Moroccan Arabic	31 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
54	Ukrainian	29 million	Indo-European	1	Threatened
55	Igbo	28 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
55	Northern Uzbek	28 million	Turkic	—	Safe
55	Saraiki	28 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
58	N'Ko	27 million	Artificial Language	—	Extinct
59	Cebuano	26 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
60	Antankarana Malagasy	25 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
60	Awadhi	25 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
60	Saidi Arabic	25 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
63	Romanian	24 million	Indo-European	2	Safe
64	Dutch	24 million	Indo-European	6	Safe
65	Gan Chinese	24 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
65	North Azerbaijani	24 million	Turkic	—	Safe
65	South Azerbaijani	24 million	Turkic	—	Safe
68	Tagalog	24 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
69	Marwari (India)	22 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
70	Northern Pashto	21 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
71	Magahi	21 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
72	Lingala	20 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
73	Assamese	17 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
73	Central Atlas Tamazight	17 million	Afro-Asiatic	1	Threatened
73	Madurese	17 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
73	Mesopotamian Arabic	17 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
73	Northeastern Thai	17 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
78	Rangpuri	17 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
79	Khmer	17 million	Austroasiatic	1	Safe
80	Chhattisgarhi	16 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
81	Somali	16 million	Afro-Asiatic	1	Safe
82	Haryanvi	16 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
82	Nepali	16 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
82	Sinhala	16 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
82	Turkmen	16 million	Turkic	1	Safe
86	Modern Greek (1453-)	15 million	Indo-European	2	Safe
87	Southern Pashto	15 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
88	Northern Kurdish	15 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
89	Nigerian Fulfulde	15 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
90	Bavarian	14 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
91	Tajik	14 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
91	Zulu	14 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
93	Sylheti	14 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
94	Kazakh	13 million	Turkic	1	Safe
95	Chichewa	13 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
95	Chittagonian	13 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
95	Deccan	13 million	—	—	—
95	Sanaani Arabic	13 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
95	Tsonga	13 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
100	Hungarian	13 million	Uralic	1	Safe
101	Swedish	12 million	Indo-European	2	Safe
102	Kinyarwanda	12 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
103	Shona	12 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
103	Ta'izzi-Adeni Arabic	12 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
105	Tunisian Arabic	12 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
106	Low German	12 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
107	Central Kurdish	11 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
108	Hijazi Arabic	11 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
108	Min Bei Chinese	11 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
108	Wolof	11 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
111	Rundi	11 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
112	Czech	11 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
113	Norwegian Bokmål	11 million	—	1	—
114	Uighur	10 million	Turkic	—	Safe
115	Afrikaans	10 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
115	Min Dong Chinese	10 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
117	Tigrinya	10 million	Afro-Asiatic	1	Safe
118	Iloko	10 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
118	Malvi	10 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
118	Nande	10 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
118	North Mesopotamian Arabic	10 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
118	Swiss German	10 million	Indo-European	2	Threatened
118	Xhosa	10 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
124	Luba-Lulua	9.8 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
125	Dari	9.6 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
125	Dhundari	9.6 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
125	Haitian	9.6 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
128	Belarusian	9.5 million	Indo-European	1	Threatened
129	Umbundu	9.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
130	Hebrew	9.3 million	Afro-Asiatic	1	Safe
131	Central Kanuri	9.3 million	Saharan	—	Safe
132	Hiligaynon	9.2 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
133	Congo Swahili	9.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
133	Kikuyu	9.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
135	Bambara	9.0 million	Mande	—	Safe
135	Bulgarian	9.0 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
135	Serbian	9.0 million	—	3	—
135	Twi	9.0 million	—	—	—
139	Catalan	8.5 million	Indo-European	1	Threatened
140	Sichuan Yi	8.4 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
141	Mossi	8.3 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
142	Kimbundu	8.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
143	Bagheli	8.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
143	Minangkabau	8.0 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
143	Tachelhit	8.0 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
146	Standard Moroccan Tamazight	7.8 million	—	—	—
147	Neapolitan	7.5 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
148	Makhuwa	7.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
149	Kanauji	7.4 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
150	Santali	7.3 million	Austroasiatic	—	Threatened
151	Eastern Maninkakan	7.1 million	Mande	—	Safe
152	Croatian	7.0 million	—	2	—
152	Sadri	7.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
152	Tumbuka	7.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
152	Varhadi-Nagpuri	7.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
156	Kashmiri	6.9 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
157	Armenian	6.7 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
158	Northern Thai	6.6 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
159	Central Pashto	6.5 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
160	Southern Sotho	6.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
161	Krio	6.3 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
162	Mewati	6.1 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
163	Danish	6.0 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
163	Lambadi	6.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
163	Slovak	6.0 million	Indo-European	1	Threatened
163	Tswana	6.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
167	Wolaytta	5.8 million	Ta-Ne-Omotic	—	Safe
168	Betawi	5.6 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
168	Ganda	5.6 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
168	Libyan Arabic	5.6 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
171	Kabyle	5.6 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Threatened
172	Southern Thai	5.5 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
173	Sukuma	5.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
174	Finnish	5.4 million	Uralic	1	Safe
175	Bemba (Zambia)	5.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
175	Kituba (Democratic Republic of Congo)	5.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
177	Northeastern Dinka	5.3 million	Nilotic	—	Safe
178	Pedi	5.3 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
179	Lao	5.2 million	Tai-Kadai	1	Safe
180	Halh Mongolian	5.2 million	Mongolic-Khitan	—	Safe
180	Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)	5.2 million	Nilotic	—	Safe
180	Tatar	5.2 million	Turkic	—	Safe
180	Tok Pisin	5.2 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
184	Hadrami Arabic	5.1 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
185	Buginese	5.0 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
186	Ghanaian Pidgin English	5.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
186	Koongo	5.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
186	Mewari	5.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
186	Sicilian	5.0 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
190	Paraguayan Guaraní	4.9 million	Tupian	—	Safe
191	Balinese	4.8 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
191	Mainfränkisch	4.8 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
193	Huizhou Chinese	4.6 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
193	Sango	4.6 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
195	Kirghiz	4.6 million	Turkic	1	Safe
196	Eastern Oromo	4.5 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
197	Pulaar	4.5 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
198	Tarifit	4.4 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
199	Norwegian Nynorsk	4.3 million	—	1	—
200	Goan Konkani	4.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
200	Mazanderani	4.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
200	Southern Uzbek	4.2 million	Turkic	—	Safe
200	Tichurong	4.2 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
204	Bukit Malay	4.1 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
204	Gheg Albanian	4.1 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
204	Kamba (Kenya)	4.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
207	Banjar	4.0 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
207	Lithuanian	4.0 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
207	Merwari	4.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
207	Northern Hindko	4.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
207	S'gaw Karen	4.0 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
212	Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo	3.9 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
212	Gilaki	3.9 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
212	Lombard	3.9 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
212	Zarma	3.9 million	Songhay	—	Safe
216	Bosnian	3.8 million	—	1	—
216	Sidamo	3.8 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
216	Southern Balochi	3.8 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
219	Hassaniyya	3.8 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
220	Achinese	3.7 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
220	Chuanqiandian Cluster Miao	3.7 million	Hmong-Mien	—	Safe
220	Georgian	3.7 million	Kartvelian	1	Safe
220	Shekhawati	3.7 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
224	Garhwali	3.6 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
224	Shan	3.6 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
226	Bangala	3.5 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
226	Galician	3.5 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
228	Hmong Daw	3.4 million	Hmong-Mien	—	Safe
228	Pattani Malay	3.4 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
228	Peripheral Mongolian	3.4 million	Mongolic-Khitan	—	Threatened
228	Tiv	3.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
232	Bhili	3.3 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
233	Sankaran Maninka	3.3 million	Mande	—	Threatened
234	Bundeli	3.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
234	Ewe	3.2 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
234	Fon	3.2 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
234	Jamaican Creole English	3.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
234	Omani Arabic	3.2 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
234	Waray (Philippines)	3.2 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
240	Dagbani	3.2 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
241	Kenyi	3.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
241	Musi	3.1 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
241	Southern Kurdish	3.1 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
241	Yao	3.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
245	Abron	3.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
245	Baoulé	3.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
245	Brahui	3.0 million	Dravidian	—	Threatened
245	Brazilian Sign Language	3.0 million	Sign Language	—	Safe
245	Efik	3.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
245	Godwari	3.0 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
245	Hunsrik	3.0 million	Indo-European	—	Vulnerable
245	Ibibio	3.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
245	Pular	3.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
245	Sabah Malay	3.0 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
245	Tonga (Zambia)	3.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
245	Tosk Albanian	3.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
245	Tày	3.0 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Threatened
258	Kumaoni	2.9 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
258	Maay	2.9 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
260	Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic	2.8 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
260	Fanti	2.8 million	—	—	—
260	South Bolivian Quechua	2.8 million	Quechuan	—	Safe
260	Tibetan	2.8 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
264	Dyula	2.7 million	Mande	—	Safe
264	Northern Gondi	2.7 million	Dravidian	—	Threatened
264	Nyankole	2.7 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
264	Tagwana Senoufo	2.7 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
268	Sambalpuri	2.6 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
269	Bouyei	2.6 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
269	Chadian Arabic	2.6 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
269	Gusii	2.6 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
269	Kedah Malay	2.6 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
269	Pu-Xian Chinese	2.6 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
269	Sasak	2.6 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
269	Segeju	2.6 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Vulnerable
276	Batak Toba	2.5 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
276	Beja	2.5 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
276	Bini	2.5 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
276	Central Bikol	2.5 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
276	Kurukh	2.5 million	Dravidian	—	Threatened
276	Pahari-Potwari	2.5 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
276	Pampanga	2.5 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
276	West Albay Bikol	2.5 million	—	—	—
284	Konkani	2.4 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
284	Slovenian	2.4 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
284	Susu	2.4 million	Mande	—	Safe
284	Waddar	2.4 million	Dravidian	—	Safe
288	Chiga	2.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
289	Bagri	2.3 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
289	Dogri	2.3 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
289	Iban	2.3 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
289	Luba-Katanga	2.3 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Threatened
289	Soga	2.3 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
289	Tachawit	2.3 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
295	Hazaragi	2.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
296	Mobwa Karen	2.2 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Threatened
297	Swati	2.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
298	Kangri	2.1 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
298	Lango (Uganda)	2.1 million	Nilotic	—	Safe
298	Mandinka	2.1 million	Mande	—	Safe
298	Meru	2.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
302	Cameroon Pidgin	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
302	Chuka	2.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
302	Esperanto	2.0 million	Artificial Language	—	Safe
302	K'iche'	2.0 million	Mayan	—	Threatened
302	Khandesi	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
302	Lomwe	2.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
302	Macedonian	2.0 million	Indo-European	1	Safe
302	Occitan (post 1500)	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
302	Piemontese	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
302	Powari	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
302	Shahmirzadi	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
302	Shilluk	2.0 million	Nilotic	—	Safe
302	Southern Betsimisaraka Malagasy	2.0 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
302	Tulu	2.0 million	Dravidian	—	Threatened
302	Upper Saxon	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
302	Venetian	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
302	Wagdi	2.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
302	Yongbei Zhuang	2.0 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
320	Ahirani	1.9 million	Bookkeeping	—	Safe
320	Bodo (India)	1.9 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Threatened
320	Ci Gbe	1.9 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
320	Defi Gbe	1.9 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
320	Giryama	1.9 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
320	Kipsigis	1.9 million	Nilotic	—	Safe
320	Makasar	1.9 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
320	Makassar Malay	1.9 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
320	Nyamwezi	1.9 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
329	Amdo Tibetan	1.8 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
329	Bashkir	1.8 million	Turkic	—	Threatened
329	Chuvash	1.8 million	Turkic	—	Threatened
329	Eastern Balochi	1.8 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
329	Karekare	1.8 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
329	Lampung Api	1.8 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
329	Mende (Sierra Leone)	1.8 million	Mande	—	Safe
329	Northern Luri	1.8 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
329	Rohingya	1.8 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
338	Kalanga	1.7 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
339	Alur	1.7 million	Nilotic	—	Safe
339	Central Aymara	1.7 million	Aymaran	—	Threatened
339	Lugbara	1.7 million	Central Sudanic	—	Safe
339	Makonde	1.7 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
339	Mandeali	1.7 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
339	Nimadi	1.7 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
339	North Ndebele	1.7 million	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
339	Serer	1.7 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
339	Teso	1.7 million	Nilotic	—	Safe
339	Timne	1.7 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
349	Acoli	1.6 million	Nilotic	—	Safe
349	Afar	1.6 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
349	Central Malay	1.6 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
349	Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde	1.6 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
349	Dimli	1.6 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
349	Igala	1.6 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
349	Kabardian	1.6 million	Abkhaz-Adyge	—	Threatened
349	Limburgan	1.6 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
349	Malawi Sena	1.6 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
349	Scots	1.6 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
349	Southern Ma'di	1.6 million	Central Sudanic	—	Safe
349	Tsimihety Malagasy	1.6 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
349	Western Maninkakan	1.6 million	Mande	—	Safe
362	Gun	1.5 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
363	Cusco Quechua	1.5 million	Quechuan	—	Threatened
363	Dombe	1.5 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Vulnerable
363	Eastern Apurímac Quechua	1.5 million	Quechuan	—	Safe
363	Eastern Yiddish	1.5 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
363	Ho	1.5 million	Austroasiatic	—	Safe
363	Kafa	1.5 million	Ta-Ne-Omotic	—	Safe
363	Khams Tibetan	1.5 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
363	Laki	1.5 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
363	Lampung Nyo	1.5 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
363	Liberian English	1.5 million	Pidgin	—	Safe
363	Maasina Fulfulde	1.5 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
363	Makhuwa-Shirima	1.5 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
363	Manipuri	1.5 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Threatened
363	Mundari	1.5 million	Austroasiatic	—	Safe
363	Northern Dong	1.5 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Threatened
363	Pangasinan	1.5 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
363	Qashqa'i	1.5 million	Turkic	—	Safe
363	Sonha	1.5 million	Indo-European	—	Vulnerable
363	Southern Dong	1.5 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
363	Surgujia	1.5 million	—	—	—
363	Takwane	1.5 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
363	Thur	1.5 million	—	—	—
385	Sebat Bet Gurage	1.5 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
386	Gujari	1.5 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
387	Tai Dam	1.4 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
388	Anaang	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Threatened
388	Bukusu	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
388	Gogo	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
388	Machinga	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
388	Makhuwa-Meetto	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
388	Mbalanhu	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
388	Ndonde Hamba	1.4 million	Bookkeeping	—	Threatened
388	Ngandyera	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
388	Northern Khmer	1.4 million	Austroasiatic	—	Safe
388	Nyakyusa-Ngonde	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
388	Sena	1.4 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
388	Vlaams	1.4 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
388	Western Armenian	1.4 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
401	Chechen	1.4 million	Nakh-Daghestanian	—	Threatened
402	Domari	1.3 million	Indo-European	—	Moribund
403	Avaric	1.3 million	Nakh-Daghestanian	—	Threatened
404	Bulu (Cameroon)	1.3 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
404	Emilian	1.3 million	Indo-European	—	Vulnerable
404	Haya	1.3 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
404	Maguindanaon	1.3 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
404	Masaaba	1.3 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
404	Northern Betsimisaraka Malagasy	1.3 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
404	Venda	1.3 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
404	Western Balochi	1.3 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
412	Marma	1.2 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
413	Sakalava Malagasy	1.2 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
414	Anyin	1.2 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
414	Bakhtiari	1.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
414	Batak Dairi	1.2 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
414	Batak Simalungun	1.2 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
414	Bhilali	1.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
414	Calderón Highland Quichua	1.2 million	Quechuan	—	Threatened
414	Cebaara Senoufo	1.2 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
414	Eastern Hongshuihe Zhuang	1.2 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
414	Fur	1.2 million	Furan	—	Safe
414	Gurani	1.2 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
414	Morisyen	1.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
414	Napo Lowland Quechua	1.2 million	Quechuan	—	Threatened
414	Northern Qiandong Miao	1.2 million	Hmong-Mien	—	Safe
414	Rejang	1.2 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
414	Salasaca Highland Quichua	1.2 million	Quechuan	—	Vulnerable
414	Soninke	1.2 million	Mande	—	Safe
414	Southern Pastaza Quechua	1.2 million	Quechuan	—	Safe
414	Surjapuri	1.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
414	Tausug	1.2 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
414	Tena Lowland Quichua	1.2 million	Quechuan	—	Threatened
414	Tswa	1.2 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
414	Vasavi	1.2 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
436	Eastern Tamang	1.2 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Threatened
437	Standard Estonian	1.2 million	Uralic	—	Safe
438	Muong	1.1 million	Austroasiatic	—	Safe
439	Aja (Benin)	1.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
440	Batak Mandailing	1.1 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
440	Dagaari Dioula	1.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
440	Dan	1.1 million	—	—	—
440	Gamo	1.1 million	Ta-Ne-Omotic	—	Safe
440	Gorontalo	1.1 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
440	Hadothi	1.1 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
440	Hainanese	1.1 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Threatened
440	Irish	1.1 million	Indo-European	1	Vulnerable
440	Khasi	1.1 million	Austroasiatic	—	Threatened
440	Northern Dagara	1.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
440	Romagnol	1.1 million	Indo-European	—	Vulnerable
440	Southern Dagaare	1.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
440	Tesaka Malagasy	1.1 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
440	Tigre	1.1 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
440	Urhobo	1.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
440	Zande	1.1 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
456	Kinaray-A	1.1 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
457	Negeri Sembilan Malay	1.0 million	Austronesian	—	Threatened
458	Talysh	1.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
459	Basque	1.0 million	—	—	Threatened
459	Bena (Tanzania)	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Berom	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Campidanese Sardinian	1.0 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
459	Chuwabu	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Ebira	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Farefare	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Garo	1.0 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Threatened
459	Guibian Zhuang	1.0 million	Tai-Kadai	—	Safe
459	Izon	1.0 million	Ijoid	—	Safe
459	Jambi Malay	1.0 million	Austronesian	—	Safe
459	Kabiyè	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Lozi	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Mahasu Pahari	1.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
459	Najdi Arabic	1.0 million	Afro-Asiatic	—	Safe
459	Nepal Bhasa	1.0 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
459	Ngbaka	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Nupe-Nupe-Tako	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Pfaelzisch	1.0 million	Indo-European	—	Threatened
459	Pwo Eastern Karen	1.0 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
459	Rakhine	1.0 million	Sino-Tibetan	—	Safe
459	Ronga	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Shambala	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Songe	1.0 million	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
459	Southern Luri	1.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
459	Trinidadian Creole English	1.0 million	Indo-European	—	Safe
485	South Ndebele	900,000	—	—	—
486	Welsh	850,000	Indo-European	—	Threatened
487	Western Frisian	845,100	Indo-European	—	Safe
488	Ga	820,000	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
488	Tetum	820,000	Austronesian	1	Safe
490	Asturian	650,000	Indo-European	—	Safe
491	Lezghian	633,610	Nakh-Daghestanian	—	Threatened
492	Adyghe	575,900	Abkhaz-Adyge	—	Threatened
493	Maltese	570,000	Afro-Asiatic	1	Safe
494	Papiamento	549,000	Indo-European	2	Safe
495	Udmurt	540,000	Uralic	—	Vulnerable
496	Iron Ossetic	538,000	Indo-European	—	Threatened
497	Kaqchikel	500,000	Mayan	—	Threatened
498	Yakut	450,000	Turkic	—	Threatened
499	Erzya	440,000	Uralic	—	Vulnerable
500	Kumyk	426,212	Turkic	—	Threatened
501	Luxembourgish	420,000	Indo-European	1	Threatened
502	Samoan	415,720	Austronesian	2	Safe
503	Jola-Fonyi	410,000	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
504	Dhivehi	380,000	Indo-European	1	Safe
504	Fiji Hindi	380,000	Indo-European	1	Safe
506	Dzongkha	370,000	Sino-Tibetan	1	Threatened
506	Fijian	370,000	Austronesian	1	Safe
508	Icelandic	350,000	Indo-European	1	Safe
509	Ingush	322,900	Nakh-Daghestanian	—	Threatened
510	Ngazidja Comorian	312,000	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
511	Karachay-Balkar	310,400	Turkic	—	Threatened
512	Mandjak	310,000	Atlantic-Congo	—	Threatened
513	Moksha	300,000	Uralic	—	Safe
514	Tuvinian	297,000	Turkic	—	Safe
515	Ndzwani Comorian	290,000	Atlantic-Congo	1	Safe
516	Bislama	270,000	Indo-European	1	Safe
517	Saafi-Saafi	240,000	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
518	Maori	213,849	Austronesian	1	Vulnerable
519	Abkhazian	190,110	Abkhaz-Adyge	—	Threatened
520	Tonga (Tonga Islands)	186,010	Austronesian	1	Safe
521	Hiri Motu	180,000	Pidgin	1	Safe
522	Lak	154,820	Nakh-Daghestanian	—	Threatened
523	Ixil	140,000	Mayan	—	Threatened
524	Gilbertese	116,280	Austronesian	1	Safe
525	Kashubian	108,000	Indo-European	—	Threatened
526	Balanta-Ganja	96,000	Atlantic-Congo	—	Safe
527	Tahitian	91,000	Austronesian	1	Safe
528	Scottish Gaelic	72,000	Indo-European	—	Vulnerable
529	Faroese	69,150	Indo-European	1	Threatened
530	Chamorro	64,300	Austronesian	1	Vulnerable
531	Komi-Permyak	64,000	Uralic	—	Threatened
532	Marshallese	61,000	Austronesian	1	Safe
533	Kalaallisut	56,200	Eskimo-Aleut	1	Threatened
534	Romansh	42,000	Indo-European	—	Threatened
535	Noon	38,000	Atlantic-Congo	—	Threatened
536	Plains Cree	34,000	Algic	—	Moribund
537	Bassari	33,600	Atlantic-Congo	—	Threatened
538	Mankanya	33,000	Atlantic-Congo	—	Threatened
539	Chortí	30,000	Mayan	—	Vulnerable
539	Hawaiian	30,000	Austronesian	—	Moribund
541	Northern Sami	25,700	Uralic	—	Vulnerable
542	Palauan	17,000	Austronesian	1	Safe
543	Chipewyan	13,000	Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit	—	Vulnerable
543	Tuvalu	13,000	Austronesian	1	Threatened
545	Niuean	10,000	Austronesian	1	Vulnerable
545	Northern Frisian	10,000	Indo-European	—	Vulnerable
547	Nauru	9,300	Austronesian	1	Vulnerable
548	Sacapulteco	6,500	Mayan	—	Vulnerable
549	Ménik	3,300	Atlantic-Congo	—	Vulnerable
549	Tokelau	3,300	Austronesian	1	Vulnerable
551	Tlicho	2,100	Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit	—	Vulnerable
552	Uspanteco	2,000	Mayan	—	Vulnerable
553	Manx	1,823	Indo-European	1	Extinct
554	Gwichʼin	670	Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit	—	Moribund
555	Skolt Sami	610	Uralic	—	Nearly extinct

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).

The biggest language families

Indo-European: 458 languages, 5.28 billion speakers
Sino-Tibetan: 426 languages, 1.80 billion speakers
Afro-Asiatic: 325 languages, 891 million speakers
Austronesian: 1,196 languages, 717 million speakers
Atlantic-Congo: 1,313 languages, 673 million speakers
Dravidian: 74 languages, 285 million speakers
Turkic: 39 languages, 222 million speakers
Japonic: 13 languages, 129 million speakers

By number of languages the largest families are Atlantic-Congo (1,313), Austronesian (1,196), Indo-European (458) and Sino-Tibetan (426).

Languages with the most official status

English (87 countries), French (39 countries), Arabic (26 countries), Spanish (21 countries), Portuguese (10 countries) and German (6 countries) are official in the most countries — a legacy of colonial empires and international organisations.

Endangered languages

1,748 languages are vulnerable (children are shifting to another language), 1,497 are threatened, 399 are moribund and 278 are nearly extinct. 834 languages in the database have no speakers left.

About the data

Language list and codes follow ISO 639-3; families come from Glottolog; speakers per country from Unicode CLDR, the CIA World Factbook and Google's LinguaMeta; endangerment from Glottolog's Agglomerated Endangerment Status. Speaker counts mix first- and second-language speakers and differ between sources.

Related rankings

Frequently asked questions

How many languages are there in the world?

About 7,028 living languages (ISO 639-3), plus 834 extinct ones.

What is the most spoken language in the world?

Mandarin Chinese with 1.29 billion speakers, followed by English (1.27 billion) and Hindi (544 million).

Which country has the most languages?

Papua New Guinea with about 845 living languages, followed by Indonesia (691) and Nigeria (499).

How many languages are endangered?

2,174 languages are threatened, moribund or nearly extinct, and another 1,748 are vulnerable.