WORLD LANGUAGES BY COUNTRY
Alphabetical List A to G
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Afghanistan |
Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashtu (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism. |
Albania |
Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects |
Algeria |
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects |
American Samoa |
Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2% |
Andorra |
Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese |
Angola |
Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages |
Anguilla |
English (official) |
Antigua and Barbuda |
English (official), local dialects |
Argentina |
Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French |
Armenia |
Armenian 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% (2001 census) |
Aruba |
Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish. |
Australia |
English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census) |
Austria |
German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland). |
Azerbaijan |
Azerbaijani (Azeri) 89%, Russian 3%, Armenian 2%, other 6% (1995 est.) |
Bahamas, The |
English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
Bahrain |
Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu |
Bangladesh |
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Barbados |
English |
Belarus |
Belarusian, Russian, other |
Belgium |
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French). |
Belize |
English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole |
Benin |
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north). |
Bermuda |
English (official), Portuguese |
Bhutan |
Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects |
Bolivia |
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian |
Botswana |
Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1% (official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census). |
Brazil |
Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French |
British Virgin Islands |
English (official) |
Brunei |
Malay (official), English, Chinese |
Bulgaria |
Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
Burkina Faso |
French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population |
Burma (Myanmar) |
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages |
Burundi |
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Cambodia |
Khmer (official) 95%, French, English |
Cameroon |
24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) |
Canada |
English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5% |
Cabo Verde |
Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words) |
Cayman Islands |
English |
Central African Republic |
French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages |
Chad |
French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects |
Chile |
Spanish |
China |
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) |
Christmas Island |
English (official), Chinese, Malay |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
Malay (Cocos dialect), English |
Colombia |
Spanish |
Comoros |
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) |
Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
Congo, Republic of the |
French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) |
Cook Islands |
English (official), Maori |
Costa Rica |
Spanish (official), English |
Croatia |
Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census) |
Cuba |
Spanish |
Cyprus |
Greek, Turkish, English |
Czech Republic |
Czech |
Côte d'Ivoire |
French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken |
Denmark |
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) |
Djibouti |
French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Dominica |
English (official), French patois |
Dominican Republic |
Spanish |
East Timor |
Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English |
Ecuador |
Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua) |
Egypt |
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes |
El Salvador |
Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians) |
Equatorial Guinea |
Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Eritrea |
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
Estonia |
Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census) |
Ethiopia |
Amharic, Tigrinya, Oromigna, Guaragigna, Somali, Arabic, other local languages, English (major foreign language taught in schools) |
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
English |
Faroe Islands |
Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish |
Fiji |
English (official), Fijian, Hindustani |
Finland |
Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003) |
France |
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) |
French Guiana |
French |
French Polynesia |
French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census) |
Gabon |
French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
Gambia, The |
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars |
Gaza Strip |
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Georgia |
Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7% |
Germany |
German |
Ghana |
English (official), African languages (including Akan, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga) |
Gibraltar |
English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese |
Greece |
Greek 99% (official), English, French |
Greenland |
Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, English |
Grenada |
English (official), French patois |
Guadeloupe |
French (official) 99%, Creole patois |
Guam |
English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages 3.5% (2000 census) |
Guatemala |
Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) |
Guernsey |
English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Guinea |
French (official), each ethnic group has its own language |
Guinea-Bissau |
Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Guyana |
English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu |
next countries |
Languages by Country: H - O |
Languages by Country: H - O | Languages by Country: P - Z
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Internet Usage in the World by Language |
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Tallying the number of speakers of the world’s languages is an increasingly complex task, particularly with the push in many countries for teaching English in their public schools. Many people are indeed bilingual or multilingual, but here we assign only one language per person in order to have all the languages total add up to the total world population (zero-sum approach). Very few countries have 100% literacy. Six countries worth mentioning are Australia, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Norway. Regarding children, most are an excellent example of Internet "early adopters" (when they are given the chance to surf). In the Internet penetration rate calculations no adjustments have been made regarding infants or illiteracy. From the statistics it is evident here that with just ten languages - English, Chinese Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, Malay , French, - and German, you can reach and communicate with 73.6% of all the Internet users in the world, a very impresive percentage. |
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