The World Factbook

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Field Listing
:: Languages
This entry provides a rank ordering of languages starting with the largest and sometimes includes the percent of total population speaking that language.
Country
Languages(%)
Afghanistan
Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism, but Dari functions as the lingua franca
note:
the Turkic languages Uzbek and Turkmen, as well as Balochi, Pashai, Nuristani, and Pamiri are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them
Akrotiri
English, Greek
Albania
Albanian 98.8% (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek 0.5%, other 0.6% (including Macedonian, Roma, Vlach, Turkish, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
Algeria
Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Berber dialects: Kabylie Berber (Tamazight), Chaouia Berber (Tachawit), Mzab Berber, Tuareg Berber (Tamahaq)
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%
note:
most people are bilingual (2000 census)
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), Italian, English, German, French, indigenous (Mapudungun, Quechua)
Armenia
Armenian (official) 97.9%, Kurdish (spoken by Yezidi minority) 1%, other 1% (2011 est.)
Aruba
Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3%, Spanish 12.6%, English (widely spoken) 7.7%, Dutch (official) 5.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified or unknown 5.3% (2000 census)
Australia
English 76.8%, Mandarin 1.6%, Italian 1.4%, Arabic 1.3%, Greek 1.2%, Cantonese 1.2%, Vietnamese 1.1%, other 10.4%, unspecified 5% (2011 est.)
Austria
German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in Carinthia, and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 census)
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani (Azeri) (official) 92.5%, Russian 1.4%, Armenian 1.4%, other 4.7% (2009 est.)
Bahamas, The
English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Bahrain
Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu
Bangladesh
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
Barbados
Belarus
Belarusian (official) 23.4%, Russian (official) 70.2%, other 6.4% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities) (1999 census)
Belgium
Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
Belize
Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan dialects 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%, unknown 0.2% (2000 census)
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
Sharchhopka 28%, Dzongkha (official) 24%, Lhotshamkha 22%, other 26%
Bolivia
Spanish (official) 60.7%, Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnian (official), Croatian (official), Serbian (official)
Botswana
Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English (official) 2.1%, other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census)
Brazil
Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language)
note:
less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages
British Virgin Islands
English (official)
Brunei
Malay (official), English, Chinese
Bulgaria
Bulgarian (official) 76.8%, Turkish 8.2%, Roma 3.8%, other 0.7%, unspecified 10.5% (2011 est.)
Burkina Faso
French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population
Burma
Burmese (official)
note:
minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Burundi
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
Cabo Verde
Portuguese (official), Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
Cambodia
Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
Cameroon
24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
Canada
English (official) 58.8%, French (official) 21.6%, other 19.6% (2006 Census)
Cayman Islands
English (official) 90.9%, Spanish 4%, Filipino 3.3%, other 1.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)
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 99.5% (official), English 10.2%, indigenous 1% (includes Mapudungun, Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui), other 2.3%, unspecified 0.2%
note:
shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2012 est.)
China
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
note:
Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)
Christmas Island
English (official), Chinese, Malay
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Malay (Cocos dialect), English
Colombia
Spanish (official)
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) 86.4%, Cook Islands Maori (Rarotongan) (official) 76.2%, other 8.3% (2011 est.)
Costa Rica
Spanish (official), English
Cote d'Ivoire
French (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken
Croatia
Croatian (official) 95.6%, Serbian 1.2%, other 3% (including Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and Albanian), unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)
Cuba
Spanish (official)
Curacao
Papiamentu (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 81.2%, Dutch (official) 8%, Spanish 4%, English 2.9%, other 3.9% (2001 census)
Cyprus
Greek (official) 80.9%, Turkish (official) 0.2%, English 4.1%, Romanian 2.9%, Russian 2.5%, Bulgarian 2.2%, Arabic 1.2%, Filippino 1.1%, other 4.3%, unspecified 0.6% (2011 est.)
Czech Republic
Czech 95.4%, Slovak 1.6%, other 3% (2011 census)
Denmark
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note:
English is the predominant second language
Dhekelia
English, Greek
Djibouti
French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
Dominica
English (official), French patois
Dominican Republic
Spanish (official)
Ecuador
Spanish (Castillian) 93% (official), Quechua 4.1%, other indigenous 0.7%, foreign 2.2%
note:
(Quechua and Shuar are official languages of intercultural relations; other indigenous languages are in official use by indigenous peoples in the areas they inhabit) (2010 est.)
Egypt
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
El Salvador
Spanish (official), Nahua (among some Amerindians)
Equatorial Guinea
Spanish (official) 67.6%, other (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) 32.4% (1994 census)
Eritrea
Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages
Estonia
Estonian (official) 68.5%, Russian 29.6%, Ukrainian 0.6%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
Ethiopia
Oromo (official working language in the State of Oromiya) 33.8%, Amharic (official national language) 29.3%, Somali (official working language of the State of Sumale) 6.2%, Tigrayan (official working language of the State of Tigray) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Guragiegna 2%, Afar (official working language of the State of Afar) 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, other 11.7%, English (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (2007 census)
European Union
Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish
note:
only the 24 official languages are listed; German, the major language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is the most widely spoken mother tongue - about 18% of the EU population; English is the most widely spoken foreign language - about 38% of the EU population is conversant with it (2013)
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Faroe Islands
Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
Fiji
English (official), Fijian (official), Hindustani
Finland
Finnish (official) 94.2%, Swedish (official) 5.5%, other (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) 0.2% (2012 est.)
France
French (official) 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
overseas departments:
French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect)
French Polynesia
French (official) 61.1%, Polynesian (official) 31.4%, 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 many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Georgia
Georgian (official) 71%, Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note:
Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia
Germany
German
Ghana
Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other (includes English (official)) 36.1% (2000 census)
Gibraltar
English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Greece
Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1%
Greenland
Greenlandic (East Inuit) (official), Danish (official), English
Grenada
English (official), French patois
Guam
English 43.6%, Filipino 21.2%, Chamorro 17.8%, other Pacific island languages 10%, Asian languages 6.3%, other 1.1% (2010 est.)
Guatemala
Spanish (official) 60%, Amerindian languages 40%
note:
there are 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)
note:
each ethnic group has its own language
Guinea-Bissau
Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages
Guyana
English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Urdu
Haiti
French (official), Creole (official)
Holy See (Vatican City)
Italian, Latin, French, various other languages
Honduras
Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects
Hong Kong
Cantonese (official) 89.5%, English (official) 3.5%, Putonghua (Mandarin) 1.4%, other Chinese dialects 4%, other 1.6% (2011 census)
Hungary
Hungarian 84.6%, other or unspecified 16.4% (2011 est.)
Iceland
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
India
Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
note:
English enjoys the status of subsidiary official language but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language (2001 census)
Indonesia
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (of which the most widely spoken is Javanese)
Iran
Persian (official) 53%, Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects 18%, Kurdish 10%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 7%, Luri 6%, Balochi 2%, Arabic 2%, other 2%
Iraq
Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic) are official in areas where they constitute a majority of the population), Armenian
Ireland
English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official, spoken mainly in areas along the western coast)
Isle of Man
English, Manx Gaelic (about 2% of the population has some knowledge)
Israel
Hebrew (official), Arabic (used officially for Arab minority), English (most commonly used foreign language)
Italy
Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Jamaica
English, English patois
Japan
Japanese
Jersey
English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)
Jordan
Arabic (official), English (widely understood among upper and middle classes)
Kazakhstan
Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)
Kenya
English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
Kiribati
I-Kiribati, English (official)
Korea, North
Korean
Korea, South
Korean, English (widely taught in junior high and high school)
Kosovo
Albanian (official), Serbian (official), Bosnian, Turkish, Roma
Kuwait
Arabic (official), English widely spoken
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz (official) 64.7%, Uzbek 13.6%, Russian (official) 12.5%, Dungun 1%, other 8.2% (1999 census)
Laos
Lao (official), French, English, various ethnic languages
Latvia
Latvian (official) 56.3%, Russian 33.8%, other 0.6% (includes Polish, Ukrainian, and Belarusian), unspecified 9.4% (2011 est.)
Lebanon
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Lesotho
Sesotho (official) (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Liberia
English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages few of which can be written or used in correspondence
Libya
Arabic (official), Italian, English (all widely understood in the major cities); Berber (Nafusi, Ghadamis, Suknah, Awjilah, Tamasheq)
Liechtenstein
German 94.5% (official) (Alemannic is the main dialect), Italian 1.1%, other 4.3% (2010 est.)
Lithuania
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other 0.9%, unspecified 3.5% (2011 est.)
Luxembourg
Luxembourgish (official administrative language and national language (spoken vernacular)), French (official administrative language), German (official administrative language)
Macau
Cantonese 83.3%, Mandarin 5%, Hokkien 3.7%, other Chinese dialects 2%, English 2.3%, Tagalog 1.7%, Portuguese 0.7%, other 1.3%
note:
Chinese and Portuguese are the official languages (2011 census)
Macedonia
Macedonian (official) 66.5%, Albanian (official) 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census)
Madagascar
French (official), Malagasy (official), English
Malawi
English (official), Chichewa (common), Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chilomwe, Chinkhonde, Chingoni, Chisena, Chitonga, Chinyakyusa, Chilambya
Malaysia
Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note:
in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
Maldives
Dhivehi (official, dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English (spoken by most government officials)
Mali
French (official), Bambara 46.3%, Peul/foulfoulbe 9.4%, Dogon 7.2%, Maraka/soninke 6.4%, Malinke 5.6%, Sonrhai/djerma 5.6%, Minianka 4.3%, Tamacheq 3.5%, Senoufo 2.6%, unspecified 0.6%, other 8.5%
Malta
Maltese (official) 90.2%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.8% (2005 census)
Marshall Islands
Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
note:
English (official), widely spoken as a second language
Mauritania
Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French, Hassaniya (a variety of Arabic)
Mauritius
Creole 86.5%, Bhojpuri 5.3%, French 4.1%, two languages 1.4%, other 2.6% (includes English, the official language, which is spoken by less than 1% of the population), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
Mexico
Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%
note:
indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)
Micronesia, Federated States of
English (official and common language), Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi
Moldova
Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Monaco
French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque
Mongolia
Khalkha Mongol 90% (official), Turkic, Russian (1999)
Montenegro
Serbian 42.9%, Montenegrin (official) 37%, Bosnian 5.3%, Albanian 5.3%, Serbo-Croat 2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 4% (2011 est.)
Montserrat
Morocco
Arabic (official), Berber languages (Tamazight (official), Tachelhit, Tarifit), French (often the language of business, government, and diplomacy)
Mozambique
Emakhuwa 25.3%, Portuguese (official) 10.7%, Xichangana 10.3%, Cisena 7.5%, Elomwe 7%, Echuwabo 5.1%, other Mozambican languages 30.1%, other 4% (1997 census)
Namibia
English (official) 7%, Afrikaans (common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population), German 32%, indigenous languages (includes Oshivambo, Herero, Nama) 1%
Nauru
Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English (widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes)
Nepal
Nepali (official) 44.6%, Maithali 11.7%, Bhojpuri 6%, Tharu 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.2%, Magar 3%, Bajjika 3%, Urdu 2.6%, Avadhi 1.9%, Limbu 1.3%, Gurung 1.2%, other 10.4%, unspecified 0.2%
note:
123 languages reported as mother tongue in 2011 national census; many in government and business also speak English (2011 est.)
Netherlands
Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
New Caledonia
French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
New Zealand
English (de facto official) 89.8%, Maori (de jure official) 3.5%, Samoan 2%, Hindi 1.6%, French 1.2%, Northern Chinese 1.2%, Yue 1%, Other or not stated 20.5%, New Zealand Sign Language (de jure official)
note:
shares sum to 120.8% due to multiple responses on census (2013 est.)
Nicaragua
Spanish (official) 95.3%, Miskito 2.2%, Mestizo of the Caribbean coast 2%, other 0.5%
note:
English and indigenous languages found on the Caribbean coast (2005 est.)
Niger
French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Nigeria
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages
Niue
English (official), Niuean (a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan)
Norfolk Island
English (official) 67.6%, other 32.4% (includes Norfolk Island 23.7%, which is a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian) (2011 est.)
Northern Mariana Islands
Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro (official) 22.4%, English (official) 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census)
Norway
Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
note:
Sami is an official language in nine municipalities
Oman
Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
Pakistan
Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Saraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashto (alternate name, Pashtu) 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
Palau
Palauan (official on most islands) 64.7%, Filipino 13.5%, English (official) 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census)
note:
Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official)
Panama
Spanish (official), English 14%
note:
many Panamanians are bilingual
Papua New Guinea
Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 836 indigenous languages spoken (about 12% of the world's total); most languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers
note:
Tok Pisin, a creole language, is widely used and understood; English is spoken by 1%-2%; Hiri Motu is spoken by less than 2%
Paraguay
Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
Peru
Spanish (official) 84.1%, Quechua (official) 13%, Aymara (official) 1.7%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages (includes a large number of minor Amazonian languages) 0.7%, other 0.2% (2007 Census)
Philippines
Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
Pitcairn Islands
English (official), Pitkern (mixture of an 18th century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect)
Poland
Polish (official) 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
Portugal
Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used)
Puerto Rico
Spanish, English
Qatar
Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
Romania
Romanian (official) 85.4%, Hungarian 6.3%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.2%, other 1%, unspecified 6.1% (2011 est.)
Russia
Russian (official) 96.3%, Dolgang 5.3%, German 1.5%, Chechen 1%, Tatar 3%, other 10.3%
note:
shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2010 est.)
Rwanda
Kinyarwanda (official, universal Bantu vernacular), French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili, used in commercial centers)
Saint Barthelemy
French (primary), English
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Kitts and Nevis
English (official)
Saint Lucia
English (official), French patois
Saint Martin
French (official), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
French (official)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
English, French patois
Samoa
Samoan (Polynesian) (official), English
San Marino
Italian
Sao Tome and Principe
Portuguese 98.4% (official), Forro 36.2%, Cabo Verdian 8.5%, French 6.8%, Angolar 6.6%, English 4.9%, Lunguie 1%, other (including sign language) 2.4%
note:
shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2012 est.)
Saudi Arabia
Arabic (official)
Senegal
French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
Serbia
Serbian (official) 88.1%, Hungarian 3.4%, Bosnian 1.9%, Romany 1.4%, other 3.4%, undeclared or unknown 1.8%
note:
Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, and Rusyn all official in Vojvodina (2011 est.)
Seychelles
Seychellois Creole (official) 89.1%, English (official) 5.1%, French (official) 0.7%, other 3.8%, unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.)
Sierra Leone
English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)
Singapore
Mandarin (official) 36.3%, English (official) 29.8%, Hokkien 8.1%, Tamil (official) 4.4%, Cantonese 4.1%, Teochew 3.2%, Malay (official) 1.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.1%, other 1.7% (2010 est.)
Sint Maarten
English (official) 67.5%, Spanish 12.9%, Creole 8.2%, Dutch (official) 4.2%, Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 2.2%, French 1.5%, other 3.5% (2001 census)
Slovakia
Slovak (official) 78.6%, Hungarian 9.4%, Roma 2.3%, Ruthenian 1%, other or unspecified 8.8% (2011 est.)
Slovenia
Slovenian (official) 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4%, Italian (official, only in municipalities where Italian national communities reside), Hungarian (official, only in municipalities where Hungarian national communities reside) (2002 census)
Solomon Islands
Melanesian pidgin (in much of the country is lingua franca), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages
Somalia
Somali (official), Arabic (official, according to the Transitional Federal Charter), Italian, English
South Africa
IsiZulu (official) 22.7%, IsiXhosa (official) 16%, Afrikaans (official) 13.5%, English (official) 9.6%, Sepedi (offcial) 9.1%, Setswana (official) 8%, Sesotho (official) 7.6%, Xitsonga (official) 4.5%, siSwati (official) 2.5%, Tshivenda (official) 2.4%, isiNdebele (official) 2.1%, sign language 0.5%, other 1.6% (2011 est.)
South Sudan
English (official), Arabic (includes Juba and Sudanese variants), regional languages include Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Zande, Shilluk
Spain
Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, and Basque 2%
note:
Catalan is official in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Valencian Community (where it is known as Valencian); in the northwest corner of Catalonia (Vall d'Aran), Aranese is official along with Catalan; Galician is official in Galicia; Basque is official in the Basque Country and in the Basque-speaking area of Navarre
Sri Lanka
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note:
English, spoken competently by about 10% of the population, is commonly used in government and is referred to as the link language in the constitution
Sudan
Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur
note:
program of "Arabization" in process
Suriname
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
Svalbard
Norwegian, Russian
Swaziland
English (official, used for government business), siSwati (official)
Sweden
Swedish (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Switzerland
German (official) 64.9%, French (official) 22.6%, Italian (official) 8.3%, Serbo-Croatian 2.5%, Albanian 2.6%, Portuguese 3.4%, Spanish 2.2%, English 4.6%, Romansch (official) 0.5%, other 5.1%
note:
German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages; totals more than 100% because some respondents indicated more than one main principal language (2012 est.)
Syria
Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian (widely understood); French, English (somewhat understood)
Taiwan
Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Tajikistan
Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
Tanzania
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
note:
Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
Thailand
Thai (official) 90.7%, Burmese 1.3%, other 8%
note:
English is a secondary language of the elite (2010 est.)
Timor-Leste
Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English
note:
there are about 16 indigenous languages; Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by a significant portion of the population
Togo
French (official, the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north)
Tokelau
Tokelauan 93.5% (a Polynesian language), English 58.9%, Samoan 45.5%, Tuvaluan 11.6%, Kiribati 2.7%, other 2.5%, none 4.1%, unspecified 0.6%
ntoe:
shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census (2011 ests.)
Tonga
English and Tongan 87%, Tongan (official) 10.7%, English (official) 1.2%, other 1.1%, uspecified 0.03% (2006 est.)
Trinidad and Tobago
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Tunisia
Arabic (official, one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce), Berber (Tamazight)
Turkey
Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages
Turkmenistan
Turkmen (official) 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Turks and Caicos Islands
English (official)
Tuvalu
Tuvaluan (official), English (official), Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Uganda
English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Ukraine
Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian (regional language) 24%, other (includes small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities) 9%
note:
2012 legislation enables a language spoken by at least 10% of an oblast's population to be given the status of "regional language," allowing for its use in courts, schools, and other government institutions; Ukrainian remains the country's only official nationwide language
United Arab Emirates
Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
United Kingdom
note:
the following are recognized regional languages: Scots (about 30% of the population of Scotland), Scottish Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland), Welsh (about 20% of the population of Wales), Irish (about 10% of the population of Northern Ireland), Cornish (some 2,000 to 3,000 in Cornwall) (2012)
United States
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
note:
the US has no official national language, but English has acquired official status in 28 of the 50 states; Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Uruguay
Spanish (official), Portunol, Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)
Uzbekistan
Uzbek (official) 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
Vanuatu
local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama - official) 23.1%, English (official) 1.9%, French (official) 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
Venezuela
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Vietnam
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer, mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Virgin Islands
English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census)
Wallis and Futuna
Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language) 58.9%, Futunian 30.1%, French (official) 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census)
West Bank
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Western Sahara
Standard Arabic (national), Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
World
Mandarin Chinese 12.44%, Spanish 4.85%, English 4.83%, Arabic 3.25%, Hindi 2.68%, Bengali 2.66%, Portuguese 2.62%, Russian 2.12%, Japanese 1.8%, Standard German 1.33%, Javanese 1.25% (2009 est.)
note 1:
percents are for "first language" speakers only; the six UN languages - Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Russian, and Spanish (Castilian) - are the mother tongue or second language of about half of the world's population, and are the official languages in more than half the states in the world; some 150 to 200 languages have more than a million speakers
note 2:
all told, there are an estimated 7,100 languages spoken in the world; aproximately 80% of these languages are spoken by less than 100,000 people; about 50 languages are spoken by only 1 person; communities that are isolated from each other in mountainous regions often develop multiple languages; Papua New Guinea, for example, boasts about 836 separate languages
note 3:
approximately 2,300 languages are spoken in Asia, 2,150, in Africa, 1,311 in the Pacific, 1,060 in the Americas, and 280 in Europe
Yemen
Arabic (official)
Zambia
Bembe 33.4%, Nyanja 14.7%, Tonga 11.4%, Chewa 4.5%, Lozi 5.5%, Nsenga 2.9%, Tumbuka 2.5%, Lunda (North Western) 1.9%, Kaonde 1.8%, Lala 1.8%, Lamba 1.8%, English (official) 1.7%, Luvale 1.5%, Mambwe 1.3%, Namwanga 1.2%, Lenje 1.1%, Bisa 1%, other 9.4%, unspecified 0.4%
note:
Zambia is said to have over 70 languages, although man of these may be considered dialects; all of Zambia's major languages are members of the Bantu family (2010 est.)
Zimbabwe
English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects
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