The Most Spoken Languages on Earth

Spanish has over 475 million native speakers across 21 countries. It's the second most spoken language by native speakers and the most geographically widespread language in the Western Hemisphere.

English has around 373 million native speakers but dominates as the global lingua franca. Roughly 1.5 billion people speak it in total, making it the most widely learned second language in history.

With approximately 344 million native speakers in India and South Asia, Hindi is also spoken by a significant diaspora worldwide and is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India.

Arabic has over 315 million native speakers and functions as the liturgical language of Islam, spoken by 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. Modern Standard Arabic ties together 30 distinct regional dialects.

Spoken by over 234 million people, primarily in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, Bengali is the language of Rabindranath Tagore and was the subject of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952.

Portuguese has approximately 232 million native speakers. Originally the language of a small Atlantic nation, it was carried to Brazil, Africa, and Asia by maritime empire and now thrives on multiple continents.

Russian has around 154 million native speakers and is the most widely spoken Slavic language. It was the official language of the Soviet Union and remains a lingua franca across much of Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Japanese has over 128 million speakers, almost all in Japan. Its three writing systems — hiragana, katakana, and kanji — reflect layers of linguistic history and remain among the most complex writing systems in use today.

Cantonese is spoken by approximately 85 million people, primarily in Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macau. It preserves tonal features lost from Mandarin and remains culturally significant far beyond its native region.

Spanish has over 475 million native speakers across 21 countries. It's the second most spoken language by native speakers and the most geographically widespread language in the Western Hemisphere.

English has around 373 million native speakers but dominates as the global lingua franca. Roughly 1.5 billion people speak it in total, making it the most widely learned second language in history.

With approximately 344 million native speakers in India and South Asia, Hindi is also spoken by a significant diaspora worldwide and is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India.

Arabic has over 315 million native speakers and functions as the liturgical language of Islam, spoken by 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. Modern Standard Arabic ties together 30 distinct regional dialects.

Spoken by over 234 million people, primarily in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, Bengali is the language of Rabindranath Tagore and was the subject of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952.

Portuguese has approximately 232 million native speakers. Originally the language of a small Atlantic nation, it was carried to Brazil, Africa, and Asia by maritime empire and now thrives on multiple continents.

Russian has around 154 million native speakers and is the most widely spoken Slavic language. It was the official language of the Soviet Union and remains a lingua franca across much of Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Japanese has over 128 million speakers, almost all in Japan. Its three writing systems — hiragana, katakana, and kanji — reflect layers of linguistic history and remain among the most complex writing systems in use today.

Cantonese is spoken by approximately 85 million people, primarily in Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macau. It preserves tonal features lost from Mandarin and remains culturally significant far beyond its native region.