Number of languages by country

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of the number of languages by country and dependency according to the 22nd edition of Ethnologue (2019).[1]

Papua New Guinea has the largest number of languages in the world.[2][3]

List[edit]

Rank Country or territory Number of living languages Number of speakers
Established Immigrant Total Percent[note 1] Total Mean Median
1  Papua New Guinea 840 0 840 11.81 4,213,381 5,040 1,315
2  India 447 6 453 6.37 1,257,421,714 2,924,237 35,000
3  Indonesia 707 3 710 9.98 222,191,197 315,165 3,500
4  Nigeria 517 7 524 7.37 163,317,444 348,225 14,000
5  China (mainland only) 302 3 305 4.29 1,319,419,348 4,472,608 27,700
6  Mexico 287 5 292 4.11 125,535,200 435,886 4,730
7  Cameroon 274 1 275 3.87 10,228,065 38,451 10,000
8  Australia 226 93 319 4.49 22,693,732 72,504 10
9  United States 219 116 335 4.71 326,756,719 999,256 12
10  Brazil 217 11 228 3.21 204,653,402 934,490 210
11  Democratic Republic of the Congo 212 2 214 3.01 42,128,230 209,593 29,450
12  Philippines 183 8 191 2.69 70,776,614 386,757 19,200
13  Malaysia 133 11 144 2.03 22,242,065 205,945 3,400
14  Chad 130 1 131 1.84 8,865,556 74,500 14,000
15  Tanzania 125 1 126 1.77 51,108,150 422,381 102,500
16    Nepal 124 7 129 1.81 26,612,919 212,903 8,385
17  Myanmar 120 6 126 1.77 49,284,095 397,452 15,000
18  Russia 115 44 159 2.24 138,698,335 900,639 3,900
19  Vanuatu 110 6 116 1.63 196,298 1,722 665
20  Vietnam 109 3 112 1.58 86,884,520 835,428 14,900
21  Canada 96 99 195 2.74 33,362,312 174,672 260
22  Peru 93 1 94 1.32 30,994,201 336,893 4,635
23  Ethiopia 90 1 91 1.28 66,766,720 750,188 48,000
24  Côte d’Ivoire 86 15 101 1.42 18,439,310 209,538 34,150
25  Colombia 85 4 89 1.25 47,673,568 560,866 885
26  Laos 85 7 92 1.29 6,543,480 76,982 9,710
27  Ghana 81 6 87 1.22 27,661,206 359,236 36,000
28  Iran 79 5 84 1.18 82,927,520 1,256,478 62,000
29  Sudan 75 1 76 1.07 35,091,200 516,047 13,000
30  Pakistan 74 11 85 1.20 201,998,220 2,524,978 53,250
31  Thailand 73 15 88 1.24 53,357,924 675,417 8,000
32  Central African Republic 72 11 83 1.17 3,638,143 47,249 17,350
33  Solomon Islands 72 0 72 1.01 379,966 5,352 2,770
34  Burkina Faso 71 0 71 1.00 12,472,930 183,425 20,500
35  South Sudan 69 0 69 0.97 4,504,650 80,440 27,500
36  Mali 68 3 71 1.00 13,027,840 194,445 25,000
37  Kenya 67 5 72 1.01 37,037,960 544,676 180,000
38  Congo 62 2 64 0.90 3,690,660 60,503 14,400
39  Benin 55 1 56 0.79 9,605,590 177,881 64,000
40  Angola 46 1 47 0.66 24,288,770 528,017 30,000
41  Zambia 46 9 55 0.77 11,364,870 236,768 32,850
42  Togo 44 2 46 0.65 4,889,380 113,707 34,300
43  Bolivia 43 2 45 0.63 7,349,368 170,916 350
44  Gabon 43 1 44 0.62 1,077,960 25,069 4,000
45  Mozambique 43 4 47 0.66 23,792,100 517,220 197,500
46  Uganda 43 2 45 0.63 33,862,350 769,599 303,000
47  Venezuela 42 6 48 0.68 31,087,151 777,179 770
48  Afghanistan 41 1 42 0.59 23,352,300 569,568 16,500
49  Bangladesh 41 4 45 0.63 165,220,330 3,842,333 15,500
50  Turkey 39 15 54 0.76 90,297,204 2,149,933 66,000
51  New Caledonia 38 2 40 0.56 143,010 3,972 950
52  Senegal 38 8 46 0.65 13,977,980 310,622 20,000
53  Guinea 37 3 40 0.56 11,600,930 341,204 25,000
54  Israel 36 17 53 0.75 9,475,461 205,988 42,500
55  Italy 35 12 47 0.66 82,319,110 1,870,889 100,000
56  Botswana 31 7 38 0.53 2,213,660 63,247 5,950
57  Liberia 31 3 34 0.48 4,290,730 134,085 85,600
58  South Africa 30 12 42 0.59 51,004,892 1,416,803 133,500
59  Cambodia 27 2 29 0.41 16,326,490 583,089 5,210
60  Guatemala 27 0 27 0.38 14,708,590 544,763 28,000
61  Namibia 27 6 33 0.46 2,668,940 83,404 13,800
62  Romania 26 3 29 0.41 20,492,430 975,830 17,850
63  Germany 25 70 95 1.34 88,571,690 1,107,146 80,000
64  Argentina 24 16 40 0.56 46,160,150 1,318,861 5,120
65  Ecuador 24 0 24 0.34 16,665,750 694,406 11,000
66  Sierra Leone 24 2 26 0.37 6,977,150 290,715 138,000
67  Singapore 24 7 31 0.44 6,105,380 226,125 15,200
68  Bhutan 23 8 31 0.44 639,500 25,580 8,000
69  Taiwan 23 12 35 0.49 23,985,650 726,838 4,000
70  Guinea-Bissau 23 7 30 0.42 1,779,010 68,423 8,520
71  Iraq 23 4 27 0.38 33,977,620 1,477,288 136,000
72  Niger 23 0 23 0.32 15,810,500 718,659 28,450
73  Paraguay 23 4 27 0.38 6,633,188 255,123 2,530
74  France 22 73 95 1.42 69,961,900 1,793,895 126,000
75  Poland 22 5 27 0.38 37,460,007 1,498,400 12,800
76  Zimbabwe 22 2 24 0.34 11,926,440 596,322 145,000
77  Suriname 21 6 27 0.38 562,014 22,481 1,250
78  Ukraine 21 27 48 0.68 40,599,806 882,604 50,400
79  East Timor 20 1 21 0.30 1,040,816 49,563 16,700
80  Georgia 20 7 27 0.38 4,506,220 173,316 14,000
81  Greece 20 14 34 0.48 11,693,492 377,209 9,700
82  Algeria 18 4 22 0.31 38,548,160 1,927,408 40,000
83  Azerbaijan 18 20 38 0.53 9,280,890 257,802 11,700
84  Hungary 18 3 21 0.30 9,927,510 583,971 3,710
85  Micronesia 18 1 19 0.27 111,010 6,167 1,410
86  Malawi 17 7 24 0.34 13,016,000 813,500 200,000
87  Oman 17 14 31 0.44 4,236,000 151,286 42,400
88  Serbia 17 7 24 0.34 8,830,600 420,505 34,000
89  Spain 17 17 34 0.48 52,439,510 1,691,597 72,500
90  Syria 17 7 24 0.34 18,708,430 850,383 64,900
91  Croatia 16 11 27 0.38 4,333,590 180,566 10,200
92  Egypt 16 7 23 0.32 94,599,800 5,255,544 752,000
93  Guyana 16 2 18 0.25 1,319,041 109,920 1,500
94  Austria 15 21 36 0.51 9,490,430 316,348 32,750
95  Brunei 15 2 17 0.24 459,685 28,730 8,150
96  Eritrea 15 2 17 0.24 5,788,600 526,236 194,000
97  Japan 15 4 19 0.27 129,414,863 8,627,658 5,050
98  Netherlands 15 35 50 0.70 21,947,700 487,727 220,000
99  Sweden 15 22 37 0.52 10,325,090 295,003 4,000
100  Equatorial Guinea 14 2 16 0.23 699,150 58,262 7,000
101  Madagascar 14 6 20 0.28 18,368,000 1,020,444 1,130,000
102  Morocco 14 1 15 0.21 39,290,920 3,571,902 80,000
103  Panama 14 4 18 0.25 4,255,840 327,372 22,500
104  Bulgaria 13 12 25 0.35 7,833,570 356,071 5,310
105  Finland 13 25 38 0.53 5,818,940 153,130 5,170
106  French Guiana 13 3 16 0.23 178,780 14,898 2,400
107  Kazakhstan 13 35 48 0.68 15,308,820 356,019 95,000
108  Somalia 13 1 14 0.20 9,938,659 828,222 20,000
109   Switzerland 13 20 33 0.46 8,980,230 320,722 40,000
110  Tajikistan 13 20 33 0.46 7,580,210 303,208 27,500
111  United Kingdom 14 72 85 1.20 61,546,750 799,308 16,700
112  Belgium 12 24 36 0.51 13,686,200 506,896 200,000
113  Mongolia 12 2 14 0.20 3,113,100 345,900 42,500
114  Slovakia 12 3 15 0.21 5,524,990 460,416 25,100
115  Chile 11 6 17 0.24 17,412,013 1,741,201 10,000
116  Costa Rica 11 1 12 0.17 4,853,290 485,329 2,840
117  Czechia 11 15 26 0.37 10,802,090 415,465 10,000
118  Gambia 11 13 24 0.34 1,314,820 69,201 43,650
119  Jordan 11 3 14 0.20 7,572,800 841,422 94,500
120  Lithuania 11 4 15 0.21 3,573,225 274,863 7,555
121  Nicaragua 11 0 11 0.15 6,404,490 582,226 740
122  Norway 11 36 47 0.66 5,746,480 127,700 1,000
123  Slovenia 11 4 15 0.21 2,103,960 191,269 8,700
124  Uzbekistan 11 26 37 0.52 30,929,000 937,242 250,000
125  Yemen 11 6 17 0.24 26,810,300 1,915,021 62,900
126  Fiji 10 11 21 0.30 840,900 64,685 6,950
127  Honduras 10 2 12 0.17 8,982,840 816,622 990
128  Macedonia 10 5 15 0.21 2,154,380 179,532 25,000
129  Moldova 10 4 14 0.20 2,718,530 339,816 107,000
130  Portugal 10 13 23 0.32 10,259,240 446,054 15,000
131  United Arab Emirates 10 17 27 0.38 9,266,400 370,656 370,000
132  French Polynesia 9 1 10 0.14 257,960 25,796 3,000
133  Libya 9 20 29 0.41 6,322,800 234,178 21,000
134  Albania 8 4 12 0.17 2,847,936 284,794 9,820
135  Armenia 8 6 14 0.20 3,036,180 276,016 8,850
136  Belize 8 4 12 0.17 532,160 44,347 14,100
137  Latvia 8 8 16 0.23 2,305,130 164,652 8,000
138  Hong Kong 7 4 11 0.15 6,929,750 692,975 118,500
139  Estonia 7 13 20 0.28 1,541,760 85,653 44,250
140  Lebanon 7 9 16 0.23 6,603,910 471,708 294,000
141  Mauritania 7 1 8 0.11 3,858,400 551,200 111,150
142  Mauritius 7 7 14 0.20 1,234,660 94,974 28,550
143  Palestine 7 3 10 0.14 4,258,410 473,157 705
144  Saudi Arabia 7 18 25 0.35 18,763,220 852,874 500,000
145  Sri Lanka 7 5 12 0.17 19,550,320 1,955,032 46,000
146  Trinidad and Tobago 7 2 9 0.13 2,628,000 328,500 15,600
147  Tunisia 7 8 15 0.21 11,582,100 827,293 34,650
148  Bahrain 6 8 14 0.20 1,263,500 97,192 144,000
149  Comoros 6 0 6 0.08 764,500 152,900 40,000
150  Kyrgyzstan 6 27 33 0.46 5,825,990 215,777 290,650
151  Montenegro 6 7 13 0.18 575,330 63,926 34,700
152  Turkmenistan 6 25 31 0.44 5,300,460 176,682 256,900
153  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 7 12 0.17 3,757,804 341,619 554,000
154  Caribbean Netherlands 5 1 6 0.08 18,540 3,708 3,390
155  Macao 5 2 7 0.10 582,430 83,204 3,680
156  Cook Islands 5 0 5 0.07 15,000 3,000 680
157  Curacao 5 1 6 0.08 137,670 27,534 8,760
158  Cyprus 5 11 16 0.23 1,541,700 110,121 34,800
159  Denmark 5 34 39 0.55 5,924,220 151,903 23,100
160  Djibouti 5 5 10 0.14 830,400 103,800 125,300
161  El Salvador 5 0 5 0.07 6,378,000 2,126,000 7,500
162  Eswatini 5 2 7 0.10 1,261,640 180,234 20,000
163  Ireland 5 8 13 0.18 4,682,020 425,638 27,000
164  Lesotho 5 0 5 0.07 2,164,000 541,000 190,000
165  Monaco 5 0 5 0.07 33,850 6,770 7,110
166  São Tomé and Príncipe 5 3 8 0.11 204,200 25,525 14,700
167  Uruguay 5 9 14 0.20 3,589,050 398,783 25,500
168  Andorra 4 1 5 0.07 73,500 18,375 19,650
169  Aruba 4 2 6 0.08 86,790 21,698 7,000
170  Belarus 4 7 11 0.15 8,946,400 813,309 1,121,000
171  Dominican Republic 4 5 9 0.13 10,193,500 1,698,917 159,000
172  Grenada 4 0 4 0.06 107,353 35,784 5,350
173  Haiti 4 0 4 0.06 6,960,600 2,320,200 600
174  Jamaica 4 4 8 0.11 2,692,540 448,757 7,500
175  Liechtenstein 4 1 5 0.07 35,910 11,970 17,750
176  Luxembourg 4 12 16 0.23 499,250 31,203 66,100
177  Malta 4 4 8 0.11 468,650 58,581 9,515
178  New Zealand 4 61 65 0.91 4,706,160 73,534 148,000
179  Northern Mariana Islands 4 3 7 0.10 42,180 6,026 4,620
180  Palau 4 2 6 0.08 20,870 3,478 2,185
181  Puerto Rico 4 8 12 0.17 3,530,200 353,020 159,000
182  Sint Maarten 4 5 9 0.13 39,880 4,431 6,000
183  South Korea 4 1 5 0.07 48,586,000 16,195,333 24,202,500
184  Aland Islands 3 0 3 0.04 27,652 9,217 1,450
185  Bahamas 3 2 5 0.07 667,280 166,820 330,000
186  Barbados 3 0 3 0.04 518,290 172,763 256,000
187  Burundi 3 1 4 0.06 10,036,100 2,509,025 9,600
188  Cuba 3 2 5 0.07 11,403,500 3,801,167 5,700,000
189  Dominica 3 2 5 0.07 45,800 15,267 3,000
190  Greenland 3 0 3 0.04 56,200 28,100 28,100
191  Guadeloupe 3 1 4 0.06 449,300 149,767 218,650
192  Guernsey 3 1 4 0.06 62,720 31,360 31,360
193  Jersey 3 1 4 0.06 99,230 33,077 47,350
194  Kuwait 3 4 7 0.10 3,187,200 637,440 1,163,600
195  Martinique 3 1 4 0.06 427,330 142,443 213,500
196  Mayotte 3 2 5 0.07 211,700 52,925 47,900
197  Nauru 3 6 9 0.13 13,500 2,250 5,100
198  Qatar 3 15 18 0.25 2,537,980 149,293 486,000
199  Rwanda 3 2 5 0.07 11,124,180 2,224,836 5,440
200  Réunion 3 5 8 0.11 656,200 93,743 313,000
201  Saint Barthélemy 3 0 3 0.04 7,850 2,617 1,000
202  Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 0 3 0.04 52,040 17,347 1,000
203  Saint Lucia 3 1 4 0.06 159,600 79,800 79,800
204  Saint Martin 3 2 5 0.07 28,500 5,700 5,000
205  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 0 3 0.04 138,500 46,167 400
206  Seychelles 3 0 3 0.04 85,420 28,473 4,590
207  Tonga 3 1 4 0.06 105,800 26,450 1,270
208  Tuvalu 3 0 3 0.04 10,100 5,050 5,050
209  U.S. Virgin Islands 3 3 6 0.08 85,850 21,462 9,540
210  Wallis and Futuna 3 0 3 0.04 12,960 4,320 3,900
211  Western Sahara 3 1 4 0.06 584,000 292,000 292,000
212  American Samoa 2 5 7 0.10 56,090 9,348 25,890
213  Anguilla 2 0 2 0.03 12,450 6,225 6,225
214  Antigua and Barbuda 2 2 4 0.06 153,800 51,267 76,700
215  Bermuda 2 1 3 0.04 64,610 32,305 62,000
216  British Virgin Islands 2 0 2 0.03 39,700 19,850 19,850
217  Cape Verde 2 1 3 0.04 489,800 244,900 244,900
218  Christmas Island 2 0 2 0.03 1,000 500 500
219  Cocos (Keeling) Islands 2 0 2 0.03 600 300 300
220  Faroe Islands 2 0 2 0.03 48,000 48,000 48,000
221  Gibraltar 2 1 3 0.04 46,700 15,567 21,950
222  Guam 2 7 9 0.13 181,400 22,675 46,750
223  Iceland 2 0 2 0.03 300,300 150,150 150,150
224  Isle of Man 2 0 2 0.03 88,000 44,000 44,000
225  Kiribati 2 1 3 0.04 106,000 35,333 52,750
226  Maldives 2 0 2 0.03 331,000 331,000 331,000
227  Marshall Islands 2 0 2 0.03 65,700 32,850 32,850
228  Montserrat 2 0 2 0.03 3,920 1,960 1,960
229  Niue 2 1 3 0.04 1,550 775 775
230  Norfolk Island 2 0 2 0.03 2,110 1,055 1,055
231  Pitcairn 2 0 2 0.03 36 36 36
232  Samoa 2 1 3 0.04 187,000 62,333 93,400
233  San Marino 2 0 2 0.03 25,000 12,500 12,500
234  Tokelau 2 3 5 0.07 2,421 484 870
235  Turks and Caicos Islands 2 2 4 0.06 29,840 9,947 14,365
236  Vatican 2 0 2 0.03 330 165 165
237  British Indian Ocean Territory 1 0 1 0.01 4,000 4,000 4,000
238  Cayman Islands 1 3 4 0.06 74,840 18,710 50,000
239  Falkland Islands 1 1 2 0.03 2,860 1,430 2,610
240  North Korea 1 0 1 0.01 23,300,000 23,300,000 23,300,000
241  Saint Helena 1 0 1 0.01 5,900 5,900 5,900
242  Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1 0 1 0.01 6,000 6,000 6,000

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This refers to the percentage of total number of languages in the world, including both established and immigrant languages.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2019). "Summary by country". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (22nd ed.). Dallas: SIL International. Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2019-04-28.
  2. ^ Palmer, Bill (2018). "Language families of the New Guinea Area". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 1–20. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
  3. ^ Hopwood, Sean Patrick (2018-05-07). "Linguistic Diversity: The Languages in Papua New Guinea". Day Translations Blog. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
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