List of languages by number of native speakers

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This is a list of languages placed in order by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use. Only languages spoken natively by more than ten million are listed, and then they are listed for secondary locations only when spoken by more than 1% of the population.

For practical reasons in compiling this list, some listings are not single languages in the sense of being mutually intelligible, such as Chinese or Arabic; while in other cases mutually intelligible idioms with separate national standards or self identification have been listed separately, such as Scandinavian, Hindustani, and Malay. This should not be taken as an endorsement of any side of dialect versus language debates.

For the purposes of this article, a "native language" is a language with which a person was raised, while a "second language" is a language that person would use for instruction or everyday communication outside the home. A person may be natively bilingual.

Countries that are not sovereign states are listed according to the corresponding sovereign states.

Data are not all up to date. For a comparison of various estimates, see Language speaker data. For languages spoken by very few people, and so in danger of extinction, see list of endangered languages.

Contents

[edit] 100 million native speakers or more

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively by more than 1% of the population Number of speakers Ranking by number of native speakers
Chinese Sino-Tibetan

Official language in People's Republic of China (Mandarin; Cantonese de facto co-official in Hong Kong and Macau), Taiwan (Republic of China) (Mandarin; Taiwanese has been proposed in the legislature but not (yet) accepted), and Singapore (Mandarin).

Significant communities in Australia (including plurality on Christmas Island), Brunei, Cambodia, Canada , France (French Polynesia, Reunion), Indonesia, Jamaica, Italy, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Zealand, Philippines, Surinam, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States (California, Guam, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Northern Mariana Islands, Washington), Venezuela, Vietnam

850 million native (1999). Includes:

Mandarin: 672 million native + 178 million second language = 850 million (1999 WA, 2004 CIA)
Wu: 87 million (2004 CIA)
Cantonese: 54.8 million (2005? [unsourced])
Southern Min/Taiwanese: 46 million (1984)
Jin: 45 million (1984)
Xiang: 36 million (1984)
Hakka: 30 million (1984)
Gan: 21 million (1984)
Northern Min: 10.3 million (1984)
Eastern Min: 9.1 million (2000 WCD)
Hui: 3.2 million
Pu-Xian Min: 2.6 million (2000 WCD). 		1
English Indo-European, Germanic, West, Anglic Official in Antigua and Barbuda, Australia (including external territories), The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada (unofficial minority language in the province of Quebec), Dominica, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong), India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, Realm of New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom (and in all overseas territories and crown dependencies), United States (unofficial national language; official in some states and unincorporated territories), Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Significant communities in Andorra, Bangladesh, Brunei, Israel, France (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), Malaysia, Maldives, Netherlands (Aruba), Somalia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland. 		325 million native (2006 est.); estimated 150 million–1.5 billion second language 2


Spanish Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Iberian Official in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico,New Mexico (United States) Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela

Significant communities in Andorra, Aruba, Belize, Israel, Netherlands (Netherlands Antilles), Switzerland, United Kingdom (Cayman Islands, Gibraltar), United States,Philippines, Western Sahara 		390 million native (2004 CIA), 70 million second language (Indiana University 2003) = 460 million total 3
Hindi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in Fiji (Awadhi), India (Khariboli nationally and in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal; Maithili in Bihar).

Significant communities in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bhutan, Canada, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Maldives, Martinique, Mauritius, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Nepal, Qatar, Réunion, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen 		ca. 330 million native, 300 million second language = 630 million total<ref>Comrie (1998 data) [1]</ref> . Includes:

Khariboli (180 million, 2004 CIA),
Bhojpuri (27 million, 1997),
Maithili (25 million, 1981),
Awadhi (21 million, 1999),
Haryanvi (13 million, 1992),
Marwari (13 million, 2002),
Magahi (13 million, 2002),
Chhattisgarhi (11 million, 1997),
Kanauji (6 million, 1977). 		4
Arabic Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, Central, South Central Modern Standard Arabic is official in Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt (along with Egyptian Arabic as the national language), Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, Yemen.

Hassaniya Arabic is a national language in Mali, Mauritania, Senegal.

Significant communities in Brazil, Australia, Belgium, Central African Republic, France, Iran, Italy, Spain (mainland and Ceuta and Melilla), United Kingdom (Gibraltar), Uzbekistan. Taught in schools in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Senegal, most Muslims in these countries can read Koranic Arabic. 		272 million native (2006 Guinness), 24 million second language (2005 WA) = 296 million total. Includes:

Egyptian Arabic: 46 million native.
Hassaniya: 2.8 million native.
Modern Standard Arabic is a second language only. 		5
Portuguese Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Iberian Official in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, People’s Republic of China (Macau), Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe.

Significant communities in Andorra, Antigua, Canada, France, Germany, Guyana, India (Daman and Goa), Jamaica, Japan, Luxembourg, Namibia, Paraguay, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States (Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island), Uruguay, Venezuela. Creole or pidgin in Senegal. 		210 million native (2004 CIA), 20+ million second language = 230 million total (not counting 4 million Galician) 6
Bengali Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Magadhan Prakrit, Bengali-Assamese Official in Bangladesh, India (Tripura, West Bengal).

Significant communities in Myanmar, Oman, United Arab Emirates 		194 million native (2006 Guinness); 215 million total (2005 WA). Includes:

Chittagonian: 14 million (2004 CIA)
Sylheti: 10.3 million (2004 CIA)		 7
Indonesian Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi Malayic Official in Indonesia. Significant communities in the Netherlands, Timor-Leste, Singapore, Malaysia 222 million native with any dialects , less 15 million second language; 251 million total all Malay (2005 WA) 8
Russian Indo-European, Slavic, East Official in Abkhazia (de jure part of Georgia), Belarus, Gagauzia (de jure part of Moldova), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Ossetia (de jure part of Georgia), Russia, Transnistria (de jure part of Moldova), regions of Ukraine.

Significant communities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Serbia, Romania ,Poland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United States (Alaska and New York), Uzbekistan 		145 million native (2004 CIA), 110 million second language, = 255 million total (2000 WCD) 9
Japanese Japonic Official in Japan and Palau (Angaur Island).

Significant communities in Brazil, United States (esp. Hawaii), Palau, Taiwan, Republic of Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, . 		130 million native (2004 CIA). 10
French Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Oil National or official in Algeria, Belgium (Wallonia and Brussels), Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada (nationally and in New Brunswick, Quebec, and the territories), Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, France (including territories), Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, India (districts of Karaikal and Pondicherry), Italy (Aosta Valley), Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Martinique, Morocco, Mauritius, Monaco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland (Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchatel, Valais, Vaud), Togo, Tunisia, United Kingdom (Guernsey, Jersey), Vanuatu. Significant communities in New Zealand, United States (Maine, New Hampshire, Louisiana, and Vermont). Creoles also significant in Dominica, Saint Lucia. 120 million native (2005), 52 million second language, = 175 million total (2) 11
Persian Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern Official in Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan. Significant communities in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, United States of America, Western Europe 101 million native (including at least 80%-90% of Iran, 40% of Afghanistan, 80% of Tajikistan and 15-30% of Uzbekistan), may include Mazanderani and Gilaki; ~40 million second language, 130 million total (2005) 12
German Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German Official in Austria, Belgium (East Cantons), Germany, Italy (South Tyrol), Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Namibia, Switzerland (Aargau, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Glarus, Graubünden, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Uri, Valais, Zug, Zurich).

Significant communities in Argentina, Australia, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Paraguay, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, United States (North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin),. 		100 - 120 million native (95 million Standard German [2004 CIA], 5 million Swiss German), 60 million second language in EU ([2]) + 5 - 20 million worldwide = 165 - 200 million total 13

[edit] 30–100 million native speakers

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively, or as an immigrant language, by more than 1% of the population Number of speakers Ranking by number of native speakers
Punjabi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central Zone (Eastern Punjabi) or North-Western Zone (Western Punjabi) Official in India (Punjab). National language in Pakistan (Punjab).

Significant communities in Canada, Fiji, Mauritius, United Kingdom, United States 		Western: 61–62 million (2000 WCD), Eastern: 28 million, Siraiki: 14 million = 104 million total 14
Javanese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi Native to Indonesia (originally Java). Significant communities in France (New Caledonia), Malaysia, Suriname 76 million 14
Korean Altaic (disputed), Korean/Language isolate Official in People's Republic of China (Yanbian), North Korea, South Korea. Significant communities in Australia, Brazil, Japan, United States (Guam, Hawaii, California, Northern Mariana Islands), Uzbekistan 71 million 15
Vietnamese Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Vietic Official in Vietnam. Significant communities in Australia, Cambodia, Laos, France (New Caledonia), Norway, United States (California), Vanuatu. 70 million native, perhaps up to 16 million second language, = ~ 86 million total 17
Telugu Dravidian, South Central Official in India (Andhra Pradesh, district of Yanam). Significant communities in the United States, Bahrain, Fiji, Mauritius 70 million native, 10 million second language, = 80 million total (2006) 18
Marathi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central Zone Official in India (Daman and Diu, Goa, Maharashtra). Significant communities in Mauritius. 45 million native, 3 million second language, = 48 million total 26
Tamil Dravidian, Southern Official in India (Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry), Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Significant communities in Bahrain, Fiji, Mauritius, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa,Canada, France (Reunion). 68 million native, 9 million second language, = 77 million total 20
UrduIndo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Hindustani Official in India (Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh); Pakistan. Significant communities in Bahrain, Botswana, Fiji, Malawi?, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa?, United Kingdom, United States 61 million native, 43 million second language, = 104 million total 21
Italian Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italian Official in Croatia (Istria County), Eritrea, Italy, San Marino, Switzerland (Graubünden, Ticino), Vatican City . Significant communities in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Somalia, Slovenia, United States (California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island), Uruguay 61 million native (all varieties, including 7 million Neapolitan and Calabrese, 5 million Sicilian [see entry below]) 22
Turkish Altaic, Turkic, Southwestern, Oghuz Official in Cyprus, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkey. Significant communities in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iran, Macedonia, Moldova, Netherlands. 60 million native, 15 million second language, = 75 million total (2005 estimate). Total for Oghuz Turkish, including Azeri, Turkmen, and Qashqai, is 100 million native. 23
Gujarati Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central Zone Official in India (Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli). Significant communities in many countries across the world, including Canada, Fiji, Guyana, Kenya, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States. 46 million 25
Polish Indo-European, Slavic, West Official in Poland. Significant communities in Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States (Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas). 46 million 26
Ukrainian Indo-European, Slavic, East Official in Ukraine, Transnistria (de jure part of Moldova). Significant communities in Belarus, Canada, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Israel [citation needed], Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Slovakia 39 million 27
Malayalam Dravidian, Southern Official in India (Kerala, Lakshadweep, district of Mahe). Significant communities in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, United States, United Kingdom 37 million 28
Kannada Dravidian, Southern Official in India (Karnataka). 55 million native, 9 million second language, = 64 million total (1997) 29
Oriya Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Magadhi Official in India (Orissa). 32 million native (1997) 30
Burmese Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Lolo-Burmese Official in Myanmar. 32 million native, 10 million second language, = 42 million total 31
Thai Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Be-Tai, Tai-Sek, Tai Official in Thailand. ~31 million native (1983 SIL, 1990 Diller, 2000 WCD) (dated data), = ~60 million first & second language (2001 A. Diller). Includes Southern Thai, Northern Thai/Western Lao, but not Shan, Isan, or Lao. 32

[edit] 10–30 million native speakers

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively, or as an immigrant language, by more than 1% of the population Number of speakers Ranking by number of native speakers
Amharic Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, South Official in Ethiopia. Significant communities in Israel. 27 million native (32.7% Ethiopia [1994 census] and 2.7 million emigrants), 10% (7 million) as a second language = 34 million total 33
Sundanese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi Native to Indonesia (originally western Java) 27 million (1990) 34
Azeri Altaic, Turkic, Southwestern, Oghuz Official in Azerbaijan. Native to Iran. Significant communities in Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Turkey, Iraq. 25–35 million native, including Qashqai (data for Iran uncertain); 8 million second language (outside Iran) 35
Kurdish Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern Official in Iraq. Native to Armenia, Iran, Syria, Turkey. Significant communities in Germany, Lebanon. ~10 million (assuming 12% of Turkey) 36
Pashto Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern, Southeastern Official in Afghanistan. Native to Pakistan. Significant communities in Iran, United Arab Emirates. 21–27 million (data uncertain; ethnic population ~30 million) 37
Hausa Afro-Asiatic, Chadic, West Official in Niger, north Nigeria. Significant communities in Chad, Benin, Ghana, Sudan 24 million native, ~ 15 million second language, = ~ 40 million total 38
Oromo Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East Cushitic National language of Ethiopia. Significant communities in Kenya 24 million native (31.6% of Ethiopia [1994 census]), ~ 2 million second language, = 26 million total (1998 census) 39
Romanian Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Eastern Official in Moldova, Romania, Serbia (Vojvodina). Significant communities in Greece, Hungary, USA, Israel, Spain, Ukraine. 24–26 million (2002) 40
Tagalog Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines, Meso Philippine, Central Philippines Official in Philippines. Significant communities in Canada, People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States (Alaska, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands). 22 million native (2000 census), ~65 million second language, = 85 million total 41
Dutch Indo-European, Germanic, West, Low Franconian Official in Belgium (Brussels and Flanders), Kingdom of the Netherlands, Suriname. Significant communities in South Africa 22 million [3] [4] 42
Uzbek Altaic, Turkic, Eastern Official in Uzbekistan. Native to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan 20 million (1995) 43
Sindhi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in India, Pakistan. Significant communities in People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong) ?, Oman?. 20 million native, 1 million second language, = 21 million total (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk) 44
Yoruba Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Defoid, Yoruboid Official in Nigeria. Native to Benin 19 million native, 2 million second language, = 21 million total (1993) 45
Somali Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, Central Cushitic Official in Somalia. Native to Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya. Significant communities in United Arab Emirates, Yemen 13–25 million (2004 WCD) 46
Lao Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Tai Official in Laos. Native to Thailand. ~19 million Lao-Phutai dialects (including Isan) (data dated) 47
Cebuano Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines, Meso Philippine, Central Philippine, Visayan languages, Cebuan Native to Philippines 18.5 million native, ~11.5 million second language, =30 million total (2000 census) 48
Malay Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi, Malayic Official in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore. Native to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand. Significant communities in Australia, Bahrain. 18 million native, 3 million second language, = 21 million total (not counting Indonesian) 49
Igbo Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Igboid Official in Nigeria 18 million native (1999 WA), unknown number second language. 50
Serbo-Croatian Indo-European, Slavic, South Official in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatian, Montenegro, Serbia and called Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian in respective countries. Significant communities in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia. 17 million 51
Malagasy Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines, Barito Official in Madagascar. Significant communities in Mayotte, Reunion. 17 million 52
Nepali Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in Nepal, India (Sikkim). Significant communities in Bhutan. 17 million native (2001 census), perhaps 10–15 million second language? 53
Assamese Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Magadhan Prakrit, Bengali-Assamese Official in India (Assam). Significant communities in Bhutan. 15 million (1997) 54
Shona Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu National language of Zimbabwe. Significant communities in Botswana, Mozambique. 15 million native, 1.8 million second language, = 16–17 million total, including Ndau, Manyika (2000 A. Chebanne) 55
Khmer Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer Official in Cambodia. Significant communities in Thailand, United States (California), Vietnam 14 million native, 1 million second language, = 15 million total (2004) 56
Zhuang Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Tai Official in People's Republic of China (Guangxi) 14 million native (1992), unknown number second language 57
Madura Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi Native to Indonesia (Originally Java, Madura) 14 million (1995) 58
Hungarian Uralic, Finno-Ugric, Ugric Official in Hungary, Serbia (Vojvodina), Slovenia. Significant communities in Israel, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine 14 million native (1995) 59
Sinhala Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in Sri Lanka. Significant communities in United Arab Emirates 13 million native, 2 million second language, = 15 million total (1993) 60
Fulani Niger-Congo, Atlantic, Northern, Senegambian Official in Niger, Nigeria. National language in Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal. Significant communities in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Sierra Leone. ~13 million (all varieties) 61
Tamazight Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern National language in Algeria (Kabyle), Morocco. Significant communities in France, Netherlands, Spain (Ceuta & Melilla). 13+ million (1998) 62
Haitian Creole Indo-European, Romance, Creole Official in Haiti. Significant communities in Bahamas, Canada (Quebec), Cayman Islands (UK), Dominican Republic, France (Guadeloupe), United States (Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York). 12 million (2005) 63
Czech Indo-European, Slavic, West Official in Czech Republic. 12 million (1990 WA). 64
Greek Indo-European, Greek Official in Cyprus, Greece. Significant communities in Albania, Australia, Canada, Egypt, Georgia. 12 million (2004), up to 5–6 million more second language 65
Kazakh Altaic, Turkic Official in Kazakhstan. Significant communities in People's Republic of China (Xinjiang), Russia, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan 12 million 66
Quechua Quechuan Official in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru. Significant communities in Argentina 10.4 million, all varieties 68

[edit] 3–10 million native speakers

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively by more than 1% of the population Number of speakers Ranking by number of native speakers
Zulu Niger-Congo, Bantu Official in South Africa. Significant communities in Lesotho, Swaziland 9.6 million native, ~16 million second language, = ~25 million total (1996 census) 70
Chichewa (Nyanja) Niger-Congo, Bantu Official in Malawi, Zambia. Significant communities in Mozambique, Zimbabwe. 9.3 million native (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk), 0.4 million second language (1999 WA), = 9.7 million total 71
Belarusian Indo-European, Slavic, East Official in Belarus. Significant communities in Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Russia 9.1 million (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk) 72
Swedish Indo-European, Germanic, North National language of Sweden, Finland. 8.8 million (1986), ~9 million (2005) 73
Kongo Niger-Congo, Bantu National language in Angola, Congo-Brazzaville (Kituba), Congo-Kinshasa. 8.7 million, all varieties, including Yombe and creolized Kituba (1986–2002) (dated data) 74
Akan Niger-Congo, Kwa National language in Ghana 8.3 million native, ~1 million second language, = ~10 million total (2004 SIL) 75
Hmong Hmong-Mien China. Significant communities in France (French Guiana), Laos, United States (Minnesota, Wisconsin), Vietnam ~8 million, all varieties (1999 Li Yunbing) 76
Yi Tibeto-Burman People's Republic of China 7.8 million ethnic Yi (2000 census) 77
Tshiluba Niger-Congo, Bantu National language of Congo-Kinshasa 7.8 million native, 0.7 million second language, = 8.5 million total (1991 UBS). Includes 1.5 million Kiluba. 78
Ilokano Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines, Northern Philippine, Northern Luzon Philippines. Significant communities in United States (Hawaii). 7.7 million native (2000 census), ~2.3 second language = 10 million total 77
Uyghur Altaic, Turkic Official in People's Republic of China (Xinjiang). Significant communities in Kazakhstan 7.6 million 78
Bulgarian Indo-European, Slavic, South Official in Bulgaria. Significant communities in Moldova. 6.6 million in Bulgaria (2005) and ~1 million abroad = 7.5 million native 79
Kinyarwanda Niger-Congo, Bantu Official in Rwanda. Significant communities in Congo-Kinshasa, Uganda 7.3 million (1998) 80
Xhosa Niger-Congo, Bantu Official in South Africa. Significant communities in Lesotho 7.2 million (1996 census) 81
Balochi Indo-European, Iranian Native to Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan. Significant communities in Oman, United Arab Emirates 7.0 million (1998) 82
Hebrew Afro-Asiatic, Semitic Official in Israel. Significant communities in West Bank (Palestinian Territories), USA (New York, California). ~7 million native (2004? needs verification), 5.1 million (1998) (10 million literate) 83
Hiligaynon Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines, Meso Philippine, Central Philippine, Visayan, Central Visayan Philippines 6.9 million (2000 census), est. 4.1 million second language = ~11 million total 84
Tigrinya Afro-Asiatic, Semitic Official in Eritrea, Ethiopia 4.5 million in Ethiopia (6% of population-1994 census), ~2.25 million in Eritrea (50% of population-CIA) = 6.75 native, 146,934 as second language (1994 census) = 6.9 million total 85
Catalan Indo-European, Romance Official in Andorra, Spain (Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Valencia). Native to Aragon (La Franja), France (Pyrénées-Orientales), Italy (Alghero). 6.7 million native, ~5 million second language, = ~12 million total (1996) (includes Valencian) 86
Armenian Indo-European, isolate Official in Armenia,