In this article, we will take a look at the 5 most spoken languages in the world in 2024. If you would like to read our discussion on the language services market, you can go to the 30 Most Spoken Languages in the World in 2024.
5. French
Total Speakers: 274.1 million
French is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union, and 29 other countries, including Haiti and Rwanda. Over 40% of its vocabulary has influenced the English language. French has its origins in Gallo-Romance, a derivative of Latin that was spoken in Gaul, particularly in Northern Gaul. Its most closely related languages are the ones that were traditionally spoken in northern France and southern Belgium. The development of French was also shaped by the influence of native Celtic languages in Northern Roman Gaul, such as Gallia Belgica, as well as the Frankish language spoken by the post-Roman Frankish invaders.
4. Spanish
Total Speakers: 548.3 million
Spanish is the official language of 20 countries, the United Nations, the African Union, and the European Union. Spanish-derived words are also found in several other languages, like Tagalog. It is the second-most spoken language in the US. During the initial years of the 21st century, the highest number of Spanish speakers was found in Mexico, exceeding 85 million. Following closely were Colombia, with over 40 million speakers; Argentina, with more than 35 million speakers; the United States, where the count exceeded 31 million; and Spain, where more than 30 million people spoke the language.
3. Hindi
Total Speakers: 602.2 million
Hindi and English are the two official languages of India. The language has many unique dialects. With 602.2 million total speakers, it is the third most spoken language in the world as of 2024. Written in the Devanagari script, literary Hindi has been shaped by Sanskrit to a very large extent. The standard version is based on the everyday Khari Boli dialect spoken in the areas north and east of Delhi.
2. Mandarin Chinese
Total Speakers: 1.118 billion
Mandarin Chinese is the official language of China, Singapore, and Taiwan. The Mandarin Chinese language is used in most of China north of the Yangtze River and extensively in other parts of the nation. It acts as the mother tongue for around two-thirds of the total population. The language has been spoken for over 3,000 years, making it one of the oldest surviving languages in the world.
1. English
Total Speakers: 1.452 billion
English is the official language of around 67 countries and of large international organizations like the United Nations, the European Union, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund. English traces its origins to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European language group.
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