View source for List of languages by number of native speakers

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{{For|first- and second-language speakers|List of languages by total number of speakers}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
[[File:Primary Human Languages Improved Version.png|thumb|Current distribution of human language families]]
Human languages ranked by their number of [[native speaker]]s are as follows. All such rankings should be used with caution, because it is not possible to devise a coherent set of linguistic criteria for distinguishing languages in a [[dialect continuum]].<ref name="Paolillo&Das">{{cite web
|url = https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/evaluating-language-statistics-the-ethnologue-and-beyond-en_0.pdf
|title = Evaluating language statistics: the Ethnologue and beyond
|date = 31 March 2006 |access-date = 17 November 2018
|publisher = [[UNESCO]] Institute of Statistics
|last1 = Paolillo |given1 = John C. |last2 = Das |given2 = Anupam
|pages = 3–5
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170110155051/https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/evaluating-language-statistics-the-ethnologue-and-beyond-en_0.pdf
|archive-date = 2017-01-10
|url-status = live
}}</ref> For example, a language is often defined as a set of mutually intelligible [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]], but independent national standard languages may be considered separate languages even though they are largely [[mutually intelligible]], as in the case of [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]].<ref>{{cite book
| last1 = Chambers | given1 = J.K. | author-link1 = Jack Chambers (linguist)
| last2 = Trudgill | given2 = Peter | author-link2 = Peter Trudgill
| title = Dialectology
| publisher = Cambridge University Press | edition = 2nd | year = 1998
| isbn = 978-0-521-59646-6
}}</ref> Conversely, many commonly accepted languages, including [[German language|German]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[English language|English]], encompass varieties that are not mutually intelligible.<ref name="Paolillo&Das"/> While [[Arabic language|Arabic]] is sometimes considered a single language centred on [[Modern Standard Arabic]], other authors consider its mutually unintelligible varieties separate languages.<ref>{{cite book
| given1 = Alan S. | last1 = Kaye | given2 = Judith | last2 = Rosenhouse
| chapter = Arabic Dialects and Maltese | pages = 263–311
| title = The Semitic Languages
| editor-given = Robert | editor-last = Hetzron
| publisher = Routledge | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-0-415-05767-7
}}</ref> Similarly, [[Chinese language|Chinese]] is sometimes viewed as a single language because of a shared culture and common literary language.<ref>{{cite book
| given = Jerry | surname = Norman | author-link = Jerry Norman (sinologist)
| title = Chinese
| publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1988 | isbn = 978-0-521-29653-3
| page = 2
}}</ref> It is also common to describe various Chinese dialect groups, such as [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], [[Wu Chinese|Wu]] and [[Yue Chinese|Yue]], as languages, even though each of these groups contains many mutually unintelligible varieties.<ref>{{cite book
| surname = Norman | given = Jerry | author-link = Jerry Norman (sinologist)
| chapter = The Chinese dialects: phonology | pages = [https://archive.org/details/sinotibetanlangu00thur/page/n94 72]–83
| editor-given1 = Graham | editor-surname1 = Thurgood | editor-link1 = Graham Thurgood
| editor-given2 = Randy J. | editor-surname2 = LaPolla | editor-link2 = Randy LaPolla
| title = The Sino-Tibetan languages | url = https://archive.org/details/sinotibetanlangu00thur | url-access = limited | publisher = Routledge | year = 2003
| isbn = 978-0-7007-1129-1
}}</ref>
There are also difficulties in obtaining reliable counts of speakers, which vary over time because of population change and [[language shift]]. In some areas, there is no reliable [[census]] data, the data is not current, or the census may not record languages spoken, or record them ambiguously. Sometimes speaker populations are exaggerated for political reasons, or speakers of minority languages may be underreported in favour of a national language.<ref>{{cite book
| title = The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
| url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgeencycl000crys
| url-access = registration
| given = David | surname = Crystal | author-link = David Crystal
| publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1988
| isbn = 978-0-521-26438-9
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgeencycl000crys/page/286 286–287]
}}</ref>
==Top languages by population==
===''Ethnologue'' (2024)===
The following languages are listed as having at least 50 million first-language speakers in the 27th edition of ''[[Ethnologue]]'' published in 2024.<ref name=e27>[https://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/ Statistics], in {{e27}}</ref> This section does not include entries that ''Ethnologue'' identifies as [[ISO 639 macrolanguage|macrolanguages]] encompassing all their respective [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]], such as [[Arabic]], [[Lahnda]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Malay language|Malay]], [[Pashto]], and [[Chinese language|Chinese]].
{{Static row numbers}}
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers"
|+Languages with at least 50 million first-language speakers<ref name=e27/>
! Language
! data-sort-type=number | Native speakers<br><small>(in millions)</small>
! Language family
! Branch
|-
| [[ISO 639:cmn|Mandarin Chinese]]
| 941
| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:spa|Spanish]]
| 486
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Romance languages|Romance]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:eng|English]]
| 380
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:hin|Hindi]]
| 345
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:ben|Bengali]]
| 237
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:por|Portuguese]]
| 236
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Romance languages|Romance]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:rus|Russian]]
| 148
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:jpn|Japanese]]
| 123
| [[Japonic languages|Japonic]]
| [[Japanese language|Japanese]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:yue|Yue Chinese]]
| 86
| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:vie|Vietnamese]]
| 85
| [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]]
| [[Vietic languages|Vietic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:tur|Turkish]]
| 84
| [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
| [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:wuu|Wu Chinese]]
| 83
| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:mar|Marathi]]
| 83
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:tel|Telugu]]
| 83
| [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]]
| South-Central
|-
| [[ISO 639:pnb|Western Punjabi]]
| 82
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:kor|Korean]]
| 81
| [[Koreanic languages|Koreanic]]
| {{N/A}}
|-
| [[ISO 639:tam|Tamil]]
| 79
| [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]]
| South
|-
| [[ISO 639:arz|Egyptian Arabic]]
| 78
| [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]]
| [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:deu|Standard German]]
| 76
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:fra|French]]
| 74
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Romance languages|Romance]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:urd|Urdu]]
| 70
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:jav|Javanese]]
| 68
| [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]]
| [[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:ita|Italian]]
| 64
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Romance languages|Romance]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:pes|Iranian Persian]]
| 62
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:guj|Gujarati]]
| 58
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:hau|Hausa]]
| 54
| [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]]
| [[Chadic languages|Chadic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:bho|Bhojpuri]]
| 53
| [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]
| [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:apc|Levantine Arabic]]
| 51
| [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]]
| [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
|-
| [[ISO 639:nan|Southern Min]]
| 51
| [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
| [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic]]
|}
=== ''CIA World Factbook'' (2018 estimates) ===
According to the ''[[CIA World Factbook]]'', the most-spoken first languages in 2018 were:<ref name="CIA"/>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Top first languages by population per ''CIA''<ref name="CIA">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/#people-and-society |access-date=30 November 2023 |title=The World Factbook. People and Society. Languages |work=[[The World Factbook]] |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |date=2023-11-29 }}</ref>
|-
! Rank
! Language
! Percentage<br>of world<br>population<br>(2018)
|-
| 1 || [[Mandarin Chinese]] || 12.3%
|-
| 2 || [[Spanish language|Spanish]] || 6.0%
|-
| 3 || [[English language|English]] || 5.1%
|-
| 3 || [[Arabic language|Arabic]] || 5.1%
|-
| 5 || [[Hindi language|Hindi]] || 3.5%
|-
| 6 || [[Bengali language|Bengali]] || 3.3%
|-
| 7 || [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] || 3.0%
|-
| 8 || [[Russian language|Russian]] || 2.1%
|-
| 9 || [[Japanese language|Japanese]] || 1.7%
|-
| 10 || [[Lahnda|Western Punjabi]] || 1.3%
|-
| 11 ||[[Javanese language|Javanese]] || 1.1%
|}
==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of languages by total number of speakers]]
* [[List of sign languages by number of native signers]]
* [[List of language families]] (with number of speakers)
* [[List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language]]
* [[Number of languages by country]]
* [[Languages used on the Internet]]
* [[List of ISO 639-3 codes]]
* [[Lists of languages]]
* [[List of languages by number of speakers in Europe]]
* [[Global language system]]
* [[Linguistic diversity index]]
* [[World language]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Countries and languages lists}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Languages By Number of Native Speakers}}
[[Category:Lists of languages|Number of Native Speakers]]