List of languages by number of native speakers

Author: Leandro Alegsa Creation date: November 14, 2022

Below is a List of languages by number of native speakers.

Over half the world's population speaks the 15 most used native languages. They are listed here. They are from the Swedish Nationalencyklopedin (2007, 2010).

The distinction between language and dialect is often not clear. Some mutually intelligible versions have been unified. These include Indonesian and Malay; Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian. It does not include standard Hindi and Urdu. Hindustani has been divided here into the sociolinguistic units of Hindi and Urdu, but at least 100 million speakers of some Hindi dialects are not counted below.

Questions and Answers

Q: What is the list based on?

A: The list is based on the number of native speakers of different languages.

Q: How many of the most used native languages does over half the world's population speak?

A: Over half the world's population speaks the 15 most used native languages.

Q: Where did the list of languages come from?

A: The list of languages comes from the Swedish Nationalencyklopedin (2007, 2010).

Q: What is the distinction between language and dialect?

A: The distinction between language and dialect is often not clear.

Q: Which languages have mutually intelligible versions that have been unified?

A: Indonesian and Malay; Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian have mutually intelligible versions that have been unified.

Q: Is standard Hindi and Urdu included in the list?

A: No, standard Hindi and Urdu are not included in the list.

Q: Why are at least 100 million speakers of some Hindi dialects not counted in the list?

A: Hindustani has been divided into the sociolinguistic units of Hindi and Urdu, so at least 100 million speakers of some Hindi dialects are not counted below.