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font-weight: bold; display: inline-block; padding-left: 20px; padding-top: 11px; } #block-block-376 { background: #add8e64d; height: 45px; vertical-align: bottom; display: block; } </style> <a href="/web/20190521232800/https://www.ethnologue.com/guides">« Back to all Guides</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="separator"></div> </div> <div class="separator"></div> </div> <div id="zone-content-wrapper" class="zone-wrapper zone-content-wrapper clearfix"> <div id="zone-content" class="zone zone-content clearfix container-24"> <div class="grid-24 region region-content" id="region-content"> <div class="region-inner region-content-inner"> <a id="main-content"></a> <div class="title-wrapper"> <h1 class="title" id="page-title">How many languages are there in the world?</h1> <a class="print-link" href="javascript:window.print();">Print</a> </div> <div class="tabs clearfix"></div> <div class="block block-system block-main block-system-main odd block-without-title" id="block-system-main"> <div class="block-inner clearfix"> <div class="content clearfix"> <div class="ds-1col node node-page node-promoted view-mode-full clearfix"> <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><h2><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=1098633133807812608" class="tweetable" style="font-size: 23.52px;">7,111 languages are spoken today.</a></h2> <p class="subtext">That number is constantly in flux, because we're learning more about the world's languages every day. And beyond that, the languages <em>themselves</em> are in flux. They’re living and dynamic, spoken by communities whose lives are shaped by our rapidly changing world. This is a fragile time: Roughly a third of languages are now <a href="/web/20190521232800/https://www.ethnologue.com/endangered-languages">endangered</a>, often with less than 1,000 speakers remaining. Meanwhile, <a href="/web/20190521232800/https://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size">just 23 languages</a> account for more than half the world’s population.</p> <iframe width="100%" height="480" frameborder="0" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800if_/https://silintl.cartodb.com/viz/852e178e-e26e-11e5-88b4-0e674067d321/embed_map" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen detectretina></iframe> <div class="one-half guide first"> <p>Zoom in above to see just how many pins are packed onto each region. Myriad factors – terrain, cultural history, the spread of ancient civilizations – play into how many languages exist in a certain area. As shown in the pie chart, the majority of languages are concentrated in Africa and Asia, with the fewest belonging to Europe. </p> <p>On this map, each language is shown just once, with a pin in its primary country. To see specific language names, just hover over the pins. </p> </div> <div class="one-half guide"> <h2 id="region"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=836327556991303681" class="tweetable" style="font-size: 23.52px;">Nearly 2/3 of languages are from Africa and Asia</a></h2> <div class="graphic"><script id="infogram_0_percentage_of_the_worlds_languages_by_region" title="Percentage of the world’s languages, by region" src="//web.archive.org/web/20190521232800js_/https://e.infogr.am/js/embed.js?bpp" type="text/javascript"></script></div> <div class="graphic-social right"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages%23region&title=Chart%3A%20Percentage%20of%20the%20world's%20languages,%20by%20region&description=The%20majority%20of%20languages%20are%20concentrated%20in%20Africa%20and%20Asia,%20with%20the%20fewest%20belonging%20to%20Europe." class="icon icon-link icon-facebook-square"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ethnologue.com%2Fguides%2Fhow-many-languages%23region&via=theEthnologue&text=Chart%3A%20Percentage%20of%20the%20world%27s%20languages%2C%20by%20region&" class="icon icon-link icon-twitter-square"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages&media=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/percentage-languages-by-region.png&description=Chart%3A%20Percentage%20of%20the%20world's%20languages,%20by%20region" class="icon icon-link icon-pinterest-square"></a> </div> </div> <div class="line-guide"></div> <div class="guide" style="margin-bottom: 28px"> <h2 id="population"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=835201477434097665" class="tweetable" style="font-size: 23.52px;">86% of people use Asian or European languages</a></h2> <p class="subtext">Above we see <em>where</em> languages are concentrated – most densely in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. But how many people actually <em>speak</em> them? The vast majority of us use Asian or European languages, which may not be surprising given the sheer population of certain areas as well as colonial expansion in recent centuries. By contrast, Pacific languages – which account for 18.5% of the world’s languages – are spoken by so few people that the region barely even registers on our population graphic below.</p> <div class="graphic" style="padding-bottom: 20px;"> <script id="infogram_0_living_languages_vs_population" title="Living Languages vs Population" src="//web.archive.org/web/20190521232800js_/https://e.infogr.am/js/embed.js?aHa" type="text/javascript"></script></div> <div class="graphic-social right"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages%23region&title=Chart%3A%20Number%20of%20languages%20and%20their%20total%20speaker%20population,%20by%20region&description=86%25%20of%20people%20use%20Asian%20or%20European%20languages." class="icon icon-link icon-facebook-square"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ethnologue.com%2Fguides%2Fhow-many-languages%23population&via=theEthnologue&text=Chart%3A%20Number%20of%20languages%20and%20their%20total%20speaker%20population%2C%20by%20region&" class="icon icon-link icon-twitter-square"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages%23population&media=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/living-languages-vs-population-2017.png&description=Chart%3A%20Number%20of%20languages%20and%20their%20total%20speaker%20population,%20by%20region" class="icon icon-link icon-pinterest-square"></a> </div> </div> <div class="one-half guide first"> <div class="graphic"> <script id="infogram_0_average_language_size_by_region" title="Average Language Size, by Region" src="//web.archive.org/web/20190521232800js_/https://e.infogr.am/js/embed.js?UPH" type="text/javascript"></script> </div> <div class="graphic-social left"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages%23size&title=Chart%3A%20Average%20language%20size,%20by%20region&description=Pacific%20languages,%20along%20with%20North%20and%20South%20American,%20have%20just%201,000%20speakers%20each%20on%20average.%20But%20together,%20they%20represent%20more%20than%20a%20third%20of%20our%20world%E2%80%99s%20languages." class="icon icon-link icon-facebook-square"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ethnologue.com%2Fguides%2Fhow-many-languages%23size&via=theEthnologue&text=Chart%3A%20Average%20language%20size%2C%20by%20region&" class="icon icon-link icon-twitter-square"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages%23size&media=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/avg-language-size-by-region-2017.png&description=Chart%3A%20Average%20language%20size,%20by%20region" class="icon icon-link icon-pinterest-square"></a> </div> </div> <div class="one-half guide"> <p id="size"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=835207444854886400" class="tweetable"><strong>Pacific languages,</strong> along with North and South American, have just 1,000 speakers each on average.</a> But together, they represent more than a third of our world’s languages. These tiny communities may not have a loud voice on the global stage, but they hold much of our shared linguistic heritage.</p> </div> <div class="line-guide"></div> <div class="guide"> <h2 id="countries">Some countries have hundreds of languages</h2></div> <div class="two-thirds first"> <div class="graphic"><script id="infogram_0__/0dC7KwXkmWeZtbBYkKix" title="Countries with the most spoken languages" src="//web.archive.org/web/20190521232800js_/https://e.infogr.am/js/embed.js?x01" type="text/javascript"></script> </div> <div class="graphic-social left"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages%23countries&title=Chart%3A%20Countries%20with%20the%20most%20languages&description=Languages%20are%20spread%20unequally%20throughout%20the%20world.%20That%20trend%20is%20clear%20whether%20we%E2%80%99re%20looking%20at%20whole%20regions,%20as%20above,%20or%20individual%20countries%20%E2%80%94%C2%A0some%20countries%20have%20hundreds%20of%20languages!" class="icon icon-link icon-facebook-square"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ethnologue.com%2Fguides%2Fhow-many-languages%23countries&via=theEthnologue&text=Chart%3A%20Countries%20with%20the%20most%20languages&" class="icon icon-link icon-twitter-square"></a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages%23countries&media=https%3A//www.ethnologue.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/countries-with-most-languages-2017.png&description=Chart%3A%20Countries%20with%20the%20most%20languages" class="icon icon-link icon-pinterest-square"></a> </div></div> <div class="one-third guide"> <p>Languages are spread unequally throughout the world. That trend is clear whether we’re looking at whole regions, as above, or individual countries.</p> <p>To the left are the ten countries where the most languages are spoken today, including all established and immigrant languages.</p> <p class="pull-quote"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800/https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=836661158568349697" class="tweetable">More than twice the number of languages spoken across Europe can be found in Papua New Guinea alone.</a></p> <p>If you click By Language Type, you’ll see that some countries, such as Papua New Guinea, are home to mostly indigenous languages – while others, like the United States, have many immigrant languages.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="block block-block block-381 block-block-381 even block-without-title" id="block-block-381"> <div class="block-inner clearfix"> <div class="content clearfix"> <style> .about-subtitle { display: block; padding-bottom: 0.4em; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 800; } .about a { text-decoration: none; font-size: 18px; } .about .link-first { margin-right: 16px; } .about a, .about a:link, .about a:visited, .about a:active { color: #0062A0; } a.next:link, a.next:visited, a.next:active { color: #444; } a.next:hover { color:#8b2479; } .about a:hover { color: #8b2479; } .about .subtitle { font-weight: 300; color: #333; line-height: 1.2; } .st-2-bg { display: inline-block; margin-left: -80px; margin-right: -80px; padding: 22px 80px 25px 80px; background-color: #f5fafd; margin-top: 10px; } .action { padding-top: 36px; margin-top: 40px; margin-bottom: 30px; } .action a { display: inline-block; font-weight: bold; padding-top: 19px; font-size: 23px; } </style> <div class="st-2-bg action about"> <div class="hit-image" style=" display: inline-block; width: 8%; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 2%; "><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20190521232800im_/https://www.ethnologue.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/ethnologue3.png" alt="" style="border-radius:5%;"></div> <p class="subtitle st-3" style="text-align: left; font-size: 24px; width:88%; display:inline-block; padding:0;"> <span class="about-subtitle">About Ethnologue</span> Ethnologue is the definitive source of language intelligence. 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