What are the 5 most spoken languages ​​in the world?

There are some in the world 7,000 languages. However, according to the site Ethnologist40% are present Danger of extinction (they only have 1,000 speakers).

This specialized portal guarantees it 23 languages ​​represent more than half of the world’s population. And one of these became, in fact, the “universal language” thanks to the expansion of the British Empire and, above all, to the enormous influence of American culture.

This language, which is learned in millions of schools as “second language”it has enabled communication, for example, in fields as diverse as economics, science and even politics.

Despite this apparent unification, which has little to do with the idea of ​​creating an artificial language that everyone can learn (Esperanto), linguistic diversity is one of humanity’s most distinctive characteristics.

But of all these languages, five occupy the top places in the ranking one of the most talked about in the world. Which ones are they?

What are the 5 most spoken languages ​​in the world?

The language learning center Berlitz created a list based on data from several global surveys:

1) English (1,452 million)

It is the most spoken language in the world if you include native speakers (372 million) and those who learn it as a second language.

Like Greek or Latin in other times, this language, of Indo-European origin, is now commonly used in most countries, especially when traveling abroad. It also corresponds to 60% of the content published on the networks.

2) Mandarin (1,118 million)

Originating from China, it is the second most spoken language and the first as a native language as it is part of that country’s macrolanguage, according to Ethnologue.

The economic growth of China, which has become the second world power by GDP, has contributed to increasing its presence on the world stage, even if the use of a very different alphabet, based on ideograms, constitutes a difficulty in learning.

3) Hindi (602 million)

With around 343 million native speakers, it is, together with English, one of the 22 official languages ​​of India, the most populous country in the world.

Its origin is Indo-European. The number of speakers can be explained by the fact that millions of people use it as a lingua franca in India and also in Nepal.

4) Spaniards (548 million)

Despite being fourth in the overall ranking, it is the second most spoken language in the world in terms of native inhabitants (474 ​​million) and the third most used on the Internet. Spain’s colonial expansion, starting in the 16th century, meant that Castilian reached much of America and, to a lesser extent, Asia and Africa.

Thus, currently, there are 21 Spanish-speaking countries. A curiosity: the second country with the largest number of Spanish speakers, thanks to immigration of Latin origin, is the United States, indicates the website of Cervantes Institute. The first is Mexico.

5) French (280 million)

Although native speakers are relatively few (79 million), French maintains its influence following colonization, especially in Africa.

Today it is the official language of 28 countries, in addition to France. Of Indo-European origin, and once the favorite language of diplomacy and men of culture, it is the third language in the world in terms of non-native speakers.