Asia
Dari is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
What language does every country officially speak? Browse this complete languages by country reference for all 195 countries — searchable by country name, official language, or continent. From English in 59 countries to rare indigenous languages recognized by just one nation.
English is the official language of more countries than any other — 59 nations have designated English as an official language or use it nationally. Spanish has more native speakers across its official countries, while Arabic is official across much of Africa and the Middle East.
| Language | Official in | Native Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| English | 59 | ~380M |
| French | 29 | ~80M |
| Arabic | 25 | ~310M |
| Spanish | 20 | ~485M |
| Portuguese | 9 | ~260M |
| German | 6 | ~100M |
| Russian | 4 | ~154M |
| Italian | 4 | ~65M |
| Swahili | 4 | ~16M |
| Dutch | 3 | ~24M |
Language reference
Search this country languages list by country, official language, continent, or language count. It answers what language does each country speak and helps find countries that speak English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and more.
Showing 195 countries · 78 with 2+ languages · 4 with no official language
Asia
Dari is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Albanian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Catalan is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Portuguese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Guaraní is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Armenian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
No official language; English is de facto, with hundreds of Aboriginal languages historically spoken.
Europe
German is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Azerbaijani is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Bengali is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Belarusian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Dutch is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Belizean Creole is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Dzongkha is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Most official languages of any country: Spanish plus 36 indigenous languages recognized in the 2009 constitution.
Europe
Bosnian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Portuguese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Malay is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Bulgarian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Portuguese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Khmer is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Mandarin Chinese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Croatian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Greek is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Czech is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Danish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Estonian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Amharic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Finnish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Georgian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
German is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Greek is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Portuguese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Haitian Creole is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Hungarian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Icelandic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Indonesian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Persian (Farsi) is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Catalan is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Japanese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Kazakh is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Kyrgyz is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Lao is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Latvian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
German is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Lithuanian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Luxembourgish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Chewa is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Maldivian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
No federal official language; Spanish is de facto and 68 indigenous languages are recognized as national languages.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Romanian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Mongolian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Montenegrin is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Portuguese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Burmese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Afrikaans is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Nepali is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Dutch is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Korean is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Macedonian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Norwegian Bokmål is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
World's most linguistically diverse country, with 840+ spoken languages.
South America
Guaraní is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Polish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Portuguese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Romanian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Russian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Italian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Portuguese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Serbian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Four official languages from four different language families.
Europe
Slovak is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Slovene is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Post-apartheid constitution recognizes 11 official languages to reflect national diversity.
Asia
Korean is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Basque is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Sinhala is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Dutch is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Swedish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Four national languages; Romansh is official for federal communication with Romansh speakers.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Russian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Thai is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
Portuguese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
North America
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Turkish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Russian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Ukrainian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
No official language at national level; English is de facto, with Welsh and Scots Gaelic protected regionally.
North America
No federal official language; English is de facto and Spanish is widely spoken.
South America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Russian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Oceania
Bislama is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Europe
Italian is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
South America
Spanish is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Vietnamese is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Asia
Arabic is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
English is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Africa
Second-most official languages in the world, including Sign Language.
Language reference
These languages are official in the most countries — a map of colonial history, regional identity, and modern diplomacy.
Counts focus on national official status or broadly used national-level official status. Regional official languages are discussed in notes where relevant.
Language reference
These countries have recognized the most languages in their constitutions or national language laws.
#1
37 official languages
Most official languages of any country: Spanish plus 36 indigenous languages recognized in the 2009 constitution.
#2
16 official languages
Second-most official languages in the world, including Sign Language.
#3
11 official languages
Post-apartheid constitution recognizes 11 official languages to reflect national diversity.
#4
9 official languages
Afrikaans is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
#5
5 official languages
French is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
#6
5 official languages
Montenegrin is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
#7
4 official languages
Four official languages from four different language families.
#8
4 official languages
Basque is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
#9
4 official languages
Four national languages; Romansh is official for federal communication with Romansh speakers.
#10
3 official languages
Dari is the primary official or de facto language; additional local and minority languages may be spoken.
Language reference
These countries have no legally designated national official language under the definition used on this page — even though each has a clear de facto language.
De facto language: English
No official language; English is de facto, with hundreds of Aboriginal languages historically spoken.
De facto language: Spanish
No federal official language; Spanish is de facto and 68 indigenous languages are recognized as national languages.
De facto language: English
No official language at national level; English is de facto, with Welsh and Scots Gaelic protected regionally.
De facto language: English
No federal official language; English is de facto and Spanish is widely spoken.
Language reference
Languages spoken by country vary sharply by continent, colonial history, and indigenous language recognition.
French and English dominate official status because of colonial history, but Africa has roughly 2,000 spoken languages.
Arabic is widespread in West Asia, while large states such as China, Japan, Korea, India, and Indonesia have distinct national languages.
Indo-European languages dominate, while Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian stand out as Uralic languages.
English dominates the Caribbean and Canada/US sphere, while Spanish dominates Mexico and Central America.
Spanish is official in most countries, while Brazil uses Portuguese, Guyana English, and Suriname Dutch.
English is common at the national level, but Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu are among the world's most linguistically diverse places.
Language reference
Every official language belongs to a family. Families reveal surprising connections between countries that seem unrelated.
The dominant official-language family: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Russian, Hindi, Persian, Bengali, and many more.
Includes Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic, Somali, Hausa, Tamazight, and Maltese across North Africa, the Horn, and West Asia.
Africa's largest family, including Swahili, Zulu, Xhosa, Shona, Kinyarwanda, Yoruba, and hundreds of Bantu languages.
Includes Mandarin Chinese, Burmese, Tibetan, and Dzongkha. Mandarin has the world's largest native-speaker base.
Spans Indonesian, Malay, Filipino, Malagasy, Māori, Samoan, and Tongan from Madagascar to the Pacific.
Includes Turkish, Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Turkmen across Turkey and Central Asia.
Language reference
The most common official languages by country also show how empire shaped the modern linguistic map.
English is official in 59 countries, largely because the British Empire spread it through Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Ironically, the UK itself has no national official language by statute.
French is official in 29 countries, especially across West and Central Africa. More French speakers now live in Africa than in France itself.
Spanish is official in 20 countries and has roughly 485 million native speakers, mostly because of Spain's colonial reach across the Americas.
Portuguese is official in 9 countries on 4 continents. Brazil alone has far more Portuguese speakers than Portugal.
Language reference
Some official languages have protected status but small speaker bases, making revitalization urgent.
Irish is constitutionally first official language, but daily speakers are a small minority. Revitalization continues through schools and Gaeltacht regions.
Māori became official in 1987 and is a major revitalization success story through immersion schools, media, and public signage.
Romansh has national and limited official status but is spoken by only a small share of Switzerland's population.
Maltese is small but globally unique: a Semitic language written in Latin script and official in the European Union.
Dzongkha is Bhutan's official language, but Bhutan has around 20 languages and many are vulnerable.
Hiri Motu has official status but Tok Pisin has largely replaced it as the main lingua franca.
Language reference
Answers about official languages by country, language counts, no-official-language countries, and language families.
Language reference
Dig deeper into the world's linguistic and geographic diversity.
Bolivia has 37, Zimbabwe 16, and South Africa 11.
All countries organized by continent with flags and capitals.
Africa: 54 · Asia: 48 · Europe: 44.
Compare languages, population, GDP, and 30+ data points.
Full population ranking for all countries.
Explore island nations and archipelagos.
Discover what makes each nation culturally unique.
Language and geography ideas for students.