People > Languages: Countries Compared
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DEFINITION:
This entry provides a rank ordering of languages starting with the largest and sometimes includes the percent of total population speaking that language.
COUNTRY | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
Afghanistan | Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism, but Dari functions as the lingua franca |
Akrotiri | English, Greek |
Albania | Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects |
Algeria | Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Berber dialects: Kabylie Berber (Tamazight), Chaouia Berber (Tachawit), Mzab Berber, Tuareg Berber (Tamahaq) |
American Samoa | Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2% |
Andorra | Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese |
Angola | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages |
Anguilla | English (official) |
Antigua and Barbuda | English (official), local dialects |
Argentina | Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French, indigenous (Mapudungun, Quechua) |
Armenia | Armenian (official) 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% |
Aruba | Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3%, Spanish 12.6%, English (widely spoken) 7.7%, Dutch (official) 5.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified or unknown 5.3% |
Australia | English 78.5%, Chinese 2.5%, Italian 1.6%, Greek 1.3%, Arabic 1.2%, Vietnamese 1%, other 8.2%, unspecified 5.7% |
Austria | German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in Carinthia, and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% |
Azerbaijan | Azerbaijani (Azeri) (official) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% |
Bahrain | Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu |
Bangladesh | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Barbados | English |
Belarus | Belarusian (official) 23.4%, Russian (official) 70.2%, other 6.4% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities) |
Belgium | Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) |
Belize | Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan dialects 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%, unknown 0.2% |
Benin | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) |
Bermuda | English (official), Portuguese |
Bhutan | Sharchhopka 28%, Dzongkha (official) 24%, Lhotshamkha 22%, other 26% |
Bolivia | Spanish (official) 60.7%, Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnian (official), Croatian (official), Serbian (official) |
Botswana | Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English (official) 2.1%, other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% |
Brazil | Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language) |
British Virgin Islands | English (official) |
Brunei | Malay (official), English, Chinese |
Bulgaria | Bulgarian (official) 76.8%, Turkish 8.2%, Roma 3.8%, other 0.7%, other (unknown) 10.5% |
Burkina Faso | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population |
Burma | Burmese (official) |
Burundi | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Cambodia | Khmer (official) 95%, French, English |
Cameroon | 24 m |
Canada | English (official) 58.8%, French (official) 21.6%, other 19.6% |
Cape Verde | Portuguese (official), Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words) |
Cayman Islands | English (official) 95%, Spanish 3.2%, other 1.8% |
Central African Republic | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages |
Chad | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects |
Chile | Spanish (official), Mapudungun, German, English |
China | Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) |
Christmas Island | English (official), Chinese, Malay |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Malay (Cocos dialect), English |
Colombia | Spanish (official) |
Comoros | Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) |
Congo, Republic of the | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) |
Cook Islands | English (official), Maori |
Costa Rica | Spanish (official), English |
Cote d'Ivoire | French (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken |
Croatia | Croatian (official) 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) 2.9% |
Cuba | Spanish (official) |
Cyprus | Greek (official), Turkish (official), English |
Czech Republic | Czech 95.4%, Slovak 1.6%, other 3% |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
Denmark | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) |
Dhekelia | English, Greek |
Djibouti | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
Dominica | English (official), French patois |
Dominican Republic | Spanish (official) |
East Timor | Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English |
Ecuador | Spanish (official), indigenous (Quechua, Shuar) |
Egypt | Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes |
El Salvador | Spanish (official), Nahua (among some Amerindians) |
Equatorial Guinea | Spanish (official) 67.6%, other (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) 32.4% |
Eritrea | Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages |
Estonia | Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% |
Ethiopia | Oromo (official regional) 33.8%, Amharic (official) 29.3%, Somali 6.2%, Tigrayan (official regional) 5.9%, Sidamo 4%, Wolaytta 2.2%, Guragiegna 2%, Afar 1.7%, Hadiyya 1.7%, Gamo 1.5%, other 11.7%, English (official) (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (official) |
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | English |
Faroe Islands | Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish |
Federated States of Micronesia | English (official and common language), Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi |
Fiji | English (official), Fijian (official), Hindustani |
Finland | Finnish (official) 91.2%, Swedish (official) 5.5%, other (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) 3.3% |
France | French (official) 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois, Mahorian (a Swahili dialect) |
French Polynesia | French (official) 61.1%, Polynesian (official) 31.4%, Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% |
Gabon | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
Gaza Strip | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Georgia | Georgian (official) 71%, Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7% |
Germany | German |
Ghana | Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other (includes English (official)) 36.1% |
Gibraltar | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese |
Greece | Greek (official) 99%, other (includes English and French) 1% |
Greenland | Greenlandic (East Inuit) (official), Danish (official), English |
Grenada | English (official), French patois |
Guam | English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages 3.5% |
Guatemala | Spanish (official) 60%, Amerindian languages 40% |
Guernsey | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
Guinea | French (official) |
Guinea-Bissau | Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages |
Guyana | English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Urdu |
Haiti | French (official), Creole (official) |
Holy See (Vatican City) | Italian, Latin, French, various other languages |
Honduras | Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects |
Hong Kong | Cantonese (official) 89.5%, English (official) 3.5%, Putonghua (Mandarin) 1.4%, other Chinese dialects 4%, other 1.6% |
Hungary | Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% |
Iceland | Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken |
India | Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9% |
Indonesia | Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (of which the most widely spoken is Javanese) |
Iran | Persian (official) 53%, Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects 18%, Kurdish 10%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 7%, Luri 6%, Balochi 2%, Arabic 2%, other 2% |
Iraq | Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic) are official in areas where they constitute a majority of the population), Armenian |
Ireland | English (official, the language generally used), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official, spoken mainly in areas along the western coast) |
Isle of Man | English, Manx Gaelic (about 2% of the population has some knowledge) |
Israel | Hebrew (official), Arabic (used officially for Arab minority), English (most commonly used foreign language) |
Italy | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
Jamaica | English, English patois |
Japan | Japanese |
Jersey | English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% |
Jordan | Arabic (official), English (widely understood among upper and middle classes) |
Kazakhstan | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% |
Kenya | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages |
Kiribati | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
Kosovo | Albanian (official), Serbian (official), Bosnian, Turkish, Roma |
Kuwait | Arabic (official), English widely spoken |
Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz (official) 64.7%, Uzbek 13.6%, Russian (official) 12.5%, Dungun 1%, other 8.2% |
Laos | Lao (official), French, English, various ethnic languages |
Latvia | Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% |
Lebanon | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
Lesotho | Sesotho (official) (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Liberia | English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages few of which can be written or used in correspondence |
Libya | Arabic (official), Italian, English (all widely understood in the major cities); Berber (Nafusi, Ghadamis, Suknah, Awjilah, Tamasheq) |
Liechtenstein | German (official), Alemannic dialect |
Lithuania | Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% |
Luxembourg | Luxembourgish (official administrative language and national language (spoken vernacular)), French (official administrative language), German (official administrative language) |
Macau | Cantonese 83.3%, Mandarin 5%, Hokkien 3.7%, other Chinese dialects 2%, English 2.3%, Tagalog 1.7%, Portuguese 0.7%, other 1.3% |
Madagascar | French (official), Malagasy (official), English |
Malawi | Chichewa (official) 57.2%, Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% |
Malaysia | Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai |
Maldives | Dhivehi (official, dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English (spoken by most government officials) |
Mali | French (official), Bambara 46.3%, Peul/foulfoulbe 9.4%, Dogon 7.2%, Maraka/soninke 6.4%, Malinke 5.6%, Sonrhai/djerma 5.6%, Minianka 4.3%, Tamacheq 3.5%, Senoufo 2.6%, unspecified 0.6%, other 8.5% |
Malta | Maltese (official) 90.2%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.8% |
Marshall Islands | Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% |
Mauritania | Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French, Hassaniya |
Mauritius | Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% |
Mayotte | Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population |
Mexico | Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8% |
Moldova | Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) |
Monaco | French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque |
Mongolia | Khalkha Mongol 90% (official), Turkic, Russian |
Montenegro | Serbian 63.6%, Montenegrin (official) 22%, Bosnian 5.5%, Albanian 5.3%, unspecified (includes Croatian) 3.7% |
Montserrat | English |
Morocco | Arabic (official), Berber languages (Tamazight (official), Tachelhit, Tarifit), French (often the language of business, government, and diplomacy) |
Mozambique | Emakhuwa 25.3%, Portuguese (official) 10.7%, Xichangana 10.3%, Cisena 7.5%, Elomwe 7%, Echuwabo 5.1%, other Mozambican languages 30.1%, other 4% |
Namibia | English (official) 7%, Afrikaans (common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population), German 32%, indigenous languages (includes Oshivambo, Herero, Nama) 1% |
Nauru | Nauruan (official, a distinct Pacific Island language), English (widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes) |
Nepal | Nepali (official) 47.8%, Maithali 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi 2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5% |
Netherlands | Dutch (official), Frisian (official) |
New Caledonia | French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects |
New Zealand | English (official) 91.2%, Maori (official) 3.9%, Samoan 2.1%, French 1.3%, Hindi 1.1%, Yue 1.1%, Northern Chinese 1%, other 12.9%, New Zealand Sign Language (official) |
Nicaragua | Spanish (official) 97.5%, Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% |
Niger | French (official), Hausa, Djerma |
Nigeria | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages |
Niue | English (official), Niuean (a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan) |
Norfolk Island | English (official), Norfolk (a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian) |
North Korea | Korean |
Northern Mariana Islands | Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro (official) 22.4%, English (official) 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% |
Norway | Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Oman | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects |
Pakistan | Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Saraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8% |
Palau | Palauan (official on most islands) 64.7%, Filipino 13.5%, English (official) 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% |
Panama | Spanish (official), English 14% |
Papua New Guinea | Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 836 indigenous languages spoken (about 12% of the world's total); most languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers |
Paraguay | Spanish (official), Guarani (official) |
Peru | Spanish (official) 84.1%, Quechua (official) 13%, Aymara (official) 1.7%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages (includes a large number of minor Amazonian languages) 0.7%, other 0.2% |
Philippines | Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan |
Pitcairn Islands | English (official), Pitkern (mixture of an 18th century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect) |
Poland | Polish (official) 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% |
Portugal | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used) |
Puerto Rico | Spanish, English |
Qatar | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language |
Republic of Macedonia | Macedonian (official) 66.5%, Albanian (official) 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% |
Romania | Romanian (official) 91%, Hungarian 6.7%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 1.2% |
Russia | Russian (official), many minority languages |
Rwanda | Kinyarwanda (official, universal Bantu vernacular), French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili, used in commercial centers) |
Saint Barthelemy | French (primary), English |
Saint Helena | English |
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha | English |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | English (official) |
Saint Lucia | English (official), French patois |
Saint Martin | French (official), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles) |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon | French (official) |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | English, French patois |
Samoa | Samoan (Polynesian) (official), English |
San Marino | Italian |
Sao Tome and Principe | Portuguese (official) |
Saudi Arabia | Arabic (official) |
Senegal | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka |
Serbia | Serbian (official) 88.3%, Hungarian 3.8%, Bosniak 1.8%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 4.1%, unknown 0.9% |
Seychelles | Creole 91.8%, English (official) 4.9%, other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% |
Sierra Leone | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Singapore | Mandarin (official) 35%, English (official) 23%, Malay (official) 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil (official) 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% |
Slovakia | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% |
Slovenia | Slovenian (official) 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4%, Italian (official, only in municipalities where Italian national communities reside), Hungarian (official, only in municipalities where Hungarian national communities reside) |
Solomon Islands | Melanesian pidgin (in much of the country is lingua franca), English (official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population), 120 indigenous languages |
Somalia | Somali (official), Arabic (official, according to the Transitional Federal Charter), Italian, English |
South Africa | IsiZulu (official) 23.82%, IsiXhosa (official) 17.64%, Afrikaans (official) 13.35%, Sepedi (offcial) 9.39%, English (official) 8.2%, Setswana (official) 8.2%, Sesotho (official) 7.93%, Xitsonga (official) 4.44%, siSwati (official) 2.66%, Tshivenda (official) 2.28%, isiNdebele (official) 1.59%, other 0.5% |
South Korea | Korean, English (widely taught in junior high and high school) |
South Sudan | English (official), Arabic (includes Juba and Sudanese variants) (official), regional languages include Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Zande, Shilluk |
Spain | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, and Basque 2% |
Sri Lanka | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8% |
Sudan | Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur |
Suriname | Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo (Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese |
Svalbard | Norwegian, Russian |
Swaziland | English (official, used for government business), siSwati (official) |
Sweden | Swedish (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Switzerland | German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%, Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch (official) 0.5%, other 2.8% |
Syria | Arabic (official), Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian (widely understood); French, English (somewhat understood) |
Taiwan | Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects |
Tajikistan | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business |
Tanzania | Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages |
Thailand | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects |
The Bahamas | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
The Gambia | English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars |
Togo | French (official, the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north) |
Tokelau | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Tonga | Tongan (official), English (official) |
Trinidad and Tobago | English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese |
Tunisia | Arabic (official, one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce), Berber (Tamazight) |
Turkey | Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages |
Turkmenistan | Turkmen (official) 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Turks and Caicos Islands | English (official) |
Tuvalu | Tuvaluan (official), English (official), Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
Uganda | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic |
Ukraine | Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, other (includes small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities) 9% |
United Arab Emirates | Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu |
United Kingdom | English |
United States | English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% |
Uruguay | Spanish (official), Portunol, Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
Uzbekistan | Uzbek (official) 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1% |
Vanuatu | local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama - official) 23.1%, English (official) 1.9%, French (official) 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% |
Venezuela | Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects |
Vietnam | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer, mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
Virgin Islands | English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% |
Wallis and Futuna | Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language) 58.9%, Futunian 30.1%, French (official) 10.8%, other 0.2% |
West Bank | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Western Sahara | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
Yemen | Arabic (official) |
Zambia | 11 m |
Zimbabwe | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects |