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This is a list of languages, ordered by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use. Languages are listed for secondary locations only when spoken by more than 1% of the population.

Since the definition of a single language is to some extent arbitrary, some mutually intelligible idioms with separate national standards or self identification have been listed separately, depending on conventional use, for example Scandinavian, Hindustani, and Malay.

The relevant estimate for the number of native speakers for the purposes of this list is that of SIL Ethnologue. Other estimates may vary, and the numbers should not be taken as more than indicating the rough order of magnitude of a linguistic community.

Current distribution of Human Language Families

Contents

Top 20

Further information: Ethnologue list of most spoken languages
Language Family Ethnologue (2005 estimate)Ethnologue. SIL. Encarta estimateLanguages Spoken by More Than 10 Million People. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-18. Other estimates Ranking by Ethnologue estimate
Mandarin Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 873 million -- 873 million native, 178 million second language = 1051 million totalhttp://www.krysstal.com/spoken.html The

30 Most Spoken Languages of the World || 1

Spanish Indo-European, Italic, Romance 322 million 322 million Encarta also says 322 to 358 million Encarta, 400 million native, 100 million second language = 500 millionUniversidad de MéxicoInstituto Cervantes ("El Mundo" news) 2
English Indo-European, Germanic, West 309 million 341 million 375 million native, over 1.5 billion worldwide.Curtis, Andy. Color, Race, And English Language Teaching: Shades of Meaning. 2006, page 192. Also see, List of countries by English-speaking population 3
Portuguese Indo-European, Italic, Romance 230 million 230 million 230 million native (2004 CIA), 20+ million second language = 250 million total 4
Arabic Afro-Asiatic, Semitic 206 million 422 million Total population of Arab countries: 323 million (CIA 2006 est). 5
Standard Hindi (Khariboli) Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 181 million (1991) 366 million 6
Bengali Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 171 million 207 million 196 million native (2004 CIA) (includes 14 million Chittagonian and 10.3 million Sylheti). 7
Russian Indo-European, Slavic, East 145 million 167 million 145 million native (2004 CIA), 110 million second language = 255 million total (2000 WCD) 8
Japanese Japanese-Ryukyuan 122 million 125 million 128 million native, 2 million second language = 130 million total 9
German Indo-European, Germanic, West 95.4 million 100.1 million 101 million native (95 million Standard German [2004 CIA], 5 million Swiss German), 60 million second language in EUEuropeans and Languages (English). European Commission. Retrieved on 2007-02-18. + 5 - 20 million worldwide. 101 million native, ~70 million second language, ~170 million total 10
Wu Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 77.2 million-- 77 million native 11
Javanese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi 75.5 million 75.6 million 70-75 million 12
Telugu Dravidian, South Central 69.7 million 69.7 million 76 million native, 10 million second language, = 86 million total (2001)[citation needed] 13
Marathi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 68 million 68 million 68 million native, 3 million second language, = 71 million total 14
Vietnamese Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Vietic 67.4 million 68 million 70 million native, perhaps up to 16 million second language, = ~ 86 million total 15
Korean Considered either language isolate or Altaic 67 million 78 million 71 million 16
Tamil Dravidian, Southern 66 million 66 million 68 million native, 9 million second language, = 77 million totalTop 30 Language Spoken in the World by Number of Speakers 17
French Indo-European, Italic, Romance 64.8 million 78 million
115 million "real speakers" (includes some second-language speakers),DGLF - La francophonie en chiffres 250 million second language (worldwide including Africa and North Africa) = 365 million total and up to 500 million total with significant knowledge of the languageFrancophonie 		18
Italian Indo-European, Italic, Romance 61.5 million 62 million 61 million native 19
Punjabi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Western Punjabi: 60.8 million
Eastern Punjabi: 28 million 		57 million 61–62 million (2000 WCD) (taken together with Eastern Punjabi (28 million) and Siraiki (14 million): 104 million total) 20

30 to c. 60 million native speakers

Language Family Ethnologue (2005 estimate)Ethnologue, Languages of the World Encarta estimateLanguages Spoken by More Than 10 Million People (English). Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-18. Other estimates Ranking by Ethnologue estimate
UrduIndo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 60.5 million 60.3 million 61 million native, 43 million second language, = 104 million total 21
Cantonese Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 54.8 million -- 66 million native, perhaps up to about 100 million total 22
Turkish Altaic, Turkic, Oghuz 50.6 million 61 million 74 million (2006 estimate)http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf + 15 million second language = 89 million 23
Min Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 46.2 million -- Southern Min: 49m, Northern Min 10.43m 25
Gujarati Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 46.1 million 46.1 million -- 26
Maithili Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 45 million (included in "Hindi") 27
Polish Indo-European, Slavic, West 42.7 million 52 million -- 28
Ukrainian Indo-European, Slavic, East 39.4 million 47 million -- 29
Persian/Farsi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian 39.4 million sum of 10 dialects; 43 million if all of Southwestern Iranian is included.[1] 31.3 million ca. 72 million;2006 CIA Factbook: Iran 39 M (58%), Afghanistan 15 M (50%), Tajikistan 5.8 M (80%), Uzbekistan 1.2 M (4.4%) sometimes taken to include all of Southwestern Iranian (Luri, Tati, and other); ca. 62 million second language[citation needed], ca. 134 million total 30
Malayalam Dravidian, Southern 35.8 million 35.7 million 38 million native, 10 million second language = 48 million 31
Kannada Dravidian, Southern 35.4 million 35.4 million 55 million native, 9 million second language, = 64 million total[citation needed] 32
Oriya Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 31.7 million 32.3 million -- 33
Azerbaijani Altaic, Turkic, Oghuz 31 million 31.4 million 25–35 million native, including Qashqai (data for Iran uncertain); 8 million second language (outside Iran) 34
Hakka Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 29.9 million -- 34 million 35
Bhojpuri Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan 26 million (included in "Hindi") 126 million total 36
Burmese Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Lolo-Burmese 22 million (1996) 32.3 million (2006) 32 million native, 10 million second language, = 42 million total 37
Gan Sino-Tibetan, Chinese 21 million -- 48 million, 29 million in Jiangxihttp://ling.cass.cn/fangyan/dituji/LANGUAGE%20ATLAS%20OF%20CHINA.html The

population of Gan speakers is 48 million || 38

Thai Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Be-Tai, Tai-Sek, Tai 20.05 million (1996) 46.1 million (2006) ~31 million native (1983 SIL, 1990 Diller, 2000 WCD) (dated data), = ~60 million first and second language (2001 A. Diller). Includes Southern Thai, Northern Thai/Western Lao, but not Shan, Isan, or Lao. 39

20 to 30 million native speakers

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively, or as an immigrant language, by more than 1% of the population SIL estimate Other estimates Ranking by SIL estimate
Sundanese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi Native to Indonesia (origin in western Java) 27 million (2006) 27 million (1990) 39
Romanian Indo-European, Italic, Romance Official in Moldova, Romania, Serbia (Vojvodina). Significant communities in Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, USA. 26.3 million (2006) 26 million native, 4 million second language. The total is about 30 million.The Latin Union reports 28 million speakers for Romanian, out of whom 24 million are native speakers of the language: Latin Union - The odyssey of languages: ro, es, fr, it, pt; see also Ethnologue report for Romanian 40
Sindhi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in India, Pakistan. Significant communities in People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong) ?, Oman? and Gibraltar. 24.5 million (2006) 28 million native, 2 million second language, = 30 million total (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk) 41
Hausa Afro-Asiatic, Chadic, West Official in Niger, north Nigeria. Significant communities in Chad, Benin, Ghana, Sudan 24.2 million (2006) 24 million native, ~15 million second language, = ~40 million total 42
Pashto Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Eastern Official in Afghanistan. Native to Pakistan. Significant communities in Iran, United Arab Emirates. 22.8 million (2006) 21–25 million (data uncertain; ethnic population ~25 million) 43
Serbo-Croatian Indo-European, Slavic, South Official in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and called Serbo-Croatian in respective countries. Significant communities in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia. 21.1 million (2006) 17 million 44
Uzbek Altaic, Turkic, Eastern Official in Uzbekistan. Native to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan 20.1 million (2006) 20 million (1995) 45
Dutch Indo-European, Germanic, West Official in Belgium, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Suriname. Significant communities in South Africa, Bonaire island and Sint Maarten island 20 million (2006) 25 millionHet Nederlandse taalgebied (Dutch). Taalpeil. Retrieved on 2007-02-18. 46
Yoruba Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Defoid, Yoruboid Official in Nigeria. Native to Benin 20 million (2006) 19 million native, 2 million second language, = 21 million total (1993) 47
Amharic Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, South Official in Ethiopia. Significant communities in Israel. 17.4 million (2006) 27 million native (32.7% Ethiopia [1994 census] and 2.7 million emigrants), 10% (7 million) as a second language = 34 million total 48
Oromo Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East Cushitic National language of Ethiopia. Significant communities in Kenya 17.2 million (2006) 24 million native (31.6% of Ethiopia [1994 census]), ~2 million second language, = 26 million total (1998 census) 49
Indonesian Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian 23.1 million, national language in Indonesia 17.1 million 140 million second language 50
Tagalog Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines Official and Native in Philippines. Significant communities in Canada, People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States (Alaska, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands). 17 million (2006) 22 million native (2000 census), ~65 million second language, = 85 million total 51
Kurdish Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern Official in Iraq. Native to Armenia, Iran, Syria, Turkey. Significant communities in Germany, Lebanon. 16 million (all varieties) ~31,417,000[citation needed] (see article for full list) 52

10 to 20 million native speakers

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively, or as an immigrant language, by more than 1% of the population SIL estimate Number of speakers Ranking by number of native speakers
Somali Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, East Official in Somalia. Native to Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya. Significant communities in Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen. 9.8 million (2006) 10-16 million native and at least 500,000 second-language speakers.million (2004 WCD) 49
Lao Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Tai Official in Laos. Native to Thailand. 3.2 million (2006) ~19 million Lao-Phutai dialects (including Isan) (data dated) 50
Cebuano Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines Native to Philippines 15 million (2006) 18.5 million native, ~11.5 million second language, = 30 million total (2000 census) 51
Greek Indo-European, Greek Official in Cyprus, Greece. Significant communities in Albania, Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA. 15 million (2007) 12 million (2004), up to 10–12 million more second language 52
Malay Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi, Malayic Official in Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore. Native to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand. Significant communities in Australia, Bahrain. 23.6 million (2006) 18 million native, 3 million second language, = 21 million total (not counting Indonesian) 53
Igbo Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Igboid Official in Nigeria 18 million (2006) 18 million native (1999 WA), unknown number second language. 54
Malagasy Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines, Barito Official in Madagascar. Significant communities in Mayotte, Réunion. 10.5 million (2006) 17 million 55
Nepali Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in Nepal, India (Sikkim). Significant communities in Bhutan.approx. 30 million in Nepal, 16 million as native tongue and 15 million as a second language (2006) 40 million (2006) 56
Assamese Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in India (Assam). Significant communities in Bhutan and Bangladesh. 15.4 million (2006) 15 million (1997). Assamese is spoken and/or understood by most everyone in the state of Assam. Assam had a population of 26.7 million in 2003-04. So, Assamese has another 8-10 million second language speakers. Assamese is also understood and spoken widely in Arunachal Pradesh with a population of 1.1 million. These are mostly second or third language speakers. Various tribes in Nagaland with a population 2 million use Nagamese, a variant of Assamese, for communication. Thus, a total of approximately, 28-30 million people speak and understand Assamese. 57
Shona Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu National language of Zimbabwe. Significant communities in Botswana, Mozambique. 14 million (2006) 15 million native, 1.8 million second language, = 16–17 million total, including Ndau, Manyika (2000 A. Chebanne) 58
Khmer Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Khmer Official in Cambodia. Significant communities in Thailand, United States (California), Vietnam 8 million (2006) 14 million native, 1 million second language, = 15 million total (2004) 59
Zhuang Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Tai Official in People\'s Republic of China (Guangxi) 14 million (2006) 14 million native (1992), unknown number second language 60
Madurese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi Native to Indonesia (Originally Java, Madura) 13.7 million (2006) 14 million (1995) 61
Hungarian Uralic, Finno-Ugric, Ugric Official in Hungary, Serbia (Vojvodina), Slovenia, Austria. Significant communities in Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, United States, Israel 14.5 million (2006) 14 million native (1995) 62
Sinhalese Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in Sri Lanka. Significant communities in United Arab Emirates 13.2 million (2006) 13 million native, 2 million second language, = 15 million total (1993) 63
Fula Niger-Congo, Atlantic, Northern, Senegambian Official in Niger, Nigeria. National language in Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal. Significant communities in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Sierra Leone. 11.4 million (2006) ~13 million (all varieties) 64
Tamazight Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Northern National language in Algeria (Kabyle), Morocco. Significant communities in France, Netherlands, Spain (Ceuta & Melilla). 3.5 million (2006) 13+ million (1998) 65
Czech Indo-European, Slavic, West Official in Czech Republic. 12 million (2006) 12 million (1990 WA). 67

5 to 10 million native speakers

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively by more than 1% of the population SIL estimateMicrosoft ® Encarta ® 2006, Languages Spoken by More Than 10 Million People. Number of speakers Ranking by number of native speakers
Zulu Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in South Africa. Significant communities in Lesotho, Swaziland 9.1 million (2006) 9.6 million native, ~16 million second language, = ~25 million total (1996 census) 68
Quechua Quechuan Official in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru. Significant communities in Argentina 8.3 million (2006) 10.4 million, all varieties 69
Kazakh Altaic, Turkic, Northwestern, Southern Official in Kazakhstan. Significant communities in People\'s Republic of China (Xinjiang), Russia, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan 8 million (2006) 12 million 70
Tajik Indo-European, Indo-Iranian Official in Tajikistan. Significant communities in Uzbekistan 4,380,212. 71
Chichewa (Nyanja) Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in Malawi, Zambia. Significant communities in Mozambique, Zimbabwe. 9.3 million native (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk), 0.4 million second language (1999 WA), = 9.7 million total 72
Haitian Creole Indo-European, Romance, Creole Official in Haiti. Significant communities in Bahamas, Canada (Quebec), Cuba, Cayman Islands (UK), Dominican Republic, France (Guadeloupe), United States (Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York). 7.8 million (2006) 12 million (2005) 73
Belarusian Indo-European, Slavic, East Official in Belarus. Significant communities in Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, Russia 10.2 million (2006) 9.1 million (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk) 74
Lombard Indo-European, Romance Native to Italy -- 5 million Western Lombard + 3 million Eastern Lombard + others = 9.13 million (Ethnologue 2006) 75
Hebrew Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, North Central Official in Israel. Significant communities in USA (New York, California) and Gibraltar. 9.42 million (2006) ~9 million native (2004? needs verification), 95.1 million (2004) (90 million literate) 90
Swedish Indo-European, Germanic, North National language of Sweden. Official language of Finland. 9 million (2006) 8.8 million (1986), ~9 million (2005) 76
Kongo Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu National language in Angola, Congo-Brazzaville (Kituba), Congo-Kinshasa. 4.7 million (2006) 8.7 million, all varieties, including Yombe and creolized Kituba (1986–2002) (dated data) 77
Akan Niger-Congo, Kwa National language in Ghana 7 million (2006) 8.3 million native, ~1 million second language, = ~10 million total (2004 SIL) 78
Albanian Indo-European, isolate Official in Albania, Macedonia, Serbia (Kosovo). Significant communities in Greece, Italy. 6.0 million 3.6 million (data from Albania) 79
Hmong Hmong-Mien China. Significant communities in France (French Guiana), Laos, United States (Minnesota, Wisconsin), Vietnam 2.8 million (2006) ~4 million (Lemoine, 2005) 80
Yi Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, Burmic People\'s Republic of China 4.2 million (2006) 7.8 million ethnic Yi (2000 census) 81
Tshiluba Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu National language of Congo-Kinshasa 7.8 million native, 0.7 million second language, = 8.5 million total (1991 UBS). Includes 1.5 million Kiluba. 82
Ilokano Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines Philippines. Significant communities in United States (Hawaii). 8 million (2006) 7.7 million native (2000 census), ~2.3 second language = 10 million total 83
Uyghur Altaic, Turkic, Southeastern, Eastern Official in People\'s Republic of China (Xinjiang). Significant communities in Kazakhstan 7.6 million (2006) 7.6 million 84
Neapolitan Indo-European, Romance Native to Italy -- 7.5 million native 85
Bulgarian Indo-European, Slavic, South Official in Bulgaria. Significant communities in Moldova, Ukrain, FYR Macedonia, Greece, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, USA 9 million (2006) 7.7 million in Bulgaria (2005) and ~1 million abroad = 8.5 million native 86
Kinyarwanda Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in Rwanda. Significant communities in Congo-Kinshasa, Uganda 7.3 million (1998) 87
Xhosa Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in South Africa. Significant communities in Lesotho 6.9 million (2006) 7.2 million (1996 census) 88
Balochi Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian Native to Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan. Significant communities in Oman, United Arab Emirates 7 million (2006) 7.0 million (1998) 89
Hiligaynon Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines Philippines 7 million (2006) 6.9 million (2000 census), est. 4.1 million second language = ~11 million total 91
Tigrinya Afro-Asiatic, Semitic, South Official in Eritrea, Ethiopia 5.1 million (2006) 4.5 million in Ethiopia (6% of population (1994 census)), ~2.25 million in Eritrea (50% of population (CIA)), = 6.75 million native, 146,934 as second language (1994 census), = 6.9 million total 92
Catalan Indo-European, Romance Official and Native to Andorra, Spain (Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Valencia),Aragon (La Franja), France (Pyrénées-Orientales), Italy (Alghero). 6.6 million (2006) 6.7 million native, ~5 million second language, = ~12 million total (1996) (includes Valencian) 93
Armenian Indo-European, isolate Official in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh (de jure part of Azerbaijan). Significant communities in Georgia, Lebanon, Syria, France. 6 million (2006) 6.7 million (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk, etc.) 94
Minangkabau Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi, Malayic Indonesia (Sumatra) 6.5 million (2006) 6.5 million (1981 Moussay) (dated data) 95
Turkmen Altaic, Turkic, Southwestern, Eastern Official in Turkmenistan. Significant communities in Afghanistan, Iran. 6.4 million (2006) 6.4 million (1995) 96
Makhuwa Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Major language of Mozambique. Significant communities in Tanzania 2.5 million (2006) 6.4 million, all varieties, including Lomwe 97
Santali Austro-Asiatic, Munda Official in India 6.2 million (2006) 6.2 million (1997) 98
Batak Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi, Northern Sumatra Indonesia 2 million (2006) ~6.2 million, all varieties (c. 1991 UBS) (dated data). Includes Toba, Dairi, Simalungun, etc. 99
Afrikaans Indo-European, Germanic, West Germanic Official in South Africa. Significant communities in Namibia,Botswana, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and United Kingdom. 6.4 million (2006) 6.0 million native, 10.3 million second language, = 16 million total (1996 census) 100
Mongolian Altaic, Mongolian Official in People\'s Republic of China (Inner Mongolia), Mongolia 5.7 million (2006) 5.7 million 101
Bhili Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan India 1.3 million (2006) 5.6 million, all varieties (1994). Includes 1.6 million Wagdi, etc. 102
Danish Indo-European, Germanic, North Official in Denmark, Faroe Islands (Denmark), Greenland (Denmark). Significant communities in Germany (Southern Schleswig) 5.3 million (2006) 5.6 million (2006?) 103
Finnish Uralic, Finno-Ugric, Finnic Official in Finland. Significant communities in Sweden and Estonia. 6.1 million (2006) 5.4 million (1993) 104[citation needed]
Gikuyu Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Major language of Kenya 5.4 million (2006) 5.3 million (1994 I. Larsen BTL) 105
Slovak Indo-European, Slavic, West Official in Slovakia. 5.6 million (2006) 5.0 million (1990 WA) 106
More Niger-Congo, Gur National language of Burkina Faso 5.1 million (2006) ~5 million (1991) 107
Swahili Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in Congo-Kinshasa, Kenya, Tanzania. Significant communities in Comoros, Mayotte, Oman, Réunion. 5 million (2006) ~5 million native, ~80 million second language 108
Southern Quechua Quechuan Official in Perú, Bolivia ~5,000,000 109

3 to 5 million native speakers

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively by more than 1% of the population SIL estimateMicrosoft ® Encarta ® 2006, Languages Spoken by More Than 10 Million People. Number of speakers Ranking by number of native speakers
Guarani Tupi Official in Paraguay. Significant communities in Argentina. 5.1 million (2006) 4.9 million (1995) 110
Kirundi Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in Burundi. 4.9 million (1986) (dated data) 111
Sesotho (southern) Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in Lesotho, South Africa. 4.9 million (1996 census) 112
Romani Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Significant communities in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Iran, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey 3.1 million (2006) 4.8 million, all varieties, including Domari (data for Vlax 2002–2004; for Domari 2000 WCD). 113
Norwegian Indo-European, Germanic, North Official in Norway. 5 million (2006) 4.7 million (2006, Statistics Norway) 114
Tibetan Sino-Tibetan,Tibeto-Burman, Bodic Official in People\'s Republic of China (Tibet, Qinghai, parts of Sichuan, Gansu) 1.3 million (2006) 4.6 million, all varieties 115
Tswana Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in Botswana, South Africa. National language of Namibia 4 million (2006) 4.4 million native, 200,000 second language, = 4.6 million total (1993 Johnstone) (dated data) 116
Kanuri Nilo-Saharan, Saharan Official in Niger, Nigeria. Significant communities in Chad (Kanembu) 4.4 million native, 0.5 million second language, = 4.9 million total (data mostly from 1985) (dated data) 117
Kashmiri Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in and native to India. 4.5 million (2006) 4.6 million (1997) 118
Bikol Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines Philippines 3.3 million (2006) 4.5 native, all varieties (2000 census), unknown number second language 119
Georgian Kartvelian Official in Georgia. Significant communities in Israel. 4.1 million (2006) 4.2 million (1993 UBS) 120
Qusqu-Qullaw Quechuan Official in Perú (Cusco and Puno departments) Also spoken in Bolivia, Argentina 4 million 121
Umbundu Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu National language of Angola ~4 million native, unknown number second language (1995 WA) 122
Konkani Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Official in India (Goa).Significant communities in Uttara Kannada,Dakshina Kannada. 6 million (2006) ~4 million (1999 WA) 123
Balinese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi, Bali-Sasak Indonesia (Bali, Lombok) 3.8 million (2006) 3.9 million (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk) 124
Northern Sotho (sePedi) Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in South Africa. Significant communities in Botswana 3.7 million (1996 census) 125
Luyia Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Kenya 3.6 million (2006) 3.6 million (1989 census) (dated data) 126
Wolof Niger-Congo, Atlantic National language in Mauritania, Senegal. Significant communities in The Gambia. 3.4 million (2006) 3.6 million native (2002), unknown number second language 127
Bemba Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu National language of Zambia 2.2 million (2006) 3.6 million native, unknown number second language (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk) 128
Buginese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi, South Sulawesi Indonesia 3.5 million native, 0.5 million second language, = ~4 million total (1991 SIL) 129
Luo (Dholuo) Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic, Nilotic Kenya 3.4 million (2006) 3.5 million (1994 I. Larsen BTL) (dated data) 130
Maninka Niger-Congo, Mande National language of Guinea, Mali. Significant numbers in Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone. 2.5 million (2006) 3.3 million, all varieties 131
Mazanderani Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western Iran 3.3 million (2006) 3.3 million (1993) (dated data) (numbers may be confused with or include Gilaki) 132
Gilaki Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western Iran 3.3 million (2006) 3.3 million (1993) (dated data) (numbers may be confused with or include Mazanderani) 133
Shan Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Tai Myanmar 3 million (2006) 3.3 million 134
Tsonga Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Official in South Africa. Significant communities in Mozambique, Swaziland. 3.2 million (2006) 3.3 million (1989, 1996) (dated data) 135
Galician Indo-European, Romance. Official in Spain. 4 million (2006) 3.2 million (1986) (data dated) 136
Sukuma Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Tanzania 5 million (2006) 3.2 million (2001 Johnstone and Mandryk) 137
Yiddish Indo-European, Germanic, West official in Russia (Jewish Autonomous Oblast) Significant communities in Belarus, Israel, Latvia, Ukraine. 3 million (2006) 3.2 million 138
Jamaican Creole Indo-European, Germanic, West, Creole Jamaica. Significant communities in Panama, Costa Rica 2.8 million (2006) 3.2 million (2001) 139
Kyrgyz Altaic, Turkic, Northwestern, Southern Official in Kyrgyzstan. Native to Tajikistan 3.1 million (2006) 3.1 million (1993 UBS) (dated data) 140
Waray-Waray Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Borneo-Philippines Philippines 2.4 million 3.1 native (2000 census), unknown number second language 141
Ewe Niger-Congo, Kwa Official in Togo. National language of Ghana. 2.5 million (2006) 3.1 million native, 500,000 second language, = 3.6 million total (2003) 142
South Bolivian Quechua Quechuan Official in Bolivia, also spoken in Argentina 3,637,500 (ethnologue)sout 143
Lithuanian Indo-European, Baltic Official in Lithuania. Significant communities in Latvia. 4 million (2006) 3.1 million (1998) 144
Luganda Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Major language of Uganda 3.0 million native (1991 census), ~1 million second language (1999 WA), = ~4 million total 145
Lusoga Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu Major language of Uganda, official status unclear/pending +/- 3 million native speakers (2002 census), +/- 100,000 second-language speakers (dated data) 146
Acehnese Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Sunda-Sulawesi, Malayic Indonesia 3 million (2006) ~3 million (1999 WA) 147
Kimbundu Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Bantu National language of Angola ~3 million (1999 WA) 148
Hindko Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan Pakistan 2.5 million (2006) ~3 million (1993) (dated data) 149
Ibibio-Efik Niger-Congo, Benue-Congo, Cross River Efik official in Nigeria 1.5 million (2006) ~3 million, including Anaang (1990; 1998 B. Connell) (dated data) 150

2 to 3 million native speakers

Language Family Official status and where spoken natively, or as an