World of Statistics has published another ranking and this time it is a list of top 10 countries with the most languages in the world. According to the list, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Nigeria ranked highest with 840, 715 and 527 languages respectively.
Papua New Guinea (840 languages)
Papua New Guinea has three official languages: English, Hiri Motu, and Tok Pisin. The latter two are somewhat based on English
Tok Pisin is a Creole language evolved from English and spoken by only 120,000 people as a first language, but it is well understood by more than 50% of the population in Papua New Guinea.
Hiri Motu is not often spoken as a first language, but is used as a second language by another 120,000 people. It works more like a pidgin language based on English.
Indonesia (715 languages)
Indonesia is a country with diverse ethnicity and actually, it has over 700 different native languages that exist here.
Over 210 million people speak Indonesian, often known as Bahasa Indonesia, as their mother tongue. It heavily borrows from regional tongues like Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau, which we will discuss shortly. Indonesia still have over 700 other languages but Bahasa is the main language.
Nigeria (527 languages)
English is the official language, however it is less common in rural regions and among those with lower levels of education. In addition to English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Fulfulde, Ibibio, Kanuri, and Tiv are also widely spoken.
Other countries on the list are:
4. India: 456 languages
5. USA: 337 languages
6. Australia: 317 languages
7. China: 307 languages
8. Mexico: 301 languages
9. Cameron: 277 languages
10. Brazil: 238 languages
Top-10 countries with the most languages:
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea: 840
🇮🇩 Indonesia: 715
🇳🇬 Nigeria: 527
🇮🇳 India: 456
🇺🇸 USA: 337
🇦🇺 Australia: 317
🇨🇳 China: 307
🇲🇽 Mexico: 301
🇨🇲 Cameroon: 277
🇧🇷 Brazil: 238
— World of Statistics (@stats_feed) November 22, 2022
The number of languages in use globally now exceeds 7,100. They all contribute to the diversity and beauty of the world, though It’s unfortunate that some of these languages are less frequently spoken than others.
English is the largest language in the world for both native and non-native speaker. English is the universal language of today. It is the default language in international business, tourism, technology, and much more.
