|
Country
|
Languages (%)
|
|
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
|
|
Akrotiri
|
English, Greek
|
|
Albania
|
Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects
|
|
Algeria
|
Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects
|
|
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%
note: most people are bilingual (2000 census)
|
|
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), English, Italian, German, French
|
|
Armenia
|
Armenian 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% (2001 census)
|
|
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% (2000 census)
|
|
Australia
|
English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)
|
|
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% (2001 census)
|
|
Azerbaijan
|
Azerbaijani (Azeri) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% (1999 census)
|
|
Bahamas, The
|
English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
|
|
Bahrain
|
Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu
|
|
Bangladesh
|
Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English
|
|
Barbados
|
English
|
|
Belarus
|
Belarusian, Russian, other
|
|
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% (2000 census)
|
|
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
|
Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
|
|
Bolivia
|
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
|
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
|
|
Botswana
|
Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1% (official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census)
|
|
Brazil
|
Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
|
|
British Virgin Islands
|
English (official)
|
|
Brunei
|
Malay (official), English, Chinese
|
|
Bulgaria
|
Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
|
|
Burkina Faso
|
French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population
|
|
Burma
|
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
|
|
Burundi
|
Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)
|
|
Cambodia
|
Khmer (official) 95%, French, English
|
|
Cameroon
|
24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
|
|
Canada
|
English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5%
|
|
Cape Verde
|
Portuguese, Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)
|
|
Cayman Islands
|
English
|
|
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
|
|
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
|
|
Comoros
|
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
|
|
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
|
French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba
|
|
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 with Dioula the most widely spoken
|
|
Croatia
|
Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census)
|
|
Cuba
|
Spanish
|
|
Cyprus
|
Greek, Turkish, English
|
|
Czech Republic
|
Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)
|
|
Denmark
|
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language
|
|
Dhekelia
|
English, Greek
|
|
Djibouti
|
French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar
|
|
Dominica
|
English (official), French patois
|
|
Dominican Republic
|
Spanish
|
|
Ecuador
|
Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
|
|
Egypt
|
Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes
|
|
El Salvador
|
Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)
|
|
Equatorial Guinea
|
Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census)
|
|
Eritrea
|
Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages
|
|
Estonia
|
Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)
|
|
Ethiopia
|
Amarigna 32.7%, Oromigna 31.6%, Tigrigna 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (major foreign language taught in schools) (1994 census)
|
|
European Union
|
Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish
note: only official languages are listed; German, the major language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is the most widely spoken mother tongue - over 19% of the EU population; English is the most widely spoken language - about 49% of the EU population is conversant with it (2007)
|
|
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
|
English
|
|
Faroe Islands
|
Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish
|
|
Fiji
|
English (official), Fijian (official), Hindustani
|
|
Finland
|
Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003)
|
|
France
|
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish)
overseas departments: French, Creole patois
|
|
French Polynesia
|
French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census)
|
|
Gabon
|
French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
|
|
Gambia, The
|
English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars
|
|
Gaza Strip
|
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
|
|
Georgia
|
Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia
|
|
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 36.1% (includes English (official)) (2000 census)
|
|
Gibraltar
|
English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
|
|
Greece
|
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (includes English and French)
|
|
Greenland
|
Greenlandic (East Inuit), Danish, 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% (2000 census)
|
|
Guatemala
|
Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
|
|
Guernsey
|
English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts
|
|
Guinea
|
French (official); note - each ethnic group has its own language
|
|
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, Amerindian dialects
|
|
Hong Kong
|
Chinese (Cantonese) 89.2% (official), other Chinese dialects 6.4%, English 3.2% (official), other 1.2% (2001 census)
|
|
Hungary
|
Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)
|
|
Iceland
|
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
|
|
India
|
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 21 other official languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanscrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language
|
|
Indonesia
|
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)
|
|
Iran
|
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
|
|
Iraq
|
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
|
|
Ireland
|
English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard
|
|
Isle of Man
|
English, Manx Gaelic
|
|
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% (2001 census)
|
|
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% (2001 est.)
|
|
Kenya
|
English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages
|
|
Kiribati
|
I-Kiribati, English (official)
|
|
Korea, North
|
Korean
|
|
Korea, South
|
Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
|
|
Kosovo
|
Albanian (official), Serbian (official), Bosniak, Turkish, Roma
|
|
Kuwait
|
Arabic (official), English widely spoken
|
|
Kyrgyzstan
|
Kyrgyz 64.7% (official), Uzbek 13.6%, Russian 12.5% (official), Dungun 1%, other 8.2% (1999 census)
|
|
Laos
|
Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
|
|
Latvia
|
Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)
|
|
Lebanon
|
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
|
|
Lesotho
|
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
|
|
Liberia
|
English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
|
|
Libya
|
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
|
|
Liechtenstein
|
German (official), Alemannic dialect
|
|
Lithuania
|
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
|
|
Luxembourg
|
Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)
|
|
Macau
|
Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census)
|
|
Macedonia
|
Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census)
|
|
Madagascar
|
English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official)
|
|
Malawi
|
Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census)
|
|
Malaysia
|
Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
|
|
Maldives
|
Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
|
|
Mali
|
French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
|
|
Malta
|
Maltese (official), English (official)
|
|
Marshall Islands
|
Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language
|
|
Mauritania
|
Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof
|
|
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% (2000 census)
|
|
Mayotte
|
Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population
|
|
Mexico
|
Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages
|
|
Micronesia, Federated States of
|
English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi
|
|
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%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
|
|
Montenegro
|
Montenegrin (official), Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian
|
|
Montserrat
|
English
|
|
Morocco
|
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy
|
|
Mozambique
|
Emakhuwa 26.1%, Xichangana 11.3%, Portuguese 8.8% (official; spoken by 27% of population as a second language), Elomwe 7.6%, Cisena 6.8%, Echuwabo 5.8%, other Mozambican languages 32%, other foreign languages 0.3%, unspecified 1.3% (1997 census)
|
|
Namibia
|
English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages 1% (includes Oshivambo, Herero, Nama)
|
|
Nauru
|
Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes
|
|
Nepal
|
Nepali 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% (2001 census)
note: many in government and business also speak English (2001 est.)
|
|
Netherlands
|
Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
|
|
Netherlands Antilles
|
Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
|
|
New Caledonia
|
French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
|
|
New Zealand
|
English (official), Maori (official), Sign Language (official)
|
|
Nicaragua
|
Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
|
|
Niger
|
French (official), Hausa, Djerma
|
|
Nigeria
|
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani
|
|
Niue
|
Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English
|
|
Norfolk Island
|
English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian
|
|
Northern Mariana Islands
|
Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census)
|
|
Norway
|
Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities; note - Sami is official in six municipalities
|
|
Oman
|
Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
|
|
Pakistan
|
Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (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 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census)
|
|
Panama
|
Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual
|
|
Papua New Guinea
|
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)
|
|
Paraguay
|
Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
|
|
Peru
|
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages
|
|
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 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
|
|
Portugal
|
Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)
|
|
Puerto Rico
|
Spanish, English
|
|
Qatar
|
Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
|
|
Romania
|
Romanian 91% (official), Hungarian 6.7%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 1.2%
|
|
Russia
|
Russian, 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 Kitts and Nevis
|
English
|
|
Saint Lucia
|
English (official), French patois
|
|
Saint Martin
|
French (official language), 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), English
|
|
San Marino
|
Italian
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
Portuguese (official)
|
|
Saudi Arabia
|
Arabic
|
|
Senegal
|
French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
|
|
Serbia
|
Serbian 88.3% (official), Hungarian 3.8%, Bosniak 1.8%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 4.1%, unknown 0.9% (2002 census)
note: Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Croatian all official in Vojvodina
|
|
Seychelles
|
Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census)
|
|
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 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
|
|
Slovakia
|
Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)
|
|
Slovenia
|
Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4% (2002 census)
|
|
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, Italian, English
|
|
South Africa
|
IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)
|
|
Spain
|
Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%, are official regionally
|
|
Sri Lanka
|
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population
|
|
Sudan
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Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process
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Suriname
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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
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Svalbard
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Norwegian, Russian
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Swaziland
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English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official)
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Sweden
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Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
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Switzerland
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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% (2000 census)
note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages
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Syria
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Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
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Taiwan
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Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
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Tajikistan
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Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business
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Tanzania
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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
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages
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Thailand
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Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects
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Timor-Leste
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Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English
note: there are about 16 indigenous languages; Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people
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Togo
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French (official and 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)
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Tokelau
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Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English
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Tonga
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Tongan, English
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Trinidad and Tobago
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English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
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Tunisia
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Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce)
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Turkey
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Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian
note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European part of Turkey
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Turkmenistan
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Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
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Turks and Caicos Islands
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English (official)
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Tuvalu
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Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
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Uganda
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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
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Ukraine
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Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, other 9% (includes small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities)
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United Arab Emirates
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Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
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United Kingdom
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English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
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United States
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English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
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Uruguay
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Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)
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Uzbekistan
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Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
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Vanuatu
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local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
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Venezuela
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Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
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Vietnam
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Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
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Virgin Islands
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English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census)
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Wallis and Futuna
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Wallisian 58.9% (indigenous Polynesian language), Futunian 30.1%, French 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census)
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West Bank
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Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)
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Western Sahara
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Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
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World
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Mandarin Chinese 13.22%, Spanish 4.88%, English 4.68%, Arabic 3.12%, Hindi 2.74%, Portuguese 2.69%, Bengali 2.59%, Russian 2.2%, Japanese 1.85%, Standard German 1.44%, Wu Chinese 1.17% (2005 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
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Yemen
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Arabic
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Zambia
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English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages
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Zimbabwe
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English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects
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This page was last updated on 20 March, 2008
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