In this article, we will look at the top 25 most-spoken languages in the world in 2024. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to the Top 5 Most Spoken Languages in the World in 2024.
English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi stand out as the world's most spoken languages, with approximately 1.5 billion, 1.1 billion, and 610 million speakers worldwide. These languages are not only widely spoken but are also experiencing rapid growth. As reported by Tomedes, English witnessed a surge of 23.27% in speakers between 2011 and 2021. Similarly, Hindi grew by 11%, outperforming Chinese speakers, which saw a comparatively modest increase of 7% over the same decade. To learn more about languages, you can look at 15 Most Valuable Languages to Learn for International Business and 18 of the Easiest Languages for English Speakers to Learn.
Economic Outlook of India
Hindi ranks as the third most spoken language in the world. It is predominantly spoken in India, where approximately 43.6% speak Hindi as a native language. India is an emerging economy categorized as one of the fastest-growing countries in the South Asian region. The Global Economic Prospects - January 2024 report by the World Bank anticipates the Indian economy to grow fastest among the world’s largest economies. Despite the slow post-pandemic recovery, the economy is expected to grow at 6.3% in 2024 and gradually recover to reach a growth rate of 6.5% by 2026. Robust international investment, backed by increased public investment and improved corporate balance by the financial institutes and the banking sectors, are factors contributing to the economic growth of the country. You can also look at the 25 Most Profitable Businesses With Least Investment in India and the Top 20 Most Valuable Indian Companies.
Moreover, according to a report by Reuters on March 4, Moody’s Investor Services raised its gross domestic product (GDP) forecasts for India from 6.1% to 6.8% for 2024. The rating agency expects the economy to maintain a strong momentum of growth witnessed in recent quarters. In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also raised its economic forecasts for the country. On January 30, Reuters reported that the IMF revised its projections for India's GDP growth from 6.3% to 6.7% for the current fiscal year. The IMF expects the Indian economy to grow at an annual rate of 6.5%, starting in April 2024.
Key Players Driving the Indian Economy
Key players leading the Indian Economy include Reliance Industries Limited (NSE:RELIANCE), Tata Group, and HDFC Bank Ltd (NSE:HDFCBANK).
Reliance Industries Limited (NSE:RELIANCE) is a Fortune 500 company and one of India's largest private sector companies. The company operates in various market segments, including the exploration and production of various hydrocarbons, petroleum refining and marketing of oil and gas products, retail services, digital services, and financial services. Reliance Industries Limited (NSE:RELIANCE) also engages in media, telecommunication, Small Economic Zone development, and textile business. On February 28, Reliance Industries Limited (NSE:RELIANCE) announced a partnership between Reliance Consumer Products Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (NSE:RELIANCE), and Elephant House, a leading Sri Lankan Beverage brand. Elephant House is owned by Ceylon Cold Stores PLC, which is a subsidiary of John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH:CSE). The partnership will enhance Reliance Consumer Products Limited's beverage portfolio, offering value propositions and great products for Indian consumers.
Tata Group is one of the key players in the Indian economy. It is one of the largest international conglomerates, which owns over 100 independent companies and operates across 6 continents. Tata Group is involved in various market segments, including agricultural services, automotive services, consumer products, financial services, hospitality, technology, infrastructural development, and more. Tata Group companies include but are not limited to Tata Steel Limited (NSE:TATASTEEL), Tata Consulting Services Limited (NSE:TCS), and Tata Power Company Limited (NSE:TATAPOWER).
Tata Consulting Services Limited (NSE:TCS) is a leading multinational IT services and business solutions company that offers IT consultation services, IT-enabled technologies, business intelligence, and business process services. On February 21, Tata Consulting Services Limited (NSE:TCS) announced its partnership with the Co-operative Group Limited to offer a Cloud-First strategy to support its business growth and strategy. The Co-operative Group Limited is one of the leading retail business companies operating in grocery, funeral, legal, and insurance services and has been a strategic partner with Tata Consulting Services Limited (NSE:TCS) for over 14 years.
HDFC Bank Ltd (NSE:HDFCBANK) is an Indian Bank and financial services company. The bank offers personal and corporate banking, investment banking, and other financial services to medium and small enterprises, governments, and individuals. The range of financial services provided by HDFC Bank Ltd (NSE:HDFCBANK) includes deposit services, card products, commercial and individual loans, insurance services, and investment solutions. The bank mainly operates in India but has an international presence, with branches in Hong Kong, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Kenya. On January 17, the HDFC Bank Ltd (NSE:HDFCBANK) reported earnings for the fiscal third quarter of 2023. The bank reported earnings per share of $0.78 and outperformed expectations by $0.28. The bank's revenue for the quarter amounted to $4.77 billion, up by 22.99% and ahead of revenue expectations by $8.44 million. Here are some comments from HDFC Bank Ltd's (NSE:HDFCBANK) Q3 2024 earnings call:
You'll see on Page 11, balance sheet remains resilient. LCR for the quarter was 110%, capital adequacy ratio was at 18.4%, Tier 1 ratio at 16.8%. Let's start with net revenues on Pages 12 and 13. Net revenues for the quarter were at INR 396 billion, grew by 25.8% over prior year. Net interest income for the quarter, which is 72% of net revenues and is at INR 285 billion, grew by 23.9% over prior year. The core net interest margin for the quarter was at 3.4%, and on an interest earning asset basis, net interest margin for the quarter was at 3.6% and was flat to prior quarter. Getting to details of other income on Page 15. Total other income at INR 111 billion. Fees and commission income, which is almost close to 2/3 of the other income was at INR 69 billion and grew by 15% over prior year.
Now that we have discussed the economic outlook of India, one of our most spoken languages in the world, let’s look at the top 25 most spoken languages in the world in 2024.
To compile the list of the top 25 most spoken languages in the world in 2024, we sourced our data from Ethnologue. Ethnologue provides a comprehensive database for speakers of over 7,000 languages. We have used the total number of speakers for each language as a metric to rank the languages. Please note that the total number of speakers mentioned in the sub-head includes the count for both native and second-language speakers. The list is ranked in ascending order based on the total number of speakers.
Top 25 Most Spoken Languages In The World 2024
25. Iranian Persian
Number of Total Speakers: 78.6 million
Top on our list is Iranian Persian. It is the official language of Iran, with two dialects, Dari and Tajik, being officially spoken in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, respectively. It belongs to the Indo-Iranian language family and is written in Arabic characters.
24. Korean
Number of Total Speakers: 81.7 million
Korean belongs to the Altaic language family and is an official language in North and South Korea. It is spoken by over 81.7 million people around the globe. Korean speakers are also found in the United States, China, and Japan.
23. Tagalog
Number of Total Speakers: 83.1 million
Tagalog ranks 23rd on our list of 25 most spoken languages in 2024. It is the official language of the Philippines, along with English. Tagalog belongs to the Austronesian language family and is closely related to the Bicol and Bisayan languages. It is spoken by over 83.1 million people around the world.
22. Wu Chinese
Number of Total Speakers: 83.4 million
Wu Chinese is one of the dialects of the Chinese language. It is the most commonly spoken dialect in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Ningpo, and Wenzhou. The Wu dialect differs from the standard spoken Chinese in the sound system and the different vocals that are used to pronounce similar words and elements.
21. Vietnamese
Number of Total Speakers: 85.8 million
The Vietnamese language belongs to the Mon-Khmer language family and is spoken by over 85.8 million people around the globe. It is the official language of Vietnam and has over a hundred dialects. The Vietnamese language borrows a large proportion of vocabulary from the Chinese and Thai languages.
20. Tamil
Number of Total Speakers: 86.6 million
Making it to the top 20 most spoken languages in the world in 2024 is the Tamil language, which is primarily spoken in India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. It is also the official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and other countries, including Sri Lanka and Singapore. It is spoken by over 86.6 million people around the globe.
19. Yue Chinese
Number of Total Speakers: 86.6 million
Yue Chinese, also known as Cantonese, is a dialect of Chinese commonly spoken in Guangdong and southern Guangxi provinces of China. It is spoken by approximately 86.6 million people around the globe.
18. Turkish
Number of Total Speakers: 90 million
Turkish ranks 18th on our list of the most spoken languages. It belongs to the Altaic language family and is the official language of Turkey. Turkish speakers are also found in Cyprus, Europe, and the Middle East.
17. Telugu
Number of Total Speakers: 96.0 million
Telugu is one of the largest members of the Dravidian language family. It is primarily spoken in India and is the official state language of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states of India. There are over 96 million Telugu speakers in the world.
16. Marathi
Number of Total Speakers: 99.2 million
Marathi ranks as the 16th most-spoken language in the world. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family. Within India, the language is spoken in Mumbai, Goa, and Deccan. It is the official state language of Maharashtra.
15. Egyptian Spoken Arabic
Number of Total Speakers: 102.4 million
Egyptian Spoken Arabic ranks as the 15th most-spoken language in the world in 2024. It is the official language of Egypt and is the most widely spoken dialect of the Arabic language. Egyptian-spoken Arabic has many features similar to Standard Arabic and is influenced by other languages, including Coptic, Turkish, and French.
14. Nigerian Pidgin
Number of Total Speakers: 120.7 million
Nigerian Pidgin ranks 14th on our list. It is a Pidgin language spoken in Nigeria. Nigerian Pidgin is based on English and is used mostly for informal conversations. It is spoken by over 120.7 million people in the world.
13. Japanese
Number of Total Speakers: 123.4 million
Japanese is categorized as an isolated language that does not relate to any other language in the world. It is the official language of Japan, and Japanese speakers are also found in North and South America. It is spoken by over 123.4 million people around the globe.
12. German
Number of Total Speakers: 133.2 million
German belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is the official language in Germany and Austria. It is also one of the official languages of Switzerland, along with English, Frisian, and Dutch.
11. Indonesian
Number of Total Speakers: 199.1 million
The Indonesian language belongs to the Austronesian language family. It is the official language of Indonesia, and speakers are in Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Taiwan. It is spoken by around 199.1 million people around the world.
10. Urdu
Number of Total Speakers: 231.7 million
Making it to the top 10 on our list is the Urdu language. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family and is the official language of Pakistan. The speakers of the Urdu language are found in India and migrant communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. It is spoken by over 231.7 million people around the world.
9. Russian
Number of Total Speakers: 255 million
Russian is the official language of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. It belongs to the Slavic language family and the Ukrainian and Belarusian languages. There are over 255 million Russian speakers around the world.
8. Portuguese
Number of Total Speakers: 263.6 million
Portuguese ranks 8th on our list of most spoken languages. It is a Romance language spoken as an official language in Portugal. Its speakers are also in Angola, Brazil, and other former Portuguese colonies.
7. Bengali
Number of Total Speakers: 272.8 million
Bengali belongs to the Indo-Iranian language family. It is the official language of Bangladesh and is spoken in India and amongst immigrant communities in the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Middle East. It is spoken by approximately 272.8 million people around the world.
6. Arabic
Number of Total Speakers: 274.0 million
Arabic is a Semitic language in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Middle East. It is spoken by approximately 274 million people around the globe.