Explore comprehensive language information for all world countries including national languages and official languages spoken by governments and institutions. This complete language database provides essential linguistic data for translators, international businesses, educators, linguists, and travelers planning global trips.
Our world languages directory includes both national languages (primary languages of a country's population) and official languages (legally recognized for government use). From widely spoken languages like English, Spanish, and Mandarin to regional languages and indigenous tongues, this database covers the linguistic diversity of all 195 countries. Plan your language learning with our comprehensive country reference data.
Benefits: National & official languages • 195 countries covered • Multi-language countries identified • Translation planning tool • Business localization guide • Education resource • Cultural understanding • Mobile-friendly interface
| Country | National And Official Languages |
|---|---|
| A | |
| Afghanistan | Pashto, Dari, Uzbek, Turkmen, Pashai, Nuristani, Balochi, Pamiri | Albania | Albanian |
| Algeria | Arabic, Tamazight | Andorra | Catalan |
| Angola | Kimbundu, Umbundu, Kikongo, Chokwe, Kwanyama, Ganguela, Portuguese | Antigua And Barbuda | English |
| Argentina | Spanish, Guaraní, Kom, Moquoit, Wichi | Armenia | Armenian |
| Australia | English | Austria | German, Croatian, Hungarian, Slovene |
| Azerbaijan | Azerbaijani |
| B | |
| Bahrain | Arabic | Bangladesh | Bengali |
| Barbados | English | Belarus | Belarusian, Russian |
| Belgium | Dutch, French, German | Belize | English |
| Benin | French | Bhutan | Dzongkha |
| Bolivia | Castellan, Araona, Aymara, Baure, Bésiro, Canichana, Cavineñoa, Cayuvava, Chakobo, Chimane, Chiquitano, Ese Ejja, Guaraní, Guarasuawe, Guarayu, Itonama, Leco, Machajuya-Kallaway, Machiner, Maropa, Mojeño-Ignaciano, Majeño-Trinitario, Moré, Mosetén, Movima, Pacawara, Puquina, Quechua, Sirionó, Tacana, Tapieté, Toromona, Uru-Chipaya, Weenhayek, Yaminawa, Yuki, Yuracaré, Zamuco | Bosnia And Herzegovina | Bosnia, Croatian, Serbian |
| Botswana | Tswana, English | Brazil | Portuguese, German, East Pomeranian, Hunsrückisch, Talian, Nheengatu, Baniwa, Tucano, Guaraní |
| Brunei | Malay, English | Bulgaria | Bulgarian |
| Burkina Faso | Fula, Jula, More, French | Burundi | Kirundi, French, English |
| C | |
| Cambodia | Khmer | Cameroon | English, French |
| Canada | English, French, Chipewyan, Cree, Gwich'in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut , Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey, Tłı̨chǫ | Cape Verde | Cape Verdean Creole, Portuguese |
| Central African Republic | Sango, French | Chad | Arabic, French |
| Chile | Spanish | China | Mandarin, Cantonese |
| Colombia | Spanish | Comoros | Arabic, Comorian, French |
| Costa Rica | Spanish | Croatia | Croatian, Serbian, Hungarian, Czech , Slovak, Pannonian Rusyn, Istro-Romanian |
| Cuba | Spanish | Cyprus | Greek , Turkish |
| Czech Republic | Czech, Slovak |
| D | |
| Democratic Republic Of The Congo | Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili, Tshiluba, French | Denmark | Danish, Faroese, Kalaallisut |
| Djibouti | Arabic, French | Dominica | English |
| Dominican Republic | Spanish |
| E | |
| Ecuador | Spanish, Quechua | Egypt | Arabic |
| El Salvador | Spanish | England | English, Cornish |
| Equatorial Guinea | Spanish, French, Portuguese | Eritrea | Tigrinya |
| Estonia | Estonian | Eswatini | English, Swazi |
| Ethiopia | Amharic |
| F | |
| Fiji | English, Fijian, Hindustani | Finland | Finnish, Swedish |
| France | French |
| G | |
| Gabon | French | Gambia | English |
| Georgia | Georgian | Germany | German, Danish, Lower Sorbian , North Frisian, Saterland Frisian , Upper Sorbian, German Sign Language, Low German |
| Ghana | English, Adangme, Dagaare, Dagbani, Ewe, Ga, Gonja, Kasem , Nzema, Akuapem Twi, Asante Twi, Mfantse | Greece | Greek |
| Grenada | English | Guatemala | Spanish |
| Guinea | Fula, Maninka, Susu, French | Guinea-Bissau | Portuguese |
| Guyana | Guyanese Creole, English |
| H | |
| Haiti | French, Haitian Creole | Honduras | Spanish, Garifuna, English, Miskito |
| Hong Kong | Cantonese, English | Hungary | Hungarian |
| I | |
| Iceland | Icelandic, Icelandic Sign Language | India | Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Chhattisgarhi, Dogri, English, Garo, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Karbi, Kashmiri, Khasi, Kokborok, Konkani, Lepcha, Maithili, Malayalam, Meitei, Marathi, Mizo, Nepali, Newari, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Sunwar, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu |
| Indonesia | Indonesian, Indonesian sign languages | Iran | Persian |
| Iraq | Arabic , Kurdish, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Iraqi Turkmen, Armenian | Ireland | English, Irish |
| Israel | Hebrew, Arabic | Italy | Italian, French, German, Ladin, Slovene |
| Ivory Coast | French |
| J | |
| Jamaica | English | Japan | Japanese |
| Jordan | Arabic |
| K | |
| Kazakhstan | Kazakh, Russian | Kenya | Swahili, English |
| Kiribati | Kiribati, English | Kosovo | Albanian, Serbian |
| Kuwait | Arabic | Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz, Russian |
| L | |
| Laos | Lao | Latvia | Latvian |
| Lebanon | Phoenician, Arabic | Lesotho | Sotho, English |
| Liberia | English | Libya | Arabic |
| Liechtenstein | German | Lithuania | Lithuanian |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourgish, French, German |
| M | |
| Macau | Cantonese, Portuguese | Madagascar | Malagasy, French, Malagasy |
| Malawi | Chichewa, English | Malaysia | Malaysian, English |
| Maldives | Dhivehi | Mali | French, Tamazight |
| Malta | Maltese, English | Marshall Islands | Marshallese, English |
| Mauritania | Arabic, Fula, Soninke, Wolof, Arabic | Mauritius | French, English |
| Mayotte | French | Mexico | Spanish |
| Micronesia | English, Chuukese, Kosraean, Woleaian | Moldova | Romanian |
| Monaco | French | Mongolia | Mongolian |
| Montenegro | Montenegrin, Albanian, Croatian, Serbian | Morocco | Arabic, Berber |
| Mozambique | Portuguese | Myanmar (Burma) | Burmese |
| N | |
| Nagorno-Karabakh | Armenian | Namibia | Afrikaans, English |
| Nauru | English, Nauruan | Nepal | Nepali, Maithili |
| Netherlands | Dutch, West Frisian, Papiamento , English | New Zealand | Cook Islands Maori, English, Māori, New Zealand Sign Language, Niuean, Tokelauan |
| Nicaragua | Spanish | Niger | Arabic, Hausa, Fulfulde, Gulmancema, Kanuri, Zarma, Tamazight, French |
| Nigeria | Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, English | North Korea | Korean |
| North Macedonia | Macedonian | Norway | Norwegian, Sami |
| O | |
| Oman | Arabic |
| P | |
| Pakistan | Urdu, English | Palau | English, Palauan, Sonsorolese, Tobian, Japanese |
| Palestine | Arabic | Panama | Spanish |
| Papua New Guinea | English, Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin | Paraguay | Spanish, Guaraní |
| Peru | Spanish, Aymara, Quechua | Philippines | Filipino, English , Ilokano |
| Poland | Polish | Portugal | Portuguese |
| Q | |
| Qatar | Arabic |
| R | |
| Republic Of The Congo | Lingala, Munukutuba, French | Romania | Romanian |
| Russia | Russian, Abaza, Adyghe, Aghul, Altai, Azerbaijani, Bashkir, Buryat, Chechen, Chuvash, Crimean Tartar, Dargin, Erzya, Ingush, Kabardian, Kalmyk, Karachay-Balkar, Khakas, Komi-Zyrian, Kumyk, Lak, Lezgian, Mari, Moksha, Nogai, Ossetic, Rutul, Sakha, Tabasaran, Tatar, Tati, Tsakhur, Tuvin, Udmurt, Ukrainian | Rwanda | English, French, Kinyarwanda |
| S | |
| Saint Helena | English | Saint Kitts And Nevis | English |
| Saint Lucia | English | Saint Vincent And The Grenadines | English |
| Samoa | Samoan, English | San Marino | Italian |
| Sao Tome And Principe | Portuguese | Saudi Arabia | Arabic |
| Scotland | English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic | Senegal | Jola-Fogny, Mandinka, Pulaar, Serer, Soninke, Wolof, French |
| Serbia | Serbian | Seychelles | English, French, Seychellois Creole |
| Sierra Leone | English | Singapore | English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil |
| Slovakia | Slovak, Bulgarian, Czech, Polish, German, Romani, Rusyn Serbian Ukrainian | Slovenia | Slovene |
| Solomon Islands | English | Somalia | Somali, Arabic |
| South Africa | Afrikaans, English, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu | South Korea | Korean, Korean Sign Language |
| South Sudan | Arabic, Bari, Dinka, Luo, Murle, Nuer, Zande, English | Spain | Spanish, Catalan, Galician, Occitan, Basque |
| Sri Lanka | Sinhala, Tamil | Sudan | Arabic, English |
| Suriname | Sranan Tongo, Dutch | Sweden | Swedish |
| Switzerland | German, French, Italian, Romansh | Syria | Arabic |
| T | |
| Taiwan | Formosan, Hakka, Standard Chinese | Tajikistan | Tajik |
| Tanzania | Swahili, English | Thailand | Thai |
| The Bahamas | English | Timor-Leste | Portuguese , Tetum |
| Togo | French | Tonga | Tongan, English |
| Transnistria | Moldovan, Russian, Ukrainian | Trinidad And Tobago | English |
| Tunisia | Arabic | Turkey | Turkish |
| Turkmenistan | Turkmen | Tuvalu | Tuvaluan, English |
| U | |
| Uganda | English, Swahili | Ukraine | Ukrainian |
| United Arab Emirates | Arabic | United Kingdom | English, Cornish, Irish and Ulster-Scots, Scots and Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Pitcairnese, Guernésiais and French, Jèrriais and French, Manx |
| United States Of America | English, Inupiaq, Siberian Yupik, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Alutiiq, Unangan, Dena'ina, Deg Xinag, Holikachuk, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Gwich'in, Tanana, Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Hän, Ahtna, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Hawaiian, Cherokee, Samoan, Chamorro, Carolinian, Spanish, French | Uruguay | Spanish |
| Uzbekistan | Uzbek, Karakalpak and Uzbek in Karakalpakstan |
| V | |
| Vanuatu | Bislama, English, French | Vatican City | Italian, Latin |
| Venezuela | Spanish | Vietnam | Vietnamese |
| W | |
| Wales | Welsh, English | Western Sahara | Arabic |
| Y | |
| Yemen | Arabic |
| Z | |
| Zambia | English | Zimbabwe | Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Khoisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, Sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa |
The world speaks approximately 7,000+ languages, but only about 200 languages are officially recognized by national governments. Understanding the difference between national languages (primary language of a population) and official languages (legally recognized for government use) is crucial for international communication, business operations, and cultural understanding.
Many countries are multilingual, recognizing multiple official languages to reflect their diverse populations. For example, India recognizes 22 official languages, South Africa has 11, and Switzerland uses 4 (German, French, Italian, Romansh). This linguistic diversity enriches cultures while presenting unique challenges for education, government services, and communication.
National languages are the primary languages spoken by a country's population and often represent cultural identity. Official languages are legally designated for government operations, education, and legal proceedings. Some countries have both - for example, Ireland has Irish (Gaeilge) as its national language but uses both Irish and English as official languages.
Many nations embrace multilingualism to reflect ethnic and cultural diversity. Singapore recognizes 4 official languages (English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil). Belgium has 3 (Dutch, French, German). Canada uses English and French. This multilingualism promotes inclusivity but requires investment in translation services, bilingual education, and multilingual government services.
Languages belong to families sharing common origins. The Indo-European family includes English, Spanish, Hindi, and Russian. The Sino-Tibetan family covers Mandarin and other Chinese languages. The Afro-Asiatic family includes Arabic and Hebrew. Understanding language families helps learners recognize similarities and makes learning related languages easier.
Over 40% of world languages are endangered, with fewer than 1,000 speakers. Many indigenous languages disappear as younger generations adopt dominant languages. Efforts to preserve these languages include documentation projects, education programs, and digital archives. Each lost language represents irreplaceable cultural knowledge and unique perspectives.
💡 Interesting Fact: Papua New Guinea has the most languages of any country with over 800 languages among just 9 million people! This incredible linguistic diversity results from geographic isolation in mountainous terrain, creating distinct language communities in different valleys.
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Disclaimer We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.