Languages by Country

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 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; 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 (official) (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard

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, patois English

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

Kuwait

Arabic (official), English widely spoken

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz (official), Russian (official)

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, Republic of

Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census)

Madagascar

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 Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai

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)

Man, Isle of

English, Manx Gaelic

Marshall Islands

Marshallese 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)

Martinique

French, Creole patois

Mauritania

Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof

Mauritius

French Creole(French patois) 80.5% French creole speakers also use standard French, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French (official), 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)

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: 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)

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)

Nicaragua

Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)

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