Which Are the Most Spoken Languages in the World: The Power Players

2. Mandarin Chinese

• Number of speakers (approx) – 1.2 billion
• Unique feature – Tonal language system

Mandarin Chinese is mostly spoken in China, Taiwan, Singapore, and across various communities in the world. The language is the second most widely spoken language with the highest number of native speakers. 

Additionally, the use of this language as a second language is also growing. It is a tonal language, which implies that the meaning of a word can change based on how it is presented. It is also one of the hardest languages to learn. 

3. Hindi 

• Number of speakers (approx) – 609 million
• Unique feature – Rich verb conjugation and gender system

The language is spoken mainly in Northern and Central India. The country is a land of diverse cultures, and people from every part of the country speak more than one language. However, Hindi is considered the lingua franca for the Northern part of the country and is considered the official language in India. The language has 345 million native speakers and 609 million overall. 

Adding on, the popularity of Hindi songs and movies has made the language reach a wider population. Also, the population of India and the number of speakers from the country make it one of the widely spoken languages by millions of people.  

4. Spanish 

• Number of speakers (approx) – 595 million
• Unique feature – Wide geographic spread and dialectic variation

Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and territories. With nearly 490 million native speakers, it is considered the second most spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese, in that category. 

The language has grown rapidly, specifically in the US, and has made its impact beyond borders.  The number of speakers in 2025 is estimated at 595 million globally. 

5. French 

• Number of speakers (approx) –  300 million
• Unique feature – Used in international diplomacy and culture

The spread of French can be attributed to French colonization, like Spanish and English. Presently, there are 29 French-speaking countries in the world. If you consider English to be the language of business, French can be considered the language of culture. 

The language is the third language with the largest number of non-native speakers. Another reason for the popularity of the language is that it plays an important role in diplomacy and public governance. In addition to being the official language of several nations, it is also one of the official languages of the United Nations, the EU, and various organizations like UNESCO, WHO, NATO, and more. 

6. Modern Standard Arabic 

• Number of speakers (approx) – 310 million
• Unique feature – Different standards and dialects

You will be surprised to know that modern standard Arabic has no native speakers. In fact, Arabic is a large language like Chinese and Spanish with numerous different dialects. The Arabic speakers grow up speaking a local dialect, such as Egyptian Arabic, Levantine Arabic, Mesopotamian Arabic, etc. 

The question is, how did this language make it to the top ten? Modern standard Arabic is used in newspapers, TV broadcasts, and movies, but its spoken forms are rare. You will find this language being used in literature and politics, but not in real life. Modern standard Arabic is considered to be the standardized version of the Arabic language and is closely related to classical Arabic of Quran.

7. Portuguese 

• Number of speakers (approx) – 279 million
• Unique feature – Diversity of varieties

Portuguese is another language that expanded worldwide during the European colonial period. You would not believe it, but only 5% of Portuguese speakers live in Portugal. Despite that fact, Portuguese is the official language of nine countries in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. 

Among the nine countries, Brazil is the largest and has the largest number of Portuguese speakers. This is one of the major reasons the language is so popular across the world and gets a spot in the list. 

8. Bengali 

• Number of speakers (approx) – 275 million
• Unique feature – Extensive literary and poetic tradition

Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh, and is widely spoken in West Bengal and other parts of the Indian subcontinent. The language’s poetic literary traditions make it one of the most beautiful languages in the world. It is a part of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. 

Additionally, the presence of Bengali-speaking communities in the US, UK, Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, and Europe makes it one of the most spoken languages in the world. The language is spoken by 275 million people worldwide. 

9. Russian 

• Number of speakers (approx) – 148 million
• Unique feature – Complex case and aspect systems

It’s not a surprise to find Russian among the most widely spoken languages globally. Russian is the native language for speakers all over Europe. While it is the official language of only four countries, it is spoken by people across 19 countries. 

Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of territory, but it has only a few native speakers compared to those mentioned previously. The language is the most widespread one in Eurasia and the largest native language in Europe. 

10. Urdu 

• Number of speakers (approx) – 230 million
• Unique feature – Persian-Arabic script

Urdu is one of the two official languages in Pakistan and is also used in certain parts of India. It is almost similar to Hindi when spoken, and speakers can understand each other when spoken. However, Urdu uses a modified Persian script for its alphabet, while Hindi uses Sanskrit. 

The language’s status as the national language of Pakistan and its use in India make it one of the most spoken languages in the world. It is the native language of 70 million speakers worldwide.