In 2025, there were around 1.53 billion people worldwide who spoke English either natively or as a second language, slightly more than the 1.18 billion Mandarin Chinese speakers at the time of survey. Hindi and Spanish accounted for the third and fourth most widespread languages that year. Languages in the United States The United States does not have an official language, but the country uses English, specifically American English, for legislation, regulation, and other official pronouncements. The United States is a land of immigration, and the languages spoken in the United States vary as a result of the multicultural population. The second most common language spoken in the United States is Spanish or Spanish Creole, which over than 43 million people spoke at home in 2023. There were also 3.5 million Chinese speakers (including both Mandarin and Cantonese),1.8 million Tagalog speakers, and 1.57 million Vietnamese speakers counted in the United States that year. Different languages at home The percentage of people in the United States speaking a language other than English at home varies from state to state. The state with the highest percentage of population speaking a language other than English is California. About 45 percent of its population was speaking a language other than English at home in 2023.

Many residents of New York City speak more than one language; a number of them speak and understand non-English languages more fluently than English. This dataset, derived from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), includes information on over 1.7 million limited English proficient (LEP) residents and a subset of that population called limited English proficient citizens of voting age (CVALEP) at the Community District level. There are 59 community districts throughout NYC, with each district being represented by a Community Board.

2013-2023 Virginia Population by Age by Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 years and over by Census Block Group. Contains estimates and margins of error.

U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B16004 Data accessed from: Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey (https://www.census.gov/data/developers/data-sets.html)

The United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS): -What is the American Community Survey? (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html) -Geography & ACS (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/geography-acs.html) -Technical Documentation (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/technical-documentation.html)

Supporting documentation on code lists, subject definitions, data accuracy, and statistical testing can be found on the American Community Survey website in the Technical Documentation section. (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/technical-documentation/code-lists.html)

Sample size and data quality measures (including coverage rates, allocation rates, and response rates) can be found on the American Community Survey website in the Methodology section. (https://www.census.gov/acs/www/methodology/sample_size_and_data_quality/)

Although the American Community Survey (ACS) produces population, demographic and housing unit estimates, it is the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program that produces and disseminates the official estimates of the population for the nation, states, counties, cities, and towns and estimates of housing units for states and counties.

Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see ACS Technical Documentation https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/technical-documentation.html). The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.

In 2024, some 45 million people in the United States spoke Spanish at home. In comparison, the second most spoken non-English language spoken by households was Chinese, at just 3.7 million speakers.The distribution of the U.S. population by ethnicity can be accessed here. A ranking of the most spoken languages across the world can be accessed here.

Data on the language spoken most often at home by the population of Canada and Canada outside Quebec, and of all provinces and territories, for Census years 1971 to 2021.

Table from the American Community Survey (ACS) B16003 of age by language spoken at home for the population 5 years and over in limited English-speaking households. These are multiple, nonoverlapping vintages of the 5-year ACS estimates of population and housing attributes starting in 2010 shown by the corresponding census tract vintage. Also includes the most recent release annually.King County, Washington census tracts with nonoverlapping vintages of the 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates starting in 2010. Vintage identified in the "ACS Vintage" field.The census tract boundaries match the vintage of the ACS data (currently 2010 and 2020) so please note the geographic changes between the decades. Tracts have been coded as being within the City of Seattle as well as assigned to neighborhood groups called "Community Reporting Areas". These areas were created after the 2000 census to provide geographically consistent neighborhoods through time for reporting U.S. Census Bureau data. This is not an attempt to identify neighborhood boundaries as defined by neighborhoods themselves.Vintages: 2010, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023ACS Table(s): B16003Data downloaded from: <a href='https://data.c

As of 2023, more than ** percent of people in the United States spoke a language other than English at home. California had the highest share among all U.S. states, with ** percent of its population speaking a language other than English at home.

Data on the first official language spoken of the population of Canada and Canada outside Quebec, and of all provinces and territories, for Census years 1971 to 2016.

As of 2024, approximately 4.74 million inhabitants in Finland were Finnish-speaking. While the majority of the population have Finnish as their first language, around 285,400 people spoke Swedish as their first language, and 2,077 people were Sami-speaking. In 2024, the number of people speaking other languages increased to over 610,100.

US Census American Community Survey Custom Tabulation (ST542) by Census Tract. Language spoken at home for population 5 years and over by ability to speak English, summarized by census tract for 114 languages spoken across LA County, 5-year estimates 2019-2023.See also source data tables:Census Tracts: Language Spoken at Home LA County Census TractsLA County: Language Spoken at Home LA County Headings:GEOIDGeography identificationCT20Census tract (2020)NameCensus tract nameCSACountywide Statistical Area (city or community)SPAService Planning AreaSDSupervisorial Districttotal_popPopulation over 5 years old in census tract (universe)total_limited_engPopulation that speaks English less than "very well"total_limited_eng_pctPercent of population that speaks English less than "very well"

Data quality:Hamilton, City (C)Total non-response (TNR) rate, short-form census questionnaire: 2.5%Total non-response (TNR) rate, long-form census questionnaire: 3.5%Notes: 36 Knowledge of official languages refers to whether the person can conduct a conversation in English only French only in both or in neither language. For a child who has not yet learned to speak this includes languages that the child is learning to speak at home.For more information on language variables including information on their classifications the questions from which they are derived data quality and their comparability with other sources of data please refer to the Languages Reference Guide Census of Population 2021. 37 First official language spoken refers to the first official language (English or French) spoken by the person.For more information on language variables including information on their classifications the questions from which they are derived data quality and their comparability with other sources of data please refer to the Languages Reference Guide Census of Population 2021. 38 Mother tongue refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the person at the time the data was collected. If the person no longer understands the first language learned the mother tongue is the second language learned. For a person who learned more than one language at the same time in early childhood the mother tongue is the language this person spoke most often at home before starting school. The person has more than one mother tongue only if they learned these languages at the same time and still understands them. For a child who has not yet learned to speak the mother tongue is the language spoken most often to this child at home. A child who has not yet learned to speak has more than one mother tongue only if these languages are spoken to them equally often so that the child learns these languages at the same time.n.i.e. = not included elsewhere n.o.s. = not otherwise specified For more information on language variables including information on their classifications the questions from which they are derived data quality and their comparability with other sources of data please refer to the Languages Reference Guide Census of Population 2021. 39 Users should be aware that estimates associated with Indigenous languages are more affected than most by the incomplete enumeration of certain reserves and settlements in the Census of Population. 40 All languages spoken at home refers to all languages that the person speaks at home on a regular basis at the time of data collection.n.i.e. = not included elsewheren.o.s. = not otherwise specified For more information on language variables including information on their classifications the questions from which they are derived data quality and their comparability with other sources of data please refer to the Languages Reference Guide Census of Population 2021. 41 Language spoken most often at home refers to the language the person speaks most often at home at the time of data collection. A person can report more than one language as "spoken most often at home" if the languages are spoken equally often.For a person who lives alone the language spoken most often at home is the language in which they feel most comfortable. For a child who has not yet learned to speak this is the language spoken most often to the child at home. Where more than one language is spoken to the child the language spoken most often at home is the language spoken most often. If more than one language is spoken equally often to the child then these languages are included here. n.i.e. = not included elsewhere n.o.s. = not otherwise specified For more information on language variables including information on their classifications the questions from which they are derived data quality and their comparability with other sources of data please refer to the Languages Reference Guide Census of Population 2021. 42 Other language(s) spoken regularly at home refers to the language(s) if any that the person speaks at home on a regular basis at the time of data collection other than the language(s) they speak most often at home.Comparisons to previous Census data is not recommended for the 'Other languages spoken regularly at home' variable. For more information on language variables including information on their classifications the questions from which they are derived data quality and their comparability with other sources of data please refer to the Languages Reference Guide Census of Population 2021. 43 Knowledge of official languages refers to whether the person can conduct a conversation in English only French only in both or in neither language. For a child who has not yet learned to speak this includes languages that the child is learning to speak at home.Knowledge of non-official languages refers to whether the person can conduct a conversation in a language other than English or French. For a child who has not yet learned to speak this includes languages that the child is learning to speak at home. The number of languages that can be reported may vary between surveys depending on the objectives of the survey. n.i.e. = not included elsewhere n.o.s. = not otherwise specified For more information on language variables including information on their classifications the questions from which they are derived data quality and their comparability with other sources of data please refer to the Languages Reference Guide Census of Population 2021.

Language Highlight Tables, Population by language spoken most often and regularly at home, for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, 2011 census - English version. Provides information highlights by topic via key indicators for various levels of geography.

Top Languages Spoken in the United States

The Impact of linguistics on Community and Business in America

About this dataset

Languages are an important part of daily life in the USA. Here is a table that shows the most common languages spoken in the USA, as well as a big spreadsheet which shows each CBSA (Core-Based Statistical Area, or urban area).

Language usage varies widely throughout the United States. According to the latest census data, over 350 different languages are represented in homes across the country. The following table and spreadsheet provide more detailed information on language usage throughout the various states and cities in the US:

Columns: - index: Index column for dataframe - Table with column headers in row 5 and row headers in column A: Contains language data for each CBSA (Core Based Statistical Area) - Unnamed: 1: Rank of CBSA by total number of speakers of all languages - Unnamed: 2: Name of CBSA - Unnamed: 3: Population of CBSA - Unnamed: 4: Percent of population that speaks English very well - Unnamed: 5 through Unnamed: 58 : Languages spoken by at least 0.1% of the population, with corresponding percentages

How to use the dataset

1. This dataset can be used to understand the linguistic diversity of the United States, and to compare languages spoken across different states and cities.
2. This data can also be used to explore trends in language usage over time.
3. businesses can use this dataset to identify which languages are most commonly spoken in the areas in which they operate and tailor their marketing or customer service accordingly.
4. Schools could use this dataset to plan language-learning programs based on the needs of their community.
5. Policymakers could use this data to better understand linguistic diversity in the United States and design programs to support bilingualism or multilingualism

Research Ideas

1. Businesses can use this dataset to identify which languages are most commonly spoken in the areas in which they operate and cater their marketing or customer service accordingly.
2. Schools could use this data to plan language-learning programs based on the needs of their community.
3. Policymakers could use this dataset to better understand linguistic diversity in the United States and design programs to support bilingualism or multilingualism

Acknowledgements

This dataset was created by Gary Hoover. The data was sourced from https://www.kaggle.com/garyhoov/us-languages

License

Unknown License - Please check the dataset description for more information.

Columns

File: Languages Spoken at Home by Urban Area = CBSA.csv

File: US Languages Spoken at Home 2014.csv | Column name | Description | |:-------------------------------------------------------------------|:--------------| | Table with column headers in row 5 and row headers in column A | |

This map displays predominant language and language family by country. Language family attributes include the number of languages in the family and the number of people, worldwide, who speak languages from that family. Language by country attributes include language and language family.

This statistic shows a breakdown of the Hong Kong population by language, based on the latest available census data from 2021. Based on this data, around *** percent of Hong Kong inhabitants were English speakers.

Language questions were only asked of persons 5 years and older. The language question is about current use of a non-English language at home, not about ability to speak another language or the use of such a language in the past or elsewhere. People who speak a language other than English outside of the home are not reported as speaking a language other than English. Respondents that spoke a language other than English at home, where also asked whether they could speak English "very well" or less than "very well. See how the Census Bureau measures Language Use for more information at https://www.census.gov/topics/population/language-use/about.html.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau; 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table C16001.

Data on the language spoken most often at home by the population of Canada and Canada outside Quebec, and of all provinces and territories, for Census years 1971 to 2016.

Data on the first official language spoken by the population of Canada and Canada outside Quebec, and of all provinces and territories, for Census years 1971 to 2021.

This dataset provides a structured view of the world’s cities, countries, and languages, derived from the well-known World Database (SQL → CSV). It is designed to be beginner-friendly yet powerful for researchers, analysts, and data scientists who want to explore global demographics, population distribution, and linguistic diversity.

The dataset is split into three clean, relational tables:

🔹 city.csv

• Contains information about the world’s cities.

• Key columns:

  • ID → Unique city identifier
  • Name → City name
  • CountryCode → Links each city to its country
  • District → Administrative division
  • Population → Population of the city

🔹 country.csv

• Describes countries and their attributes.

• Key columns:

  • Code → Unique country code
  • Name → Country name
  • Continent, Region → Geographic classification
  • SurfaceArea → Area in square kilometers
  • Population → Country’s population
  • GovernmentForm, HeadOfState → Political details

🔹 countrylanguage.csv

• Captures languages spoken across countries.

• Key columns:

  • CountryCode → Links to country.csv
  • Language → Language name
  • IsOfficial → Whether the language is official
  • Percentage → Percentage of speakers in the population

Why Use This Dataset?

• Study urbanization and population trends across the globe.
• Explore language diversity and compare official vs. non-official usage.
• Perform SQL-style joins across the three tables for deeper analysis.
• Great for data visualization projects, machine learning experiments, or teaching relational databases.

Possible Use Cases

• 📊 Build dashboards to visualize population growth by continent or country.
• 🌍 Rank cities by size, density, or region.
• 🗣️ Analyze global language distribution and multilingual countries.
• 🤖 Use as a practice dataset for SQL queries, joins, and normalization in machine learning pipelines.

This dataset offers a balanced mix of geography, demography, and linguistics — perfect for analysts, students, and Kaggle competitors alike.

This dataset contains estimates of the number of residents aged 5 years or older in Chicago who “speak English less than very well,” by the non-English language spoken at home and community area of residence, for the years 2008 – 2012. See the full dataset description for more information at: https://data.cityofchicago.org/api/views/fpup-mc9v/files/dK6ZKRQZJ7XEugvUavf5MNrGNW11AjdWw0vkpj9EGjg?download=true&filename=P:\EPI\OEPHI\MATERIALS\REFERENCES\ECONOMIC_INDICATORS\Dataset_Description_Languages_2012_FOR_PORTAL_ONLY.pdf