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.

In 2023, around 43.37 million people in the United States spoke Spanish at home. In comparison, approximately 998,179 people were speaking Russian at home during the same year. 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.

Historical Dataset of World Language High School is provided by PublicSchoolReview and contain statistics on metrics:Total Students Trends Over Years (2007-2023),Total Classroom Teachers Trends Over Years (2008-2023),Distribution of Students By Grade Trends,Student-Teacher Ratio Comparison Over Years (2008-2023),Hispanic Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (2007-2023),Black Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (2007-2023),White Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (2006-2023),Two or More Races Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (2013-2022),Diversity Score Comparison Over Years (2007-2023),Free Lunch Eligibility Comparison Over Years (2013-2023),Reading and Language Arts Proficiency Comparison Over Years (2011-2022),Math Proficiency Comparison Over Years (2010-2021),Overall School Rank Trends Over Years (2011-2022),Graduation Rate Comparison Over Years (2011-2022)

Historical Dataset of Robert Randall World Languages is provided by PublicSchoolReview and contain statistics on metrics:Total Students Trends Over Years (1987-2023),Total Classroom Teachers Trends Over Years (1990-2023),Distribution of Students By Grade Trends,Student-Teacher Ratio Comparison Over Years (1990-2023),American Indian Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1988-2006),Asian Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),Hispanic Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),Black Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1988-2020),White Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),Two or More Races Student Percentage Comparison Over Years (2009-2023),Diversity Score Comparison Over Years (1991-2023),Free Lunch Eligibility Comparison Over Years (1992-2023),Reduced-Price Lunch Eligibility Comparison Over Years (2002-2023),Reading and Language Arts Proficiency Comparison Over Years (2010-2022),Math Proficiency Comparison Over Years (2010-2022),Overall School Rank Trends Over Years (2010-2022)

As of February 2025, English was the most popular language for web content, with over 49.4 percent of websites using it. Spanish ranked second, with six percent of web content, while the content in the German language followed, with 5.6 percent. English as the leading online language United States and India, the countries with the most internet users after China, are also the world's biggest English-speaking markets. The internet user base in both countries combined, as of January 2023, was over a billion individuals. This has led to most of the online information being created in English. Consequently, even those who are not native speakers may use it for convenience. Global internet usage by regions As of October 2024, the number of internet users worldwide was 5.52 billion. In the same period, Northern Europe and North America were leading in terms of internet penetration rates worldwide, with around 97 percent of its populations accessing the internet.

This dataset tracks annual two or more races student percentage from 2017 to 2023 for World Languages Institute vs. Texas and Fort Worth Independent School District

Turkey was the European country which had the largest share of its citizens self-reporting that they could not speak any foreign language, with almost 82 percent saying they were unable to do so. The United Kingdom and Bosnia and Herzegovina also had over 60 percent of their citizens self-reporting not being able to speak a foreign language. On the other hand, Slovenia, Sweden, and Estonia all had less than five percent of their populations stating they could not speak another language other than their country's main language. Slovenia, Luxembourg, and Norway were the three countries with the most citizens stating they could speak three foreign languages. On average, 37 percent of EU citizens report speaking one foreign language, 22 percent speak two, and 8.6 percent speak three, while 32 percent report speaking none.

Ireland stands as an outlier, as all citizens of the north-western European country self-reported as speaking a foreign language. This is, however, actually, a result of how the question was asked, as respondents interpreted English as being a foreign language (in the sense of not being native to Ireland), in spite of it being one of the two official languages in the country (alongside Irish) and being spoken by the vast majority of the population in Ireland as their first language.

This feature layer was created using Census 2016 data produced by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and Local Electoral Areas boundary data (generalised to 20m) produced by Tailte Éireann. The layer represents Census 2016 theme 2.5, speakers of foreign languages by languages spoken. Attributes include population breakdown by languages spoken by foreign language speakers (e.g. Polish, French). Census 2016 theme 2 represents Migration, Ethnicity and Religion. The Census is carried out every five years by the CSO to determine an account of every person in Ireland. The results provide information on a range of themes, such as, population, housing and education. The data were sourced from the CSO.For the purposes of County Council and Corporation elections each county and city is divided into Local Electoral Areas (LEAs) which are constituted on the basis of Orders made under the Local Government Act, 1941. In general, LEAs are formed by aggregating Electoral Divisions. However, in a number of cases Electoral Divisions are divided between LEAs to facilitate electors. The current composition of the LEAs have been established by Statutory Instruments No’s 427-452/2008, 503-509/2008 and 311/1998.

The number of enrollments in language schools in Spain reveals that Spaniards are well aware of the importance of foreign languages in modern times. During the 2022/23 academic year, almost 331,000 people were registered at the Spanish language schools to add a new language to their curricula. In a globalized world, languages are taking a much more important role on the job market. The most studied and spoken languages in the world include English, Mandarin, Hindi or Spanish.

The importance of language knowledge in the job market Enrollment numbers at language schools come as no surprise considering that foreign languages have become a vital asset for job seekers in the last years. English, par excellence the most used language for international affairs, unsurprisingly ranked first on the list of most valued languages on the Spanish job market, with approximately 65.2 of job openings that require foreign language skills demanding this one. Far from that stood French, with 17.38 percent of the job openings.

Languages in the Spanish multimedia scene Most of the best selling albums Spain during 2022 were recorded in the country’s main language Spanish, with 38 albums in the top 50. As for videogames, 96 percent of the games produced in the country had English as a language option. Spanish was the second most used language, being present in 91 percent of productions.

This dataset tracks annual hispanic student percentage from 2015 to 2023 for World Languages Institute vs. Texas and Fort Worth Independent School District

In 2022, English was the most spoken foreign language among Hungarians. Over half of the young adults aged 20 to 29 spoke English, while it was considerably less common among older generations.

Speakers of foreign languages by language spoken by Limistéir Pleanála Teanga. (Census 2022 Theme 2 Table 5 )Census 2022 table 2.5 is speakers of foreign languages by languages spoken. Details include foreign language speakers. Census 2022 theme 2 is Migration, Ethnicity, Religion and Foreign Languages. Teorainneacha na Limistéar Pleanála Teanga Gaeltachta. I gcomhréir le forálacha Acht na Gaeltachta 2012, tá 26 Limistéar Pleanála Teanga Gaeltachta sainaitheanta ag an Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta. Faoin Acht, athainmneofar an Ghaeltacht atá ann faoi láthair mar Limistéir Pleanála Teanga Ghaeltachta ach pleananna teanga a bheith aontaithe ag pobail sna limistéir éagsúla de réir na gcritéar pleanála teanga atá forordaithe faoin Acht. Tá Údarás na Gaeltachta freagrach faoin Acht as tacú le heagraíochtaí maidir le hullmhú agus cur i bhfeidhm na bpleananna teanga sna Limistéir Pleanála Teanga Ghaeltachta. Gaeltacht Language Planning Area Boundaries. In line with the provisions of the Gaeltacht Act 2012, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has identified 26 Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas. Under the Act, the existing Gaeltacht will be redesignated as Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas provided that language plans are agreed by the communities in the various areas in accordance with the language planning criteria prescribed under the Act. Údarás na Gaeltachta is responsible under the Act for supporting organisations with regard to the preparation and implementation of the language plans in the Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas. Coordinate reference system: Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG 2157). These boundaries are based on 20m generalised boundaries sourced from Tailte Éireann Open Data Portal. This dataset is provided by Tailte Éireann, Limistéir Pleanála Teanga 2015.

SAP2011T2T5DC07 - Speakers of foreign languages by language spoken. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Speakers of foreign languages by language spoken...

This dataset tracks annual white student percentage from 2015 to 2023 for World Languages Institute vs. Texas and Fort Worth Independent School District

SAP2011T2T5CLT - Speakers of foreign languages by language spoken. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Speakers of foreign languages by language spoken...

Speakers of foreign languages by language spoken by Province. (Census 2022 Theme 2 Table 5 )Census 2022 table 2.5 is speakers of foreign languages by languages spoken. Details include foreign language speakers. Census 2022 theme 2 is Migration, Ethnicity, Religion and Foreign Languages. Ireland is divided into four provinces - Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht. They do not have any administrative functions and they are relevant for a number of historical, cultural and sporting reasons. The borders of the provinces coincide with the boundaries of counties. Three of the nine counties in Ulster are within the jurisdiction of the State.Coordinate reference system: Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG 2157). These boundaries are based on 20m generalised boundaries sourced from Tailte Éireann Open Data Portal. Provinces - National Statutory Boundaries - 2019This dataset is provided by Tailte Éireann

This feature layer was created using Census 2016 data produced by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and Province boundary data (generalised to 100m) produced by Tailte Éireann. The layer represents Census 2016 theme 2.5, speakers of foreign languages by languages spoken. Attributes include population breakdown by languages spoken by foreign language speakers (e.g. Polish, French). Census 2016 theme 2 represents Migration, Ethnicity and Religion. The Census is carried out every five years by the CSO to determine an account of every person in Ireland. The results provide information on a range of themes, such as, population, housing and education. The data were sourced from the CSO. Province Boundaries Generalised to 100m. Ireland is divided into four provinces called Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht. Although they presently do not have any administrative functions, they are relevant for a number of historical, cultural and sporting reasons. The borders of the provinces coincide exactly with the boundaries of the administrative counties. Three of the nine counties in Ulster are within the jurisdiction of the State.

Speakers of foreign languages by language spoken by Built Up Urban Area. (Census 2022 Theme 2 Table 5 )Census 2022 table 2.5 is speakers of foreign languages by languages spoken. Details include foreign language speakers. Census 2022 theme 2 is Migration, Ethnicity, Religion and Foreign Languages. Built Up Areas (BUAs) are a new type of urban geography that define towns. They are the result of a collaboration between the CSO, Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. BUAs are made up of whole Small Areas which eliminates the possibility of statistical disclosure. Coordinate reference system: Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG 2157). These boundaries are based on 20m generalised boundaries sourced from Tailte Éireann Open Data Portal. CSO Urban Areas 2022

Of the 45 men who have held (or will hold) the title of President of the United States, 21 of them have, to some degree, spoken a foreign language (i.e. one that was not English). The most commonly spoken foreign languages were Latin and Greek, which were both spoken to some extent by at least ten presidents, while a further five had some knowledge of Latin only. The majority of those who studied these languages were required to do so in order to gain entry to educational institutions, although there are some reports that President John Adams had worked as a Greek and Latin teacher before taking office, while James A. Garfield was a professor of these subjects in Hiram College, Ohio. There are also more anecdotal claims that Garfield (who was ambidextrous) could write in both languages simultaneously with each hand. Martin Van Buren is notable as he was the first U.S. president born following U.S. independence; which may make it more surprising that he is the only U.S. president who did not speak English as a first language, instead growing up in a Dutch-speaking community in New York, while learning English in school.

Jefferson's boasts Three U.S. presidents, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Quincy Adams, appear to have been fluent in at least three foreign languages, while Jefferson and Adams had some knowledge of a number of other languages. Jefferson famously boasted to Adams once that he had learned Spanish in just 19 days, by using a just a grammar book and a copy of Don Quixote, although Adams expressed doubts over the legitimacy of these claims. Jefferson was known, however, to study somewhat uncommon languages, and was known to translate documents into Old English, while books in Arabic, Irish Gaelic and Welsh were found in his personal library after his death.

Modern presidents Of the six currently-living U.S. presidents, President Trump and Biden are the only without some proficiency in a foreign language. President Carter is said to have had a fluent grasp of the Spanish language, and has continued to practice it in recent years (although he often downplays his own abilities when interviewed about it), while President George W. Bush has made some public addresses (partly) in Spanish. President Clinton studied German in university, is said to speak it fluently, and has even made public addresses in German while in Berlin. President Obama was said to have become fluent in Indonesian as a child, when living in the country between the ages of six and ten; this is one of the few non-European languages (along with Hebrew and Mandarin) to have been spoken by a U.S. president, although Obama has also downplayed his proficiency in the language while in office, sometimes claiming not to speak any foreign languages at all.

Speakers of foreign languages by language spoken by Local Authorities. (Census 2022 Theme 2 Table 5 )Census 2022 table 2.5 is speakers of foreign languages by languages spoken. Details include foreign language speakers. Census 2022 theme 2 is Migration, Ethnicity, Religion and Foreign Languages. The country is divided into 31 administrative counties/cities. Outside Dublin, there are 23 administrative counties and four cities: Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway. There are four local authority areas in Dublin: Dublin City and the three administrative counties of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 Section 9 provided for the amalgamation of the city and county councils in Limerick, Waterford, and North Tipperary and South Tipperary County Councils.Coordinate reference system: Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG 2157). These boundaries are based on 20m generalised boundaries sourced from Tailte Éireann Open Data Portal. This dataset is provided by Tailte Éireann, Administrative Counties 2019