Compiled by Bravo
Technology Center
Based on 2005 Ethnologue estimates.
| Language |
Ethnologue (million) (2005 estimate) |
Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin | 885 (1999) | 1 |
| Arabic | 206 (1998) | 2 |
| English | 322 (1999) | 3 |
| Spanish | 332 (1999) | 4 |
| Bengali | 289 (2006) | 5 |
| Hindi | 366 (Khariboli dialect) (1991) | 6 |
| Portuguese | 177 (1998) | 7 |
| Russian | 170 (1999) | 8 |
| Japanese | 125 (1999) | 9 |
| German | 95 (1995) | 10 |
| Punjabi | Western Panjabi: 60.8 (2005) Eastern Panjabi 27.1 |
11 |
| Wu | 77 (1996) | 12 |
| French | 77 (2000) | 13 |
| Javanese | 70 (1999) | 14 |
| Korean | 70 (1999) | 15 |
| Vietnamese | 67 (1996) | 16 |
| Telugu | 66 (1996) | 17 |
| Cantonese | 66 (1996) | 18 |
| Marathi | 64 | 19 |
| Tamil | 63 | 20 |
| Italian | 61 | 21 |
| Turkish | 59 (1996) | 22 |
| Urdu | 58 (1996) | 23 |
| Gujarati | 44 (1996) | 24 |
| Polish | 44 (1996) | 24 |
| Ukrainian | 41 | 26 |
Top 9 ranking are actually based on Encarta estimate figures, which differ slightly from Ethnologue estimates.