HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Avoo.com provides meta search results from various sources

List_of_countries_by_english-speaking_population


Google



1

This is a list of countries of the world sorted by the total English-speaking population in that country. This includes both native speakers and second language speakers of English. Statistics on second language speakers are usually imprecise, in part because there is no widely agreed definition of second language speakers, so these figures should be treated with caution.

Contents

List in order of total speakers

  • The European Union is composed of 27 member states. The total English speaking population of the combined territories is 229,850,000 including 61,850,000 native speakers and 168,000,000 non native speakers. Crystal (2005), p. 109, UK and Ireland total. Non-native speakers: 2006 Eurobarometer survey. Covered EU citizens aged 15 years or more.
Rank Country Total First language As an additional language Comment
1 United States 251,388,301215,423,55735,964,744Source: US Census 2006: Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2006, Table 1. Figure for second language speakers are respondents who reported they do not speak English at home but know it "very well" or "well". Note: figures are for population age 5 and older
2 India 90,000,000178,59865,000,000 second language speakers.
25,000,000 third language speakers 		Figures include both those who speak English as a second language and those who speak it as a third language. 1991 figures.Census of India\'s eCensusIndia, Issue 10, 2003, pp 8-10, (Feature: Languages of West Bengal in Census and Surveys, Bilingualism and Trilingualism). Tropf, Herbert S. 2004.

India and its Languages. Siemens AG, Munich The figures include English speakers, but not English users. For the distinction between "English Speakers," and "English Users," please see: TESOL-India (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages)], India: World\'s Second Largest English-Speaking Country. Their article explains the difference between the 350 million number mentioned in a previous version of this Wikipedia article and a more plausible 90 million number:

“ "Wikipedia\'s India estimate of 350 million includes two categories - "English Speakers" and "English Users". The distinction between the Speakers and Users is that Users only know how to read English words while Speakers know how to read English, understand spoken English as well as form their own sentences to converse in English. The distinction becomes clear when you consider the China numbers. China has over 200~350 million users that can read English words but, as anyone can see on the streets of China, only handful of million who are English speakers." ”
3 Nigeria 79,000,0004,000,000>75,000,000Figures are for speakers of Nigerian Pidgin, an English-based pidgin or creole. Ihemere gives a range of roughly 3 to 5 million native speakers; the midpoint of the range is used in the table. Ihemere, Kelechukwu Uchechukwu. 2006. "A Basic Description and Analytic Treatment of Noun Clauses in Nigerian Pidgin." Nordic Journal of African Studies 15(3): 296–313.
4 United Kingdom 59,600,00058,100,0001,500,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
5 Philippines 45,900,00027,00042,500,000Total speakers: Census 2000, text above Figure 7. 63.71% of the 66.7 million people aged 5 years or more could speak English. Native speakers: Census 1995, as quoted by Andrew Gonzalez in The Language Planning Situation in the Philippines, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 19 (5&6), 487-525. (1998)
6 Germany 36,000,000272,50436,000,000Native speakers: Statistisches Bundesamt (cited here).
Non-native speakers: 2006 Eurobarometer survey. Does not include foreign military personnel based in Germany.
7 Canada 25,246,22017,694,8307,551,390Source: 2001 Census - Knowledge of Official Languages and Mother Tongue. The native speakers figure comprises 122,660 people with both French and English as a mother tongue, plus 17,572,170 people with English and not French as a mother tongue.
8 Australia 17,357,83315,013,9652,343,868Source: 2001 Census. [1] The figure shown in the first language English speakers column is actually the number of Australian residents who speak only English at home. The additional language column shows the number of other residents who claim to speak English "well" or "very well". Another 5% of residents did not state their home language or English proficiency.
9 Pakistan 17,000,000 17,000,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
10 France 16,000,000 16,000,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
11 Italy 14,000,000 14,000,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
12 South Africa 13,700,0003,673,20310,000,000Native speakers: 2001 Census: Census in Brief, page 15 (Table 2.5)

Non-native speakers: Crystal (2005), p. 109.

13 Netherlands 12,000,000 12,000,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
14 Spain 10,000,000 10,000,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
15 Poland 9,200,000 9,200,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
16 Turkey 8,100,000 8,100,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
17 Cameroon 7,700,000 7,700,000Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
18 Malaysia 7,400,000380,0007,000,000Crystal (2005), p. 109.
19 China 200,000 (Hong Kong only)Figures are for English users, not speakers. Source: Jian Yang (April 2006). "Learners and users of English in China". English Today 22 (2): 3–10.  Hong Kong contributes an additional 2.5 million speakers, of whom 200,000 regard English as their "usual" language (1996 by-census [2]).
20 Russia 6,955,3151,8046,953,511Source: Basic Results, Tables 4.4 and 4.1, Russian Census (2002). The "total" figure is the number of residents who reported English as one of the language they knew. The "first language" figure is the number of residents who reported "American" or "English" as their nationality. The "additional languages" figure is the difference.
21 Sweden 6,600,000 6,600,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
22 Zimbabwe 5,550,000250,0005,300,000Crystal (2005), p. 109.
23 Romania 5,300,000 5,300,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
24 Belgium 5,100,000 5,100,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
25 Sierra Leone 4,900,000500,000 4,400,000 Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
26 Mexico 4,855,000 4,855,000Consulta Mitovsky-Tracking Poll Roy Campos: Las Lenguas Extranjeras en México, April 2007 [3]; and II Conteo de Población y Vivienda, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI) [4].
27 Greece 4,200,000 4,200,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
28 Tanzania 4,000,0004,000,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
29 Austria 3,900,000 3,900,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
30 Ireland 3,850,0003,750,000100,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
31 Denmark 3,800,000 3,800,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
32 New Zealand 3,673,623≥ 3,008,058 2006 Census: Language spoken. Native language figure is actually those who spoke English only, so will probably be too low. Both figures exclude those 75,567 people who spoke no language, e.g. were too young to talk, and the 196,224 people who did not state what languages they spoke. Crystal (2005), p. 109, gives figures of 3,700,000 native speakers and 150,000 second language speakers.
33 Bangladesh 3,500,000 3,500,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
34 Papua New Guinea 3,150,000150,0003,000,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
35 Liberia 3,100,000600,0002,500,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
36= Finland 2,700,000 2,700,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
37= Kenya 2,700,000 2,700,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
38 Jamaica 2,650,0002,600,00050,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
39 Portugal 2,600,000 2,600,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
40 Uganda 2,500,0002,500,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
41 Czech Republic 2,100,000 2,100,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
42 Hungary 2,000,000 2,000,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
43 Puerto Rico 1,940,000100,0001,840,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
44= Sri Lanka 1,910,00010,0001,900,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
45= Zambia 1,910,000110,0001,800,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
46 Croatia 1,800,000 1,800,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
47 Singapore 1,793,245665,0871,128,158Source: 2000 Census. Second language speaker figure only includes those literate in English aged 15 or more. Native speakers aged 5 or more, literate population, aged 15 or more, and percentage of literate population literate in English.
48 Bulgaria 1,500,000 1,500,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
49= Slovakia 1,400,000 1,400,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
50= Ghana 1,400,0001,400,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
51 Trinidad and Tobago 1,145,0001,145,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
52 Slovenia 950,000 950,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
53 Lithuania 900,000 900,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
54 Guyana 680,000650,00030,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
55 Botswana 630,000 630,000 Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
56 Estonia 590,000 590,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
57= Latvia 540,000 540,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
58= Malawi 540,000 540,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
59 Lesotho 500,000 500,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
60 Cyprus 420,000 420,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
61 Suriname 410,000260,000150,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
62 Namibia 314,00014,000300,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
63 Bahamas 288,000260,00028,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
64 Malta 280,000 280,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
65 Barbados 275,000262,00013,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
66 Belize 246,000190,00056,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
67 Luxembourg 220,000 220,0002006 Eurobarometer survey.
68 Mauritius 202,0002,000200,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
69 Vanuatu 180,00060,000120,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
70 Fiji 176,0006,000170,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
71 Solomon Islands 175,00010,000 165,000 Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
72 Ethiopia 171,7121,986169,726
73 Guam 158,00058,000100,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
74 Brunei 144,00010,000134,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
75 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 114,000114,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
76 U.S. Virgin Islands 113,00098,00015,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
77= Grenada 100,000100,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
78= Israel 100,000100,000Source: Ethnologue (2005) [5]
79 Samoa 94,0001,00093,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
80 Japan >93,500>93,500 Native speaker figure is the number of foreign residents from the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.[6]
81 Isle of Man 80,00080,000
82 Bhutan 75,000 75,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
83 Saint Lucia 71,00031,00040,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
84 Northern Mariana Islands 70,0005,000 65,000 Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
85 Antigua and Barbuda 68,00066,0002,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
86 American Samoa 67,0002,00065,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
87 Micronesia 64,0004,00060,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
88= Bermuda 63,00063,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
89= Dominica 63,0003,00060,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
90 Marshall Islands 60,000 60,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
91 Swaziland 50,000 50,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
92 Aruba 44,0009,00035,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
93 Gambia 40,00040,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
94 Saint Kitts and Nevis 39,00039,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
95 Cayman Islands 36,00036,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
96 Seychelles 33,0003,00030,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
97 Honduras 31,50031,500
98= Gibraltar 30,00028,0002,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
99= Tonga 30,000 30,000 Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
100 Kiribati 23,00023,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
101= Rwanda 20,00020,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
102= British Virgin Islands 20,00020,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
103 Palau 18,50050018,000 Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
104 Anguilla 12,00012,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
105 Nauru 10,3008009,500Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
106 Dominican Republic 8,0008,000
107 Saint Helena 5,4005,400
108= Cook Islands 4,0001,0003,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
109= Montserrat 4,0004,000Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
110 British Indian Ocean Territory 3,5003,500
111 Lebanon 3,3003,300
112 Niue 2,160782,082
113 Falkland Islands 1,9911,991
114 Netherlands Antilles 1,8001,800
115 Norfolk Island 1,6781,678
116 Turks and Caicos Islands 920920
117 Guadeloupe 200200
118 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 188188
119 Pitcairn 4646
120 Tokelau 4040
Cambodia Replacing French as second language, especially in Phnom Penh. Also used for mobile phone texting
Christmas Island
Eritrea
Guernsey
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Jersey
Korea
Somalia
Taiwan
Thailand
Bahrain
Total 800-900 million

List in order of native speakers

Rank Country First language
1 United States 215,423,557
2 United Kingdom 58,100,000
3 Canada 17,694,830
4 Australia 15,013,965
5 Ireland 3,750,000
6 South Africa 3,673,203
7 New Zealand ≥ 3,008,058
8 Jamaica 2,600,000
9 Trinidad and Tobago 1,145,000
10 Singapore 665,087
11 Guyana 650,000
12 Liberia 600,000
13 Sierra Leone 500,000
14 Malaysia 380,000
15 Germany 272,504
16 Barbados 262,000
17- Bahamas 260,000
17- Suriname 260,000
19 Zimbabwe 250,000
20 Belize 190,000
21 India 178,598
22 Papua New Guinea 150,000
23 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 114,000
24 Zambia 110,000
25= Grenada 100,000
25= Israel 100,000
25= Puerto Rico 100,000
28 U.S. Virgin Islands 98,000
29 Japan 93,500
Switzerland 73,000
30 Antigua and Barbuda 66,000
31 Bermuda 63,000
32 Vanuatu 60,000
33 Guam 58,000
34 Saint Kitts and Nevis 39,000
35 Cayman Islands 36,000
36 Honduras 31,500
37 Saint Lucia 31,000
38 Gibraltar 28,000
39 Philippines 27,000
40 British Virgin Islands 20,000
41 Namibia 14,000
42 Anguilla 12,000
43= Solomon Islands 10,000
43= Sri Lanka 10,000
43= Brunei 10,000
46 Aruba 9,000
47 Dominican Republic 8,000
48 Fiji 6,000
49 Saint Helena 5,400
50 Northern Mariana Islands 5,000
51 Micronesia 4,000
52 Montserrat 4,000
53 British Indian Ocean Territory 3,500
54= Dominica 3,000
54= Seychelles 3,000
56= American Samoa 2,000
56= Mauritius 2,000
57 Falkland Islands 1,991
58 Russia 1,804
59 Ethiopia 1,986
60 Norfolk Island 1,678
61= Cook Islands 1,000
61= Samoa 1,000
63 Turks and Caicos Islands 920
64 Nauru 800
65 Palau 500
66 Guadeloupe 200
67 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 188
68 Niue 78
69 Pitcairn 46
70 Tokelau 40

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Notes

References

See also

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia


Advertise with Us | Search Marketing | Help | Suggest a Site | Privacy Policy
© 2008 www.avoo.com. All rights reserved.