As social beings, it’s natural that humans rely on language as a bridge that links us to one another—be it to converse with people from our own home country or individuals from across the border. Right now, with more than 7,000 languages in the world, as boundaries blur due to globalization, learning more than one language has become necessary for global citizens. 

From all the languages that exist worldwide, based on the number of its native speakers and learners, there are 10 languages that is the most spoken in 2025. Here’s the complete list, compiled from Ethnologue. 

10 Most spoken language in the world 2025

1. English

It’s no surprise that English, as an international language that is mandatory to learn in most countries, comes in first place. Originated in the United Kingdom, this language belongs to the Indo-European language family.

According to the International Center for Language Studies, English is globally used in 186 countries. Aside from being used as a language of instruction in education, English is also dominating the cyber space, with 52,1% of web contents written in English, including this article. 

2. Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese is categorized as part of the Sino-Tibetan language family and the Chinese macrolanguage. There are about 1.2 billion Mandarin Chinese speakers worldwide, 941 million of whom are native speakers.

Although it is the second most spoken language, Mandarin Chinese is not widely used as a second language compared to English. As of January 2024, Chinese is used in 83 countries, yet only 1.3% of web content is in Chinese.

3. Hindi

Like the English language, interestingly Hindi as the national language of India is also a part of the Indo-European language family. Widely spoken by approximately 609,1 million speakers and 345 million native speakers, Hindi language is mostly used in the Asian region. In India itself, Hindi is spoken by 52,83% of its population, compared to other acknowledged languages in India such as Marathi and Bengali. 

4. Spanish 

Up next on the list of languages with the most speakers is another member from the Indo-European language, which is Spanish. As a language that received national status in 21 countries, Spanish is in fact the second most commonly spoken language in the digital sphere, predominantly in Latin America. 

Gathering about 558,5 million speakers around the world in 2025, majority of people speaking Spanish are native speakers. Which makes Spanish has about 100 million more native speakers compared to English. 

5. Arabic

Arabic language—belonging to the Afro-Asiatic language family, ranked number 5 with a total of 334,8 million speakers across the globe. However, similar to Mandarin and Hindi, Arabic language has a limited online presence, with only 0,6% web contents are in Arabic. Uniquely enough, Arabic consists of a rich variety of dialects, ranging from Morocco to Oman. 

6. French

In 2025, French is used by 311,9 million speakers worldwide, with approximately two-thirds of them situated in Africa. Additionally, the French language obtains an official status in 32 countries. The French language has quite a strong presence in the digital world, with a total of 4,3% online content, making it the sixth most popular language. 

7. Bengali 

Bengali is Bangladesh’s official national language as well as the second most commonly used language in India apart from Hindi. Its roots trace back to Sanskrit—the ancient Indo-European language and over time, it incorporates features from other languages, including English, Persian, and Portuguese.

In 2025, Bengali is spoken by 284,3 million people, and has an official status in Bangladesh and several Indian states. Furthermore, Bengali language’s presence is culturally evident in film, music, television, and literary sectors, according to Readle. 

8. Portuguese

Next language as the most spoken in the world comes from Portugal with its national language, Portuguese. Accumulating around 266,6 million speakers internationally, Portuguese is vastly used in several countries, for example Brazil, and a few countries in Asia and Africa. 

While Portuguese has a relatively modest online presence, accounting for only 3,1% global digital content in total, it has a significant cultural impact. This can be seen in its literary and musical traditions, and its importance in business, tourism, as well as international relations. 

9. Russian

Russian is used by almost 253,4 million people worldwide, including a number of 148 million native speakers, ranking 9th globally by total speakers and 7th by its number of native speakers. Due to historical ties, Russian language is still used in various post-Soviet nations like Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. 

Originating from Old East Slavic, the Russian language has evolved through influences from other Slavic languages. Notably, Russian has an impressive digital footprint as the 4th most popular language on the internet, comprising 4,3% of worldwide online content. 

10. Indonesian

This year, Indonesian language managed to be the 10th most spoken language in the world—replacing Urdu’s position before. Around 252,4 million people across the globe speak Indonesian. Though, given its rich linguistic diversity, the majority of Indonesians speak it as a second language. 

Indonesian language’s simple grammar makes it easy to learn, although it has a limited online presence, accounting for less than 0,1%.