- As of 2023, an estimated 1.46 billion people speak English around the World.
- Incredibly, this amounts to 18.07% of the global population, almost 1 in 5 people.
- More people speak English than any other language.
- The total number of English speakers is estimated to be around 28% higher than Mandarin Chinese, which is the second-most popular language.
- 26% of English speakers speak it as a first-language and 74% of English speakers speak it as a second-language.
- English is taught as a foreign language more frequently than any other language.
- By 2050, the total number of English speakers is anticipated to grow to 2 billion people.
- “The Anglosphere” is a term used to describe regions with a cultural connection to England, where English is often spoken by many in the population.
- The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are known as the “Core Anglosphere”, where English is the official language.
- In addition to its popularity in many regions, the English language is also used for professional contexts, across the fields of science, navigation and law.
- People who speak English are sometimes referred to as “Anglophones”.
Number of English speakers over time
- The total number of English speakers increased annually from 1.13 billion in 2019 to 1.46 billion in 2023.
- Over the given 5-year period, the total number of English speakers increased by 29.20%.
- As of 2023, the number of English native speakers is 0.38 billion, equalling that of 2019.
- The number of English second-language speakers showed several increases over the period, rising from 0.75 billion in 2019 to 1.08 billion in 2023.
- In terms of change, English second-language speakers increased by 44.00% over the given period.
Year | Native speakers | Second-language speakers | Total speakers | Total change |
2023 | 0.38 billion | 1.08 billion | 1.46 billion | + 0.69% |
2022 | 0.37 billion | 1.08 billion | 1.45 billion | + 7.41% |
2021 | 0.37 billion | 0.98 billion | 1.35 billion | + 6.30% |
2020 | 0.37 billion | 0.90 billion | 1.27 billion | + 12.39% |
2019 | 0.38 billion | 0.75 billion | 1.13 billion |
A graph is given below to show the number of English speakers over time:
Countries where English is an official language
Predominant language
- 4 countries list English as a predominant language.
- The total population of these countries is around 439 million people.
- The United States represents around 77% of the population of English predominant language countries alone, with its population of approximately 340 million people.
- For each of the listed countries, English is spoken by:
- Around 265 million people in the United States (78%).
- Around 66 million people in the United Kingdom (98%).
- Around 19 million people in Australia (72%).
- Around 5 million people in New Zealand (95%).
# | Country | Population (2023) |
1 | United States | 339,996,563 |
2 | United Kingdom | 67,736,802 |
3 | Australia | 26,439,111 |
4 | New Zealand | 5,228,100 |
De jure official language
- 53 countries list English as a de jure official language (according to law).
- The total population of these countries is 2.55 billion people.
- India represents around 56% of the population of English de jure official language countries alone, with its population of approximately 1.43 billion people.
- There are approximately 143 million English speakers in India, around 10% of its population.
- Nigeria’s English speaking population is estimated at around 60%, which makes for over 134 million people.
- In Pakistan, around 50% of the population can speak English, which amounts to over 120 million people.
# | Country | Population (2023) |
1 | India | 1,428,627,663 |
2 | Pakistan | 240,485,658 |
3 | Nigeria | 223,804,632 |
4 | Philippines | 117,337,368 |
5 | Tanzania | 67,438,106 |
6 | South Africa | 60,414,495 |
7 | Kenya | 55,100,586 |
8 | Uganda | 48,582,334 |
9 | Sudan | 48,109,006 |
10 | Canada | 38,781,291 |
11 | Ghana | 34,121,985 |
12 | Cameroon | 28,647,293 |
13 | Malawi | 20,931,751 |
14 | Zambia | 20,569,737 |
15 | Zimbabwe | 16,665,409 |
16 | Rwanda | 14,094,683 |
17 | Burundi | 13,238,559 |
18 | South Sudan | 11,088,796 |
19 | Papua New Guinea | 10,329,931 |
20 | Sierra Leone | 8,791,092 |
21 | Singapore | 6,014,723 |
22 | Liberia | 5,418,377 |
23 | Ireland | 5,056,935 |
24 | Jamaica | 2,825,544 |
25 | The Gambia | 2,773,168 |
26 | Botswana | 2,675,352 |
27 | Namibia | 2,604,172 |
28 | Lesotho | 2,330,318 |
29 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1,534,937 |
30 | Eswatini | 1,210,822 |
31 | Fiji | 936,375 |
32 | Guyana | 813,834 |
33 | Solomon Islands | 740,424 |
34 | Micronesia | 544,321 |
35 | Malta | 535,064 |
36 | The Bahamas | 412,623 |
37 | Belize | 410,825 |
38 | Vanuatu | 334,506 |
39 | Barbados | 281,995 |
40 | Samoa | 225,681 |
41 | Saint Lucia | 180,251 |
42 | Kiribati | 133,515 |
43 | Grenada | 126,183 |
44 | Tonga | 107,773 |
45 | Seychelles | 107,660 |
46 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 103,698 |
47 | Antigua and Barbuda | 94,298 |
48 | Dominica | 73,040 |
49 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 47,755 |
50 | Marshall Islands | 41,996 |
51 | Palau | 18,058 |
52 | Nauru | 12,780 |
53 | Tuvalu | 11,396 |
De facto working language
- 10 countries list English as a de facto working language (used for official purposes but not by law).
- The total population of these countries is around 254 million people.
- Bangladesh represents around 68% of the population of English de facto working language countries alone, with its population of approximately 173 million people.
- An estimated 12% of Bangladesh’s population can speak English, around 21 million people.
# | Country | Population (2023) |
1 | Bangladesh | 172,954,319 |
2 | Malaysia | 34,308,525 |
3 | Sri Lanka | 21,893,579 |
4 | United Arab Emirates | 9,516,871 |
5 | Israel | 9,174,520 |
6 | Qatar | 2,716,391 |
7 | Timor-Leste | 1,360,596 |
8 | Mauritius | 1,300,557 |
9 | Bhutan | 787,424 |
10 | Brunei | 452,524 |
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English proficiency index
- As of 2023, the English proficiency index shows that The Netherlands has the highest proficiency scores of the countries analyzed.
- Comparing countries by their proficiency level:
- 12 countries scored very high proficiency levels (10.62%).
- 18 countries scored high proficiency levels (15.93%).
- 33 countries scored moderate proficiency levels (29.20%).
- 28 countries scored low proficiency levels (24.78%).
- 22 countries scored very low proficiency levels (19.47%).
- Comparing average scores by continent:
- Europe ranks first with an average score of 570.
- Latin America ranks second with an average score of 508.
- Asia ranks third with an average score of 486.
- Africa ranks fourth with an average score of 469.
- The Middle East ranks fifth with an average score of 455.
# | Country | Region | Proficiency Level | Score |
1 | Netherlands | Europe | Very high proficiency | 647 |
2 | Singapore | Asia | Very high proficiency | 631 |
3 | Austria | Europe | Very high proficiency | 616 |
4 | Denmark | Europe | Very high proficiency | 615 |
5 | Norway | Europe | Very high proficiency | 614 |
6 | Sweden | Europe | Very high proficiency | 609 |
7 | Belgium | Europe | Very high proficiency | 608 |
8 | Portugal | Europe | Very high proficiency | 607 |
9 | South Africa | Africa | Very high proficiency | 605 |
10 | Germany | Europe | Very high proficiency | 604 |
11 | Croatia | Europe | Very high proficiency | 603 |
12 | Greece | Europe | Very high proficiency | 602 |
13 | Poland | Europe | High proficiency | 598 |
14 | Finland | Europe | High proficiency | 597 |
15 | Romania | Europe | High proficiency | 596 |
16 | Bulgaria | Europe | High proficiency | 589 |
17 | Hungary | Europe | High proficiency | 588 |
18 | Slovakia | Europe | High proficiency | 587 |
19 | Kenya | Africa | High proficiency | 584 |
20 | Philippines | Asia | High proficiency | 578 |
21 | Lithuania | Europe | High proficiency | 576 |
22 | Luxembourg | Europe | High proficiency | 575 |
23 | Estonia | Europe | High proficiency | 570 |
24 | Serbia | Europe | High proficiency | 569 |
25 | Malaysia | Asia | High proficiency | 568 |
26 | Czech Republic | Europe | High proficiency | 565 |
27 | Nigeria | Africa | High proficiency | 562 |
28 | Argentina | Latin America | High proficiency | 560 |
29 | Hong Kong | Asia | High proficiency | 558 |
30 | Switzerland | Europe | High proficiency | 553 |
31 | Honduras | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 544 |
32 | Georgia | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 541 |
33 | Belarus | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 539 |
34 | Ghana | Africa | Moderate proficiency | 537 |
35 | Spain | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 535 |
Italy | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 535 | |
Moldova | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 535 | |
38 | Costa Rica | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 534 |
39 | Albania | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 533 |
Uruguay | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 533 | |
41 | Bolivia | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 532 |
Russia | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 532 | |
43 | Cuba | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 531 |
France | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 531 | |
45 | Ukraine | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 530 |
Paraguay | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 530 | |
47 | Uganda | Africa | Moderate proficiency | 529 |
48 | Armenia | Europe | Moderate proficiency | 528 |
49 | South Korea | Asia | Moderate proficiency | 525 |
50 | El Salvador | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 524 |
51 | Peru | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 521 |
52 | Chile | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 518 |
53 | Guatemala | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 515 |
54 | Israel | Middle East | Moderate proficiency | 514 |
55 | Dominican Republic | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 512 |
56 | Venezuela | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 508 |
57 | Nepal | Asia | Moderate proficiency | 507 |
58 | Iran | Middle East | Moderate proficiency | 505 |
Vietnam | Asia | Moderate proficiency | 505 | |
60 | Bangladesh | Asia | Moderate proficiency | 504 |
India | Asia | Moderate proficiency | 504 | |
62 | Nicaragua | Latin America | Moderate proficiency | 503 |
63 | Tunisia | Africa | Moderate proficiency | 502 |
64 | Pakistan | Asia | Low proficiency | 497 |
65 | Lebanon | Middle East | Low proficiency | 496 |
66 | Turkey | Europe | Low proficiency | 493 |
67 | Sri Lanka | Asia | Low proficiency | 491 |
Tanzania | Africa | Low proficiency | 491 | |
69 | Ethiopia | Africa | Low proficiency | 490 |
70 | Brazil | Latin America | Low proficiency | 487 |
71 | United Arab Emirates | Middle East | Low proficiency | 486 |
Panama | Latin America | Low proficiency | 486 | |
73 | Mongolia | Asia | Low proficiency | 482 |
Qatar | Middle East | Low proficiency | 482 | |
75 | Colombia | Latin America | Low proficiency | 480 |
76 | Morocco | Africa | Low proficiency | 478 |
77 | Algeria | Africa | Low proficiency | 475 |
78 | Madagascar | Africa | Low proficiency | 474 |
79 | Indonesia | Asia | Low proficiency | 473 |
80 | Ecuador | Latin America | Low proficiency | 467 |
Syria | Middle East | Low proficiency | 467 | |
82 | China | Asia | Low proficiency | 464 |
83 | Azerbaijan | Europe | Low proficiency | 463 |
Egypt | Africa | Low proficiency | 463 | |
85 | Kuwait | Middle East | Low proficiency | 461 |
86 | Malawi | Africa | Low proficiency | 460 |
87 | Japan | Asia | Low proficiency | 457 |
88 | Afghanistan | Asia | Low proficiency | 456 |
89 | Mexico | Latin America | Low proficiency | 451 |
90 | Myanmar | Asia | Low proficiency | 450 |
Kyrgyzstan | Asia | Low proficiency | 450 | |
92 | Palestine | Middle East | Very low proficiency | 445 |
93 | Uzbekistan | Asia | Very low proficiency | 442 |
94 | Cameroon | Africa | Very low proficiency | 438 |
Senegal | Africa | Very low proficiency | 438 | |
96 | Jordan | Middle East | Very low proficiency | 431 |
97 | Sudan | Africa | Very low proficiency | 430 |
98 | Cambodia | Asia | Very low proficiency | 421 |
Haiti | Latin America | Very low proficiency | 421 | |
100 | Oman | Middle East | Very low proficiency | 418 |
101 | Angola | Africa | Very low proficiency | 416 |
Thailand | Asia | Very low proficiency | 416 | |
Benin | Africa | Very low proficiency | 416 | |
104 | Kazakhstan | Asia | Very low proficiency | 415 |
105 | Somalia | Africa | Very low proficiency | 411 |
106 | Iraq | Middle East | Very low proficiency | 410 |
107 | Côte d’Ivoire | Africa | Very low proficiency | 409 |
108 | Saudi Arabia | Middle East | Very low proficiency | 408 |
109 | Rwanda | Africa | Very low proficiency | 405 |
110 | Libya | Africa | Very low proficiency | 392 |
Yemen | Middle East | Very low proficiency | 392 | |
112 | Tajikistan | Asia | Very low proficiency | 388 |
113 | DR Congo | Africa | Very low proficiency | 385 |