By Richard Rogers / February 21, 2024 February 21, 2024
English is recognized as the official language in over 96 countries and is considered one of the crucial languages for communication as well as business correspondence around the globe.
But How Many People speak the English language? If you are wondering the same question, we have got the answers!
According to Statista, in 2023-2024, over 1.5 billion people worldwide speak English as their primary and secondary language.
To get insight into more of such interesting and amazing stats, read on further.
Key Findings: How Many People Speak English
Before getting into the details, below are some of the key findings that you can check out.
- There are around 1.5 billion people worldwide who speak English in 2023-24. (Statista)
- Over 20% of the world’s population speaks English.
- Around 360 million people speak English as their first language.
- English is the official language in 45 countries. It is partly spoken as a mother tongue in 21 other countries. (worlddata.info)
- The majority of native English speakers are residents of the United States.
- More than 30 million English speakers live in Canada.
- The United Kingdom is a country with 56 million native English speakers (According to Ethnologue)
- The English language learning market generated more than 2.75 billion dollars in the year 2021.
- English is one of the dominant languages on the web, and around 58% of the content available on the internet is in the English language.
- In Namibia, English is spoken by only 7% of the population, even though it is recognized as their official language.
- More than 50% of the scientific and technical periodicals are present in the English language.
- In South and Central America, there are around 14 million individuals who speak English.
- Several African countries consider English their second language, and a maximum number of them reside in Nigeria (111 million) and Cameroon (9.8 million).
- Asian countries have a minimum number of native English speakers. India is the leading Asian country with 265 million speakers.
- The Philippines comprises 50 million speakers, and Bangladesh includes 29 million speakers.
How Many People Speak English In Different Countries
- According to WorldData.info, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and South Africa are the countries with the maximum number of English Speakers.
To learn more, below are the different countries with the number of English speakers.
| Countries | Distribution | Total (In millions) |
| United States of America | 82.1 % | 273,629,000 |
| Pakistan | 46.0 | 108,479,000 |
| United Kingdom | 97.3 % | 65,163,000 |
| India | 3.2% | 45,625,000 |
| Nigeria | 15.0% | 32,781,000 |
| Canada | 58.7 % | 22,852,000 |
| Australia | 76.8 % | 19,952,000 |
| Ghana | 15.3 % | 5,023,000 |
| South Africa | 9.6 % | 5,750,000 |
| Ireland | 98.4 % | 5,006,000 |
| New Zealand | 72.6 % | 3,719,000 |
| Philippines | 2.2 % | 3,351,000 |
| Singapore | 29.8 % | 1,680,000 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 93.5 % | 1,432,000 |
| Chile | 5.2 % | 1,019,000 |
| Afghanistan | 2.0% | 823,000 |
| United Arab Emirates | 7.0 % | 661,000 |
| Panama | 13.4 % | 591,000 |
| Cameroon | 2.0 % | 558,000 |
| Malaysia | 1.6 % | 543,000 |
| Sierra Leone | 4.7 % | 404,000 |
| Zimbabwe | 2.2 % | 359,000 |
| Zambia | 1.7 % | 340,000 |
| Hong Kong | 3.5 % | 257,000 |
| Puerto Rico | 5.5 % | 177,000 |
| Liberia | 2.5 % | 133,000 |
| Japan | 0.1 % | 125,000 |
| Jersey | 94.5 % | 97,000 |
| Namibia | 3.4 % | 87,000 |
| Virgin Islands | 74.7 % | 79,000 |
| Guam | 43.6 % | 75,000 |
| Bermuda | 100.0 % | 64,000 |
| Cayman Islands | 90.6 % | 62,000 |
| Botswana | 2.1 % | 55,000 |
| Cyprus | 4.1 % | 51,000 |
| Saint Lucia | 20.0 % | 36,000 |
| Malta | 6.0 % | 31,000 |
| Gibraltar | 88.9 % | 29,000 |
| Norway | 0.5 % | 27,000 |
| Brunei | 4.3% | 19,000 |
| Denmark | 0.3 % | 18,000 |
| Guatemala | 0.1 % | 17,000 |
| Macao | 2.3 % | 16,000 |
| Belize | 3.9 % | 16,000 |
| Rwanda | 0.1 % | 14,000 |
| Burundi | 0.1 % | 13,000 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 4.9 % | 11,000 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 17.0 % | 8,000 |
| Vanuatu | 2.0 % | 6,000 |
| Sint Maarten | 12.0 % | 5,000 |
| Seychelles | 5.1 % | 5,000 |
| Saint Martin | 14.0 % | 4,000 |
| Curacao | 2.9 % | 4,000 |
| Cook Islands | 42.7 % | 3,000 |
| Falkland Islands | 89.0 % | 3,000 |
| Palau | 15.5 % | 3,000 |
| Principality of Monaco | 6.5 % | 2,000 |
| Samoa | 0.6 % | 1,000 |
| American Samoa | 2.9 % | 1,000 |
| Norfolk Island | 67.6 % | 1,000 |
| Caribbean Netherlands | 2.8 % | 700 |
| Niue | 24.0 % | 500 |
| Tokelau | 27.4 % | 500 |
| Nauru | 2.0 % | 300 |
Source: WorldData.info
Top 10 Countries With English As The Primary Language
According to World Population Review, below are the top 10 countries with English as the primary language.
| Sr.No | Countries | Number Of English Language Speakers |
| 1 | United States | 273,629,000 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 65,163,000 |
| 3 | Canada | 22,852,000 |
| 4 | Australia | 19,952,000 |
| 5 | Liberia | 133,000 |
| 6 | Ireland | 5,006,000 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 3,720,000 |
| 8 | Jamaica | 2,973,463 |
| 9 | Tobago and Trinidad | 1,432,000 |
| 10 | Guyana | 790,326 |
Source: World Population Review
English Language Learning Market Revenue
To get an insight into the revenue generated by the English language learning market from the year 2013 to 2021, then go through the below-provided data.
| Year | Revenue (Billion U.S. Dollars) |
| 2013 | 11.7 billion |
| 2014 | 12.94 billion |
| 2015 | 11.21 billion |
| 2016 | 9.33 billion |
| 2017 | 9.15 billion |
| 2018 | 8.99 billion |
| 2019 | 8.86 billion |
| 2020 | 3.33 billion |
| 2021 | 2.75 billion |
Source: Statista
- In the year 2013, 11.7 billion U.S. dollars was generated by the English language learning market. Whereas in the year 2020, due to the pandemic, the Country lost around 60 percent of its revenue.
English Language Proficiency In The United States Among Hispanics
The statistics below represent the English proficiency level among Hispanics.
| Sr.No | English Proficiency Level | Share Of Hispanic Population (In %) |
| 1 | English “very well” | 40.1% |
| 2 | English “well” | 12.1% |
| 3 | English “not well” | 10.1% |
| 4 | English “not at all” | 5.4% |
| 5 | Speak only English | 31.8% |
Source: Statista
- In the year 2022, it was reported that around 38.1% of Hispanics speak only English.
- The United States is the country with a maximum number of native English speakers, which is approximately 257 million.
Countries With A Maximum Number Of Non-Native English Speakers
- India is the country with the maximum number of non-native English speakers, which is around 257 million.
To learn more, below are the countries with a maximum of non-native English speakers for the year 2022.
| Countries | Non-Aative English Speakers |
| India | 254 million |
| Pakistan | 104 million |
| Nigeria | 60 million |
| Philippines | 52 million |
| United States | 49 million |
| Germany | 46.6 million |
| Egypt | 35 million |
| Uganda | 29 million |
| France | 26.2 million |
| Italy | 20.7 million |
Source: Ethnologue
Student Population Studying English As A Foreign Language
The following data represents the county-wise student population studying English as a Foreign language for the year 2021.
| Sr.No | Countries | Distribution Of Students (In Percentage ) |
| 1 | Canada | 22% |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 21% |
| 3 | United States | 16% |
| 4 | Australia | 14% |
| 5 | Ireland | 11% |
| 6 | Malta | 10% |
| 7 | New Zealand | 3% |
| 8 | South Africa | 3% |
Source: Statista
- In 2021, Canada comprised a maximum i.e., 22% of the students learning English as a foreign language. On the other hand, South Africa and New Zealand are the countries with a minimum, i.e., 3% of students learning the English language.
Other statistics you might want to read:
- How Many People Speak French
- How Many People In Germany Speak English
- How Many People Speak English in Japan
- How Many People Speak German
- How Many People Speak Spanish In The US
Conclusion: How Many People Speak English
English is an extremely popular choice due to the sheer number of individuals who speak it. Also, it is the most obvious choice for a second language in many nations around the globe.
It is demonstrated that the maximum number of people worldwide speak English, and the data changes every year.
I hope the article provided complete insight into how many people speak English. Let us know your thoughts on this article in the comments section below.
FAQs
How many people speak English?
According to research conducted by Statista, there were about 1.5 billion people who spoke English either as a native or second language worldwide in the year 2022.
How many citizens of the United States can speak English?
English is considered to be one of the most common languages spoken by approximately 239 million individuals in the United States.
What percentage of the world speaks the English Language?
More than 15% of the total population of the world speaks the English Language. Less than around 6% of the people speak it natively.
