Today, world population is approximately 6 billion people. Without attracting much attention, the most spoken language in the world belongs to the most populated country in the world: China. The following is a ranking of the most spoken languages.
1. Mandarin Chinese
With nearly 845 million native speakers and 23.6% of the world population, it is the language spoken in northern, central and southwestern China. It is the official language of China, Taiwan, Singapore and one the languages of the United Nations, among others.
2. Spanish
With nearly 358 million native speakers, this Romance language is spoken in 44 countries (either as an official language or as an immigrant language). It is among the official languages of the United Nations and various international political and economic organizations. And, in turn, it is the second most studied language in the world after English.
3. English
With nearly 322 million native speakers, English is the official language of 53 countries (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, among others) and various international political and economic organizations, eg UN, EU, NATO, OAS. Despite being the most international of all language, is not regulated by any body.
4. Hindi / Urdu
With over 200 million native speakers, Hindi and Urdu are one language from a morphological and phonological point of view. Hindi is one of the official languages of India, while the Urdu is the official language of Pakistan.
5. Portuguese
With nearly 200 million native speakers, Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Equatorial Guinea; countries that, along with others, form the Community of Portuguese-speaking countries.
