World’s most multilingual countries – ranked

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We take a look at the world’s most multilingual countries, from Papua New Guinea with over 800 languages to the one country with only a single language

As guardians of the world’s lingua franca, we English have little incentive for learning a second language. A few years of infrequent lessons from beleaguered GCSE teachers aren’t nearly enough to instil multilingualism on a personal level.

This is a shame because on a country level, the UK has a very healthy degree of multilingualism. There are 56 languages spoken across its lands meaning if we chose to, we could likely learn a new language from someone who speaks a different one.

Ethnologue, the premier authority on languages, has ranked the world’s most multilingual countries based on the number of living languages spoken within its borders.

World's most multilingual countries PNG
Kaijankoski; CC BY-SA 2.0 The world’s most multilingual countries are not necessarily crowded

It’s important to note that the ranking isn’t a measure of multilingualism on a personal level (i.e. the number of people who speak more than one language), rather the world’s most multilingual countries – a count of the number of languages used as a first language in the country.

Papua New Guinea takes the top spot with an overwhelming 839 languages. This diversity is largely explained by the country’s topography: deep valleys and unnavigable terrain separated hundreds of different clans for centuries, giving rise to distinct languages and customs.

The country has a relatively small population of seven million, which means it is incredibly likely that two randomly selected people will have different mother tongues.

Borobudur in Indonesia, the most multilingual country
Pambudi Yoga Perdana/Shutterstock Indonesia is the 2nd most multilingual country

Can you guess which country is the least multilingual? It has only one language within its borders and therefore zero chance that two randomly selected people will have different mother tongues.

NORTH KOREA – which is predictable once you know the answer. This Asian country is notoriously insular with vice-like controls on press, freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of association.

It’s not surprising that small countries and islands comprise the rest of the bottom five: British Indian Ocean Territory has one language while Vatican State, Tokelau and San Marino among others have only two. 

Interestingly, Cuba has only five languages, explained in part by the fact that it’s an island nation but perhaps also by its history of political isolation.

World’s most multilingual countries – ranked

The full ranking of the world’s most multilingual countries is below. ‘Total’ shows the overall number of languages spoken as a first language in the country. This total is then broken down into indigenous (ind.) and immigrant (imm.) languages.

RankCountryTotalInd.Imm.
1Papua New Guinea8398390
2Indonesia7077061
3Nigeria5265206
4India4544477
5United States422216206
6China3002973
7Mexico2892836
8Cameroon2812801
9Australia24521233
10Brazil22921613
11Democratic Rep. Congo2122102
12Philippines19318211
13Canada1748985
14Malaysia1461388
15Russian Federation14010535
16Chad1311310
17Tanzania1261251
18Nepal1251205
19Myanmar1171170
20Vanuatu1161106
21Viet Nam1111083
22Côte d’Ivoire988117
23Peru94931
24Laos91856
25Ethiopia89863
26Colombia87843
27Thailand867412
28Ghana85814
29Central African Republic827111
30Iran80764
31Pakistan77725
32Sudan76760
33Kenya72675
34Mali71665
35Solomon Islands71710
36Burkina Faso70700
37South Sudan68680
38Germany662739
39Congo65623
40France622339
41Benin56551
42United Kingdom561343
43Zambia55469
44Israel513516
45Venezuela50446
46Mozambique49436
47Senegal483810
48Turkey473512
49Togo46433
50Bangladesh45414
51Bolivia45432
52Kazakhstan441430
53South Africa442816
54Italy43358
55Uganda43412
56Gabon42420
57Ukraine422418
58Afghanistan41401
59Netherlands411526
60New Caledonia40382
61Guinea39372
62Uzbekistan39930
63Botswana382810
64Angola37370
65Azerbaijan371720
66Argentina362115
67Namibia36288
68United Arab Emirates34727
69Bhutan332310
70Kyrgyzstan33528
71Liberia32311
72Tajikistan321319
73Libya31922
74Singapore31247
75Belgium301020
76Paraguay29236
77Cambodia28235
78Georgia28199
79China–Taiwan27216
80Guinea-Bissau27225
81Iraq27234
82Sierra Leone27252
83Turkmenistan27423
84Guatemala26260
85Greece25169
86New Zealand25421
87Romania25232
88Ecuador24231
89Gambia241113
90Sweden241410
91Malawi23167
92Switzerland231211
93Zimbabwe23212
94Croatia22157
95Poland22175
96Spain22157
97Suriname22193
98Syria22166
99Algeria21183
100Austria211110
101Denmark21714
102Fiji211011
103Niger21210
104Egypt20128
105Eritrea20155
106Finland20128
107Madagascar20146
108Saudi Arabia20515
109Serbia20155
110East Timor19190
111Micronesia19181
112Oman19163
113Panama19145
114Bulgaria18117
115Czech Republic18108
116Hungary18153
117Japan18153
118Brunei17152
119Guyana17143
120Chile16106
121French Guiana16133
122Jordan16106
123Norway1697
124Moldova15105
125Equatorial Guinea14140
126Latvia1477
127Lithuania1486
128Mauritius1477
129Mongolia14122
130Morocco14140
131Somalia14131
132Yemen14104
133Belize1385
134Costa Rica13103
135Honduras13103
136Puerto Rico1349
137Qatar13310
138Slovakia13103
139Bahrain1248
140Uruguay12210
141Albania1183
142Armenia1174
143Belarus1129
144Estonia1156
145French Polynesia1192
146Macedonia11101
147Nicaragua11110
148Portugal11101
149Djibouti1055
150Slovenia1082
151Tunisia1064
152Guam927
153Lebanon963
154Mauritania972
155Nauru936
156Trinidad and Tobago981
157Bosnia and Herzegovina844
158China–Hong Kong871
159Dominican Republic844
160Palestine862
161Réunion835
162Jamaica743
163Kuwait734
164Montenegro743
165Sri Lanka770
166Swaziland752
167American Samoa624
168Comoros660
169Curacao651
170Cyprus642
171El Salvador642
172Ireland651
173Lesotho651
174Luxembourg633
175Northern Mariana Islands642
176São Tomé e Príncipe642
177Aruba541
178Caribbean Netherlands550
179China–Macao550
180Cook Islands550
181Cuba532
182Liechtenstein541
183Malta532
184Palau550
185Rwanda532
186Sint Maarten541
187Tonga532
188Andorra440
189Antigua and Barbuda422
190Bahamas422
191Burundi431
192Dominica431
193Grenada440
194Guadeloupe431
195Martinique431
196Mayotte431
197Monaco440
198Saint Vincent and the Grenadines431
199South Korea431
200U.S. Virgin Islands431
201Barbados330
202Cape Verde Islands321
203Cayman Islands312
204Gibraltar321
205Haiti330
206Iceland321
207Jersey321
208Kiribati321
209Niue321
210Saint Barthélemy330
211Saint Kitts and Nevis330
212Saint Lucia321
213Saint Martin330
214Saint Pierre and Miquelon321
215Seychelles330
216Turks and Caicos Islands321
217Tuvalu330
218Wallis and Futuna330
219Anguilla220
220Bermuda211
221British Virgin Islands220
222Greenland220
223Guernsey220
224Isle of Man220
225Maldives220
226Marshall Islands220
227Montserrat220
228Norfolk Island220
229Pitcairn220
230Samoa220
231San Marino220
232Tokelau220
233Vatican State220
234British Indian Ocean Territory110
235North Korea110

Source: Ethnologue


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