Official Languages of the World

Tap a tab to see which countries use each language officially.

English — 58 countries

The most geographically spread official language. A legacy of the British Empire, spanning every continent.

Spanish — 20 countries

Most of Latin America + Spain + Equatorial Guinea (the only one in Africa). 2nd most native speakers worldwide.

French — 29 countries

Mostly in Africa due to French colonial history. Also official in Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Canada.

Arabic — 25 countries

A continuous belt from Mauritania (Atlantic) to Oman (Arabian Sea) — roughly 7,000 km.

Portuguese — 9 countries

Brazil alone has 210M+ people. The most spoken language in South America is Portuguese, not Spanish.

Russian — 4 countries

The world's largest country by area, yet Russian is official in only 4 states: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Fun Facts

• Equatorial Guinea is the only country where Spanish, French, AND Portuguese are all official
• Russian is widely spoken across former Soviet states, but has official status in only 4