As per the recent research from Ethnologue, the most authoritative source on the languages of the world, 5 Indian languages namely, Hindi(3rd), Bengali (7th), Urdu (11th), Marathi (16th), and Telugu (18th), are among the top 20 most spoken languages worldwide in 2025. Hindi with 609.1 million speakers, emerged as the 3rd most widely spoken language globally and the most spoken language in India, in 2025.
- While, English is the most widely spoken language globally in 2025 as it is the local and second language of 1.53 billion individuals across 188 countries.
- It is followed by Chinese Mandarin (the official language of China), which is considered the world’s largest language when counting only native speakers, is the 2nd –most widely spoken language in the world in 2025, with total 1.18 billion speakers.
About Ethnologue:
i.For over the last 15 years, the Ethnologue has been publishing the list of the largest languages in the world, often cited by top-tier publications.
ii.More than 88% of people use one of these languages as their native language, and many hundreds of millions more use them as their second languages.
Key Findings:
i.The official language of Spain and 20 other countries i.e. Spanish, emerged as the 4th most spoken language globally in 2025, with 558.5 million speakers.
ii.While, Standard Arabic (ranked at 5th spot) with 334.8 million speakers, is among the top 5 most spoken languages worldwide in 2025.
iii.Other top 10 most spoken languages in the world (as of 2025): French (ranked at 6th spot with 311.9 million speakers); French(6th) with 311.9 million speakers ; Bengali with 284.3 million speakers; Portuguese (8th) 266.6 million speakers; Russian (9th) with 253.4 million speakers and Indonesian 252.4 million speakers.
List of Top 5 Most Spoken Languages Globally in 2025:
| Rank | Name of the Language | Total Number of Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | 1.53 Billion |
| 2 | Mandarin Chinese | 1.25 Billion |
| 3 | Hindi | 609.1 Million |
| 4 | Spanish | 558.5 Million |
| 5 | Standard Arabic | 334.8 Million |
List of Top 5 Most Spoken Indian Languages Globally in 2025:
| Rank | Name of the Language | Total Number of Speakers | Language Spoken in Different Indian States and country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Hindi | 609.1 Million | Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh (HP), Uttarakhand and Delhi |
| 7 | Bengali | 284.3 Million | West Bengal (WB), Tripura, Assam, and official language of Bangladesh |
| 11 | Urdu | 246 Million | Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Telangana, UP, Bihar, WB and Delhi |
| 16 | Marathi | 99.3 Million | Maharashtra and Goa |
| 18 | Telugu | 95.8 Million | Andhra Pradesh (AP), Telangana |
Note: As per Census of India data, India has about 453 living languages. Among these languages.
About Ethnologue:
Headquarters- Dallas, Texas, the United States of America (USA)
Established- 1951
