Which are the most widely spoken languages in the world?

There are around 500 million English mother tongue speakers. Add to that those who use English as a second language and it is estimated that as many as 1.4 billion people can communicate in English.

English is used as the official language in the following countries:
Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Eritrea, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Federated States of Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Ranking of the most widely spoken languages in the world

• 1. Chinese: 1,2 billion
• 2. English: 500 million
• 3. Spanish: 440 million
• 4. Hindi: 380 million
• 5. Russian: 300 million
• 6. Arabic: 250 million
• 7. Bengali: 200 million
• 8. Portuguese: 200 million
• 9. Indonesian: 150 million
• 10. Japanese: 130 million
• 11. German: 120 million