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List of official languages by country and territory

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of official languages by country and territory. It includes all languages that have official language status either statewide or in a part of the state, or that have status as a national language, regional language, or minority language.

Definitions

Official language
A language designated as having a unique legal status in the state: typically, the language used in a nation's legislative bodies, and often, official government business.
Regional language
A language designated as having official status limited to a specific area, administrative division, or territory of the state. (On this page a regional language has parentheses next to it that contain a region, province, etc. where the language has regional status.)
National language
A language that uniquely represents the national identity of a state, nation, and/or country and is so designated by a country's government; some are technically minority languages. (On this page a national language is followed by parentheses that identify it as a national language status.) Some countries have more than one language with this status.

List

Summarize
Perspective
More information Country/Region, Number ofofficial(including de facto) ...
Country/Region Number of
official
(including
de facto)		 Official language(s) Regional language(s) Minority language(s) National language(s) Widely spoken
Abkhazia[a] 2 Georgian Abkhaz
Afghanistan[1] 2
Albania[2] 1 Albanian Italian
Algeria[3] 2 French
Andorra 1 Catalan[4]
Angola[5] 1 Portuguese
Antigua and Barbuda 1 None (English has de facto status)
Argentina 1 None (Spanish has de facto status)
Armenia 1 Armenian Armenian (state language)[8] Russian
Australia 1 None (English has de facto status)
Austria[9][10] 1

German

 German (state language)

English

Azerbaijan 1 Azerbaijani Azerbaijani (state language)[11] Russian
Bahamas 1 English
Bahrain 1 Arabic English
Bangladesh 1 Bengali Bengali
Barbados 1 English
Belarus 2 Belarusian
Belgium 3
  • Dutch
  • French
  • German

English

Belize 1 English Garifuna
Benin 1 French
Bhutan 1 Dzongkha
Bolivia[13] 37
  1. Castilian (Spanish)
  2. Aymara
  3. Araona
  4. Baure
  5. Bésiro (Chiquitano)
  6. Canichana
  7. Cavineña
  8. Cayubaba
  9. Chácobo
  10. Chimán
  11. Ese Ejja
  12. Guaraní
  13. Guarasu'we
  14. Guarayu
  15. Itonama
  16. Leco
  17. Machajuyai-Kallawaya
  18. Machineri
  19. Maropa
  20. Mojeño-Ignaciano
  21. Mojeño-Trinitario
  22. Moré
  23. Mosetén
  24. Movima
  25. Pacawara
  26. Puquina
  27. Quechua
  28. Sirionó
  29. Tacana
  30. Tapieté
  31. Toromona
  32. Uru-Chipaya
  33. Weenhayek
  34. Yaminawa
  35. Yuki
  36. Yuracaré
  37. Zamuco
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 None (Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian all have de facto status)[14]
Botswana 1 English Tswana
Brazil 1

Portuguese[15]

 Portuguese
Brunei 1 Malay
Bulgaria 1 Bulgarian
Burkina Faso 4 Working languages:
  • English
  • French
Burundi[42][43] 3 Kirundi Swahili
Cambodia 1 Khmer
Cameroon 2
  • English
  • French
Canada 2
  • Chipewyan
  • Cree
  • Gwich'in
  • Inuinnaqtun
  • Inuktitut
  • Inuvialuktun
  • Mi'kmaq
  • North Slavey
  • South Slavey
  • Tłı̨chǫ
Cape Verde 1 Portuguese Cape Verdean Creole
Central African Republic 2
Chad 2
  • Arabic
  • French
Chile 1 Spanish

Languages of ethnic groups are official in their territories[44]
China 1 Standard Chinese Other Sinitic languages
 Christmas Island 3
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands 2 Malay
Colombia 1 Spanish Languages of ethnic groups are official in their territories[45]
Comoros 3
Democratic Republic of the Congo 1 French
Republic of the Congo 1 French
 Cook Islands 2
Costa Rica 1 Spanish
Croatia 1 Croatian
  • Italian (Istria County)
  • Romani (non-territorial)
  • Slovene (non-territorial)

English

Cuba 1 Spanish
Cyprus 2 English
Czech Republic 2 Czech
Denmark 1 Danish German (in Southern Jutland) English
Djibouti 2
  • Arabic
  • French
Dominica 1 English
Dominican Republic 1 Spanish
East Timor 2
Ecuador[51] 1
  • Spanish
 Languages of ethnic groups are official in their territories
Egypt 1 Arabic Coptic Egyptian Arabic English
El Salvador 1 Spanish
Equatorial Guinea 3
  • French
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
Eritrea 1 Tigrinya
  • Arabic
  • Italian
Estonia 1 Estonian Russian
Eswatini 2
Ethiopia 5
Fiji 3
Finland 2 Sami (in Enontekiö, Inari, Sodankylä, Utsjoki)
  • Finnish
  • Swedish

English

France 1 French[52] Occitan language
Gabon 1 French
The Gambia 1 English
Georgia 1 Georgian Russian
Germany 1 German[53]
  • Danish
  • Lower Sorbian
  • North Frisian
  • Romani[54]
  • Upper Sorbian

English

Ghana 1 English
Greece 1 Greek
Grenada 1 English
Guatemala 1 Spanish
Guinea 1 French
Guinea-Bissau 1 Portuguese
Guyana 1 English Guyanese Creole
Haiti 2
Honduras 1 Spanish
Hong Kong 3
  • Cantonese
  • English
  • Mandarin
Hungary 1 Hungarian[55]
Iceland 2
India 2

22 official languages:[58]
Indonesia 1 Indonesian Indonesian
Iran 1 Persian Persian
Iraq 2
Ireland[60] 2 Irish
Israel 1 Hebrew Arabic English
  • Russian
  • English
Italy 1 Italian
  • Catalan (in Sardinia)
  • Slovene (in Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
  • Occitan (in Piedmont's Occitan valleys)
  • Albanian (in Sicily and Calabria)
  • Greek (in Calabria and Puglia)
 Other Italo-Dalmatian languages
Ivory Coast 1 French
Jamaica 1 English Jamaican Patois
Japan 1 None (Japanese has de facto status) Japanese
Jordan 1 Arabic
  • Circassian
  • Chechen
  • Armenian
Kazakhstan 2 Kazakh
Kenya 2 Swahili
Kiribati 2
North Korea 1 Korean
South Korea 2
Kosovo[a] 2
  • Albanian
  • Serbian
 Turkish
  • Albanian (nationwide)
  • Serbian (Northern Kosovo)
Kuwait 1 Arabic
Kyrgyzstan 2 Kyrgyz
Laos 1 Lao
Latvia 1 Latvian[61][62] Russian
Lebanon 1 Arabic Arabic Armenian
  • Arabic
  • English
  • French
  • Arabic
  • English
  • French
Lesotho 2 Sotho
Liberia 1 English
Libya 1 Arabic
Liechtenstein 1 German
Lithuania 1 Lithuanian
  • Polish
  • Russian
Luxembourg 3 Luxembourgish
  • English
  • Portuguese
Macau 2
  • Cantonese
  • Portuguese
Madagascar 2 Malagasy
Malawi 2
  • English
 Chichewa
Malaysia 1 Malay[f] Regional/State dialects Malay
Maldives 1 Dhivehi Dhivehi English
Mali 13
  1. Bambara
  2. Bobo
  3. Bozo
  4. Dogon
  5. Fula
  6. Hassaniya
  7. Kassonke
  8. Maninke
  9. Minyanka
  10. Senufo
  11. Songhay languages
  12. Soninke
  13. Tamasheq
 French
Malta 2 Maltese
Sovereign Military Order of Malta[a] 1 Italian
Marshall Islands 2
Mauritania 1 Arabic French
Mauritius 2 None (English has de jure status and French has de facto status) English
Mexico 1 None (Spanish has de facto status) 68 National languages
Federated States of Micronesia 1 English
Moldova 1 Romanian
Monaco[64] 1 French Monégasque
Mongolia 1 Mongolian
Montenegro 1 Montenegrin
Morocco 2
  • Arabic
  • Berber
 French
Mozambique 1 Portuguese
Myanmar (Burma) 1 Burmese English
Namibia[65] 1 English Afrikaans
Nauru 2
Nepal 1 Nepali[66] All languages spoken as the mother tongue in Nepal[67]
Netherlands 1 Dutch

English

New Zealand 3
Nicaragua 1 Spanish In Autonomous Regions:
Niger 1 Hausa
Nigeria 1 English
  • English
  • Hausa
 Niue 2
Norfolk Island 2
North Macedonia 2
Northern Cyprus[a] 1 Turkish
Norway 2

English

Oman 1 Arabic Shehri
Pakistan 2 Urdu
Palau 2
Palestine 1 Arabic
  • English
  • Hebrew
Panama 1 Spanish
Papua New Guinea 4
Paraguay 2
  • Spanish
  • Guaraní
Peru 1 Spanish Quechua, Aymara and another native languages are official wherever they predominate.
Philippines 2 Arabic[g] (optional language)
Spanish[g] (optional language)
(+ over 100 more minority languages)
Poland 1 Polish

English

Portugal 1 Portuguese Mirandese (Terra de Miranda)

English

Qatar 1 Arabic
Romania 1 Romanian
  • Armenian
  • German
  • Hungarian
  • Romani
  • Russian
  • Serbian
  • Slovak
  • Tatar
  • Turkish
  • Ukrainian
Russia 1 Russian (33 languages)
Rwanda 4
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic[a] 2
  • Arabic
  • Spanish
 Arabic
Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 English
Saint Lucia 1 English
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 English
Samoa 2
San Marino 1 Italian
São Tomé and Príncipe 1 Portuguese
Saudi Arabia 1 Arabic
  • Indian Languages
  • Filipino
  • Bengali
Senegal 1 French
Serbia 1 Serbian (15 languages)
Seychelles 3
Sierra Leone 1 English Krio
Singapore 4 Malay
Slovakia 1 Slovak
  • Bulgarian
  • Czech
  • German
  • Hungarian
  • Polish
  • Romani
  • Rusyn
  • Serbian
  • Ukrainian
Slovenia 1 Slovene
Solomon Islands 1
  • English
Somalia 2 Somali, Arabic
Somaliland[a] 3
  • Arabic
  • English
  • Somali
South Africa 11
  1. Afrikaans
  2. English
  3. Southern Ndebele
  4. Sotho
  5. Northern Sotho
  6. Swazi
  7. Tsonga
  8. Tswana
  9. Venda
  10. Xhosa
  11. Zulu
South Ossetia[a] 2 Georgian Georgian
South Sudan 1 English
Spain 1 Spanish
Sri Lanka 2

English

Sudan 2
  • Arabic
  • English
Suriname 1 Dutch Sranan Tongo
Sweden 1 Swedish English
Switzerland 4
Syria 1 Arabic Kurdish
  • Assyrian
  • Western Neo-Aramaic
  • Armenian
Taiwan 1 None (Mandarin Chinese has de facto status)
Tajikistan 1 Tajik Tajik Russian
Tanzania 2
  • Swahili
  • English
 Swahili
Thailand 1 Thai

Sixty-two 'domestic' languages are officially recognized

 Burmese
Togo 1 French
 Tokelau 2
Tonga 2
Transnistria[a] 3
  • Moldovan
  • Russian
  • Ukrainian
Trinidad and Tobago 1 English Trinidadian Creole
Tunisia 1 Arabic Arabic
Turkey 1 Turkish Kurdish Turkish
Turkmenistan 1 Turkmen Turkmen Russian
Tuvalu 2
  • Tuvaluan
  • English
Uganda 2
Ukraine 1 Ukrainian
United Arab Emirates 1 Arabic English
United Kingdom and Crown dependencies etc. 1 None (English has de facto status)
United States 1 None (English has de facto status) [i] (28 languages)

indigenous languages of recognized federal tribes
  • English
Uruguay 2
  • Spanish
  • Uruguayan Sign Language
Uzbekistan 1 Uzbek Russian
Vanuatu 3
Vatican City 2
  • Italian
  • Latin
 Swiss German
Venezuela 2
  • Spanish
 Native languages are official for indigenous peoples
Vietnam 1 Vietnamese Vietnamese
Yemen 1 Arabic
Zambia 1 English
Zimbabwe 16
  1. Chewa
  2. Chibarwe
  3. English
  4. Kalanga
  5. Khoisan[j][77]
  6. Nambya
  7. Ndau
  8. Ndebele
  9. Shangani
  10. Shona
  11. Sign language[k]
  12. Sotho
  13. Tonga
  14. Tswana
  15. Venda
  16. Xhosa
Close

List of languages by number of countries in which they are the official language

Summarize
Perspective

This is a ranking of languages by number of sovereign countries in which they are de jure or de facto official, although there are no precise inclusion criteria or definition of a language. An '*' (asterisk) indicates a country whose independence is disputed.

Partially recognized or de facto independent countries are denoted by an asterisk (*)

More information Language, World ...
Language World Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania Countries
English 58 23 14 4 3 14 United States, [l] United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, India, Nigeria (See the full list)[78]
French 26 18 2 – 5 1 France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Madagascar, Monaco, Haiti, Vanuatu (See the full list)
Arabic 23–26* 12–14* – 11–12* – – Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Palestine* (See the full list)
Spanish 20 1 18 – 1 Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico (See the full list)[79]
Portuguese 9 6 1 1 1 – Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, East Timor (See the full list)
German 6 – – – 6 – Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein (See the full list)
Russian 5–8* – – 3 2–5* – Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Abkhazia*, South Ossetia*, Transnistria*. (See the full list)
Swahili 5 5 – – – – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda
Serbo-Croatian 4–5* – – – 4–5* – Serbia (known as Serbian), Croatia (known as Croatian), Montenegro (known as Montenegrin), Bosnia and Herzegovina (known as Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian), Kosovo* (known as Serbian)
Italian 4 – – – 4 – Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City
Malay 4 – – 4 – – Malaysia (known as Malaysian), Indonesia (known as Indonesian), Singapore, Brunei
Dutch 3 – 1 – 2 – Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname
Persian 3 – – 3 – – Iran, Afghanistan (known as Dari), Tajikistan (known as Tajik)
Sotho 3 3 – – – – South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe
Tswana 3 3 – – – – Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Albanian 2–3* – – – 2–3* – Albania, Kosovo*, North Macedonia
Standard Chinese 2–3* – – 2–3* – – China, Singapore, Taiwan*
Romanian 2–3* – – – 2-3* – Romania, Moldova, Transnistria*
Somali 2–3* 2–3* – – – – Somalia, Ethiopia, and Somaliland*
Turkish 2–3* – – – 2–3* – Turkey, Northern Cyprus* and Cyprus
Aymara 2 – 2 – – – Bolivia and Peru
Berber 2 2 – – – – Algeria and Morocco
Chichewa 2 2 – – – – Malawi and Zimbabwe
Greek 2 – – – 2 – Greece and Cyprus
Guarani 2 – 2 – – – Paraguay and Bolivia
Urdu 2 – – 2 – – (Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh) India, Pakistan
Quechua 2 – 2 – – – Bolivia and Peru
Korean 2 – – 2 – – North Korea and South Korea
Kurdish 2 - - 2 - - Iraq and Armenia
Rwanda-Rundi 2 2 – – – – Burundi (known as Kirundi) & Rwanda (known as Kinyarwanda)
Swati 2 2 – – – – Eswatini (Swaziland) and South Africa
Swedish 2 – – – 2 – Sweden and Finland
Tamil 3 – – 3 – – Sri Lanka, India (in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) and Singapore
Tigrinya 2 2 – – – – Eritrea and Ethiopia
Venda 2 2 – – – – South Africa and Zimbabwe
Bengali 2 2 – – – – India (West Bengal, Tripura, Assam) and Bangladesh
Close

Notes

  1. Independence disputed.
  2. The third official language – in addition to Pashto and Dari – in areas where the majority speaks them
  3. Slovak language is defined as official language together with Czech language by several laws – e.g. law 500/2004, 337/1992. Source: http://portal.gov.cz. Cited: "Například Správní řád (zákon č. 500/2004 Sb.) stanovuje: "V řízení se jedná a písemnosti se vyhotovují v českém jazyce. Účastníci řízení mohou jednat a písemnosti mohou být předkládány i v jazyce slovenském..." (§16, odstavec 1). Zákon o správě daní a poplatků (337/1992 Sb.) "Úřední jazyk: Před správcem daně se jedná v jazyce českém nebo slovenském. Veškerá písemná podání se předkládají v češtině nebo slovenštině..." (§ 3, odstavec 1). http://portal.gov.cz
  4. Citizens belonging to minorities, which traditionally and on long-term basis live within the territory of the Czech Republic, enjoy the right to use their language in communication with authorities and in front of the courts of law (for the list of recognized minorities see National Minorities Policy of the Government of the Czech Republic). The article 25 of the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms ensures right of the national and ethnic minorities for education and communication with authorities in their own language. Act No. 500/2004 Coll. (The Administrative Rule) in its paragraph 16 (4) (Procedural Language) ensures, that a citizen of the Czech Republic, who belongs to a national or an ethnic minority, which traditionally and on long-term basis lives within the territory of the Czech Republic, have right to address an administrative agency and proceed before it in the language of the minority. In case that the administrative agency doesn't have an employee with knowledge of the language, the agency is bound to obtain a translator at the agency's own expense. According to Act No. 273/2001 (About The Rights of Members of Minorities) paragraph 9 (The right to use language of a national minority in dealing with authorities and in front of the courts of law) the same applies for the members of national minorities also in front of the courts of law.
  5. Official language for intercultural relations
  6. Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia designated Malay as the national language. Section 2 of that article allowed English to be used officially until otherwise provided by Parliament. In 1967, the Parliament of Malaysia passed the National Language Act, making Malay the official language of Malaysia. The act does, however, allow the use of English for some official purposes. On 11 July 1990, following the amendment of the National Language Act 1963/67 (Act 32) (Revised in 1971), Malay replaced English as the official language of the courts in West Malaysia. The amending Act provided English to be used in the Courts in West Malaysia where it deems necessary in the interest of Justice. East Malaysia continued using English as the official language in their courts.[63] Since 2007, the official policy is to refer to the national language as the Malaysian language (Bahasa Malaysia), although legislation still refers to the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu).
  7. As per the 1987 Constitution which states "Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis".[72]
  8. Not designated but meets legal definition
  9. In the United States of America, English is the language of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States and is the working language of the federal government. It was first declared the official language by Executive Order 14224 in 2025.[76] Some states - such as Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas - provide official documents in both Spanish and English. Attempts to designate English as the official language of the federal government of the United States by act of Congress have not succeeded. See also Languages of the United States.
  10. Refers to the Tjwao dialect
  11. See Zimbabwean sign languages
  12. In the United States of America, English is the language of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States and is the working language of the federal government. It was first declared the official language by Executive Order 14224 in 2025.[76] Some states - such as Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico, and Texas - provide official documents in both Spanish and English. Attempts to designate English as the official language of the federal government of the United States by act of Congress have not succeeded. See also Languages of the United States.

See also

References

External links

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