Languages (2001) | Languages (2005) | ||
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Afghanistan | Pashtu 35%, Afghan Persian (Dari) 50%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism | Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashtu (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism |
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Akrotiri | - | English, Greek |
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Albania | Albanian (Tosk is the official dialect), Greek | Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects |
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American Samoa | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2%
note: most people are bilingual (2000 census) |
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Andorra | Catalan (official), French, Castilian | Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese |
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Armenia | Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% | Armenian 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% (2001 census) |
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Australia | English, native languages | English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census) |
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Austria | German | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) |
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Bahamas, The | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
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Belarus | Byelorussian, Russian, other | Belarusian, Russian, other |
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Belgium | Dutch 58%, French 32%, German 10%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) | Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French) |
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Bosnia and Herzegovina | Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian | Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian |
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Botswana | English (official), Setswana | Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1% (official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census) |
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Bulgaria | Bulgarian, secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic breakdown | Bulgarian 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
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Canada | English 59.3% (official), French 23.2% (official), other 17.5% | English (official) 59.3%, French (official) 23.2%, other 17.5% |
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Central African Republic | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages |
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Chad | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects |
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Christmas Island | English, Chinese, Malay | English (official), Chinese, Malay |
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Cocos (Keeling) Islands | English, Malay | Malay (Cocos dialect), English |
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Comoros | Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) | Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) |
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Congo, Republic of the | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) | French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) |
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Costa Rica | Spanish (official), English spoken around Puerto Limon | Spanish (official), English |
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Croatia | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) | Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census) |
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Denmark | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
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Dhekelia | - | English, Greek |
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East Timor | - | Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English
note: there are about 16 indigenous languages; Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people |
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Eritrea | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
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Estonia | Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, other | Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census) |
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European Union | - | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed; Irish (Gaelic) will become the twenty-first language on 1 January 2007 |
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Finland | Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities | Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003) |
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French Polynesia | French (official), Tahitian (official) | French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census) |
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Gabon | French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi | French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
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Georgia | Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia |
Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7%
note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia |
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Gibraltar | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese |
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Guam | English, Chamorro, Japanese | English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages 3.5% (2000 census) |
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Guatemala | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (more than 20 Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) | Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca) |
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Hungary | Hungarian 98.2%, other 1.8% | Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census) |
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Iceland | Icelandic | Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken |
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India | English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication, Hindi the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people, Bengali (official), Telugu (official), Marathi (official), Tamil (official), Urdu (official), Gujarati (official), Malayalam (official), Kannada (official), Oriya (official), Punjabi (official), Assamese (official), Kashmiri (official), Sindhi (official), Sanskrit (official), Hindustani (a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India)
note: 24 languages each spoken by a million or more persons; numerous other languages and dialects, for the most part mutually unintelligible |
English enjoys associate status but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the national language and primary tongue of 30% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language |
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Ireland | English is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard | English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (official) (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard |
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Jamaica | English, Creole | English, patois English |
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Jersey | English (official), French (official), Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census) |
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Kazakhstan | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66% | Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.) |
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Kiribati | English (official), I-Kiribati | I-Kiribati, English (official) |
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Kyrgyzstan | Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian - official language
note: in May 2000, the Kyrgyzstani legislature made Russian an official language, equal in status to Kirghiz |
Kyrgyz (official), Russian (official) |
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Latvia | Latvian or Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other | Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census) |
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Lithuania | Lithuanian (official), Polish, Russian | Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census) |
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Macau | Portuguese, Chinese (Cantonese) | Cantonese 87.9%, Hokkien 4.4%, Mandarin 1.6%, other Chinese dialects 3.1%, other 3% (2001 census) |
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Macedonia | - | Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census) |
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Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of | Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3% | - |
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Malawi | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally | Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census) |
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Malaysia | Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai; note - in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest of which are Iban and Kadazan | Bahasa Melayu (official), English, Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note: in addition, in East Malaysia several indigenous languages are spoken, the largest are Iban and Kadazan |
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Marshall Islands | English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese | Marshallese 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
note: English widely spoken as a second language; both Marshallese and English are official languages |
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Mauritania | Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French | Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, French, Hassaniya, Wolof |
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Mauritius | English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori | Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4% (official), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census) |
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Micronesia, Federated States of | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean | English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi |
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Mozambique | Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects | Emakhuwa 26.1%, Xichangana 11.3%, Portuguese 8.8% (official; spoken by 27% of population as a second language), Elomwe 7.6%, Cisena 6.8%, Echuwabo 5.8%, other Mozambican languages 32%, other foreign languages 0.3%, unspecified 1.3% (1997 census) |
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Nepal | Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995) | Nepali 47.8%, Maithali 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi 2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5% (2001 census)
note: many in government and business also speak English |
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Netherlands | Dutch | Dutch (official), Frisian (official) |
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Netherlands Antilles | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish | Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) |
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New Zealand | English (official), Maori | English (official), Maori (official) |
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Nicaragua | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
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Niue | Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
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Northern Mariana Islands | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census) |
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Norway | Norwegian (official)
note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
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Palau | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsorolese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) | Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census) |
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Panama | Spanish (official), English 14%
note: many Panamanians bilingual |
Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual |
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Papua New Guinea | English spoken by 1%-2%, pidgin English widespread, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 715 indigenous languages |
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 715 indigenous languages - many unrelated |
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Peru | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages |
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Philippines | two official languages - Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English, eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocan, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense | two official languages - Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English; eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan |
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Poland | Polish | Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) |
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Portugal | Portuguese | Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used) |
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Romania | Romanian, Hungarian, German | Romanian (official), Hungarian, German |
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Russia | Russian, other | Russian, many minority languages |
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Saint Pierre and Miquelon | French | French (official) |
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Serbia and Montenegro | - | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% |
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Seychelles | English (official), French (official), Creole | Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census) |
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Singapore | Chinese (official), Malay (official and national), Tamil (official), English (official) | Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%, Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census) |
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Slovakia | Slovak (official), Hungarian | Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%, Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census) |
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Slovenia | Slovenian 91%, Serbo-Croatian 6%, other 3% | Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified 4.4% (2002 census) |
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Solomon Islands | Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca; English is official but spoken by only 1%-2% of the population
note: 120 indigenous languages |
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South Africa | 11 official languages, including Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu | IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census) |
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Spain | Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% | Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%; note - Castilian is the official language nationwide; the other languages are official regionally |
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Sri Lanka | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
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Sudan | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
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Svalbard | Russian, Norwegian | Norwegian, Russian |
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Sweden | Swedish
note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
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Switzerland | German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 19.2%, Italian (official) 7.6%, Romansch 0.6%, other 8.9% | German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%, Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census)
note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national languages, but only the first three are official languages |
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Tanzania | Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguju (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages |
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources, including Arabic and English, and it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages |
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Tuvalu | Tuvaluan, English | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
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Ukraine | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian | Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%; small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities |
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United States | English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority) | English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) |
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Vanuatu | English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) | local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%, unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census) |
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Virgin Islands | English (official), Spanish, Creole | English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%, French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census) |
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Wallis and Futuna | French, Wallisian (indigenous Polynesian language) | Wallisian 58.9% (indigenous Polynesian language), Futunian 30.1%, French 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census) |
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World | - | Chinese, Mandarin 13.69%, Spanish 5.05%, English 4.84%, Hindi 2.82%, Portuguese 2.77%, Bengali 2.68%, Russian 2.27%, Japanese 1.99%, German, Standard 1.49%, Chinese, Wu 1.21% (2004 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only |
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Yugoslavia | Serbian 95%, Albanian 5% | - |