Compare Languages (2002) - Languages (2001)

Compare Languages (2002) with Languages (2001)

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	Languages (2002)	Languages (2001)
American Samoa	Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English note: most people are bilingual	Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English note: most people are bilingual
Andorra	Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese	Catalan (official), French, Castilian
Belarus	Belarusian, Russian, other	Byelorussian, Russian, other
Belgium	Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)	Dutch 58%, French 32%, German 10%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)
Central African Republic	French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages	French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili
Chad	French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects	French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects
Christmas Island	English (official), Chinese, Malay	English, Chinese, Malay
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Malay (Cocos dialect), English	English, Malay
Comoros	Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)	Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
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
East Timor	Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian, English note: there are a total of about 16 indigenous languages, of which Tetum, Galole, Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people	-
Estonia	Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, Finnish, other	Estonian (official), Russian, Ukrainian, English, Finnish, other
Gabon	French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi	French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi
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
Gibraltar	English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese	English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian
Guatemala	Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)	Spanish 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (more than 20 Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)
Iceland	Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken	Icelandic
India	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	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
Jamaica	English, patois English	English, Creole
Kazakhstan	Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)	Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 40%, Russian (official, used in everyday business) 66%
Kiribati	I-Kiribati, English (official)	English (official), I-Kiribati
Kyrgyzstan	Kyrgyz - official language, Russian - official language note: in December 2001, the Kyrgyzstani legislature made Russian an official language, equal in status to Kyrgyz	Kirghiz (Kyrgyz) - official language, Russian - official language note: in May 2000, the Kyrgyzstani legislature made Russian an official language, equal in status to Kirghiz
Latvia	Latvian (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other	Latvian or Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other
Marshall Islands	English (widely spoken as a second language, both English and Marshallese are official languages), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese	English (universally spoken and is the official language), two major Marshallese dialects from the Malayo-Polynesian family, Japanese
Mauritania	Hassaniya Arabic (official), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (official), French	Hasaniya Arabic (official), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (official), French
Mauritius	English (official), Creole, French (official), Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri	English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori
Micronesia, Federated States of	English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi	English (official and common language), Trukese, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Kosrean
Moldova	Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian (official), Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)	Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
New Zealand	English (official), Maori (official)	English (official), Maori
Nicaragua	Spanish (official) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast	Spanish (official) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Niue	Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English	Polynesian closely related to Tongan and Samoan, English
Northern Mariana Islands	English, Chamorro, Carolinian note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home	English, Chamorro, Carolinian note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home
Norway	Norwegian (official) note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities	Norwegian (official) note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Panama	Spanish (official), English 14% note: many Panamanians bilingual	Spanish (official), English 14% note: many Panamanians bilingual
Papua New Guinea	English spoken by 1%-2%, pidgin English widespread, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 715 indigenous languages	English spoken by 1%-2%, pidgin English widespread, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 715 indigenous languages
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, Ilocan, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	French (official)	French
Serbia and Montenegro	Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%	-
Solomon Islands	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	Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2% of population note: 120 indigenous languages
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
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
Sweden	Swedish note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities	Swedish note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities
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), 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
Tuvalu	Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)	Tuvaluan, English
Vanuatu	three official languages: English, French, pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama), plus more than 100 local languages	English (official), French (official), pidgin (known as Bislama or Bichelama)
World	Chinese, Mandarin 14.37%, Hindi 6.02%, English 5.61%, Spanish 5.59%, Bengali 3.4%, Portuguese 2.63%, Russian 2.75%, Japanese 2.06%, German, Standard 1.64%, Korean 1.28%, French 1.27% (2000 est.) note: percents are for "first language" speakers only	-
Yugoslavia	-	Serbian 95%, Albanian 5%