List of countries by English-speaking population
The following is a list of English-speaking population by country, including information on both native speakers and second-language speakers.
List
| Country | Eligible population | Total English speakers | Total English speakers | As first language | As first language | As an additional language | As an additional language | Comments |
| 296,603,003 | 283,160,411 | 95.46 | 234,171,556 | 79.0 | 48,988,855 | 16.5 | Figures are from the 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-year estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau for persons age 5 and older. Total English speakers are those who either spoke English at home, or reported speaking another language at home but could speak English "very well" or "well". | |
| 1,028,737,436 | 125,344,737 | 30 | 226,449 | 10 | 125,118,287 | 20 | 2001 Census figures for population and first, second, and third languages. English as a first language is only spoken by 226,449 people, as a second language by 86,125,221, and as a third language by 38,993,066. | |
| 188,400,100 | 108,036,049 | 7 | 8,642,883 | 1 | 92,316,049 | 6 | Official Language, lingua franca and spoken amongst a wide proportion of the Pakistani Population – 49% as a second language. | |
| 156,493,000 | 79,000,000 | 53.34 | 79,000,000 | 53.34 | Euromonitor International report | - | ||
| 100,437,852 | 64,025,890 | 63.73 | 36,935 | 0.0037 | 63,988,955 | 63.72 | Total population: Census 2010. Proportion of total speakers: Census 2000, . 63.71% of the then 66.7 million people aged 5 years or more could speak English. Proportion of native speakers: Census 1995, as quoted by Andrew Gonzalez in , Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 19, 487–525, p. 492: .04% of the then 68.4 million people were native speakers of English.. "Six out of 10 people aged 5 and over can speak english." | |
| 64,000,000 | 59,600,000 | 97.74 | 54,400,000 | 92.14 | 5,128,000 | 5.60 | Source: Data from the 2011 census for England and Wales. Additional English speaker figures are for usual residents aged 3 years and over with a main language other than English who can speak English "very well" or "well". | |
| 80,600,000 | 45,400,000 | 56 | 272,000 | 0.338 | 45,100,000 | 56 | Native speakers: Statistisches Bundesamt. Non-native speakers: Eurobarometer report 2012 Does not include foreign military personnel based in Germany. | |
| 37,138,500 | 29,748,265 | 80.10 | 19,460,850 | 52.40 | 10,287,415 | 28.69 | Source: . The 2016 count reported that 23,757,525 people were able to conduct a conversation in English but not French, while 6,216,065 were able to converse in both English and French. The census also asked for the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual: 52% or 19,460,850 reported English as their sole mother tongue, 165,320 reported both English and French as mother tongues, 533,265 reported English and a non-official language as mother tongues, and 33,900 reported English, French and a non-official language as mother tongues. | |
| 21,394,309 | 17,357,833 | 97 | 15,013,965 | 70.17 | 2,343,868 | 17 | Source: 2001 Census. The 2001 census data is subject to multiple interpretations. The data noted that 18,972,350 persons out of 21,394,309 total were speakers of a language, and excluded young children. However, more than a million of those 18,972,350 persons provided no information; 879,778 did not give information on proficiency, and 203,101 were "overseas visitors" who were not asked. Of the 17,889,671 persons for whom an inquiry was made 17,357,833 spoke English only, or "well" or "very well" as a second language; while 531,838 spoke "not well" or "not at all". | |
| 59,619,290 | 17,000,000 | 34 | 17,000,000 | 34 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 163,323,100 | 30,108,031 | 18 | 709,873 | 29,398,158 | Source: Euromonitor International report 2009, Euromonitor Dec 2010 | - | ||
| 83,289,500 | 28,101,325 | 28,101,325 | 35 | Source: Euromonitor International Report 2011 | - | |||
| 63,038,247 | 17,121,187 | 17,121,187 | 27.16 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| 16,770,000 | 15,250,000 | 90.9 | 15,250,000 | 90.9 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2016 | - | ||
| 29,890,686 | 10,700,866 | 35.8 | 20,000 | 0.067 | 876,720 | Source: Census. | - | |
| 52,981,991 | 16,424,417 | 4,930,510 | 9.3 | 11,493,907 | 22 | Native speakers from 2011 Census. Non-native speakers: Crystal, p. 109. | ||
| 38,501,000 | 14,300,000 | 37 | 100,000 | 14,200,000 | Source: Central Statistical Office, Additional language speakers are people age 18–69, who reported English Language as their first of second best foreign language, Central Statistical Office Native language counted as those who speak English at home. | - | ||
| 70,586,256 | 12,000,000 | 17 | 12,000,000 | 17 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2006 | - | ||
| 31,700,000 | 11,095,000 | 35 | 11,000,000 | Source: Euromonitor International report | - | - | ||
| 22,480,000 | 10,565,600 | 47 | 37,061 | 0.2 | 9,680,000 | 47 | English Proficiency Index | |
| 47,190,000 | 10,400,000 | 22 | 10,400,000 | 22 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 1,210,000,000 | 10,000,000 | <1 | 10,000,000 | <1 | Figures are for English users in mainland China only. The often-cited figure of 300 million is for "learners." | - | ||
| 205,000,000 | 10,542,000 | 5 | 292,000 | 0.14 | 10,250,000 | 5 | Source: British council and EF. Only 5% of Brazilians have a proficient grasp of English as a second or foreign additional language and an additional 6% have a very rudimentary knowledge. Brazil has 240 thousand British descendants and 180 thousand American ancestry citizens including the Confederados cultural sub-group, descendants of the Confederate colonies. | |
| 9,921,541 | 8,200,000 | 86 | 8,200,000 | 86 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 43,013,431 | 8,100,000 | 7,900,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | |||
| 19,740,000 | 7,500,000 | 38 | 7,500,000 | 38 | Euromonitor International Report | - | ||
| 27,170,000 | 15,580,000 | 380,000 | 1.4 | 15,200,000 | 61.1 | EF English Proficiency Index | ||
| 138,312,535 | 7,574,303 | 2,522 | 7,571,787 | Source: , Tables 4.5 and 4.1, Russian Census. The "total" figure is the number of residents who reported English as one of the languages they knew. The "first language" figure is the number of residents who reported "American" or "English" as their nationality. The "additional languages" figure is the difference. More than 9 million schoolgoers studied English as a foreign language in 2008–2009. | - | - | ||
| 10,584,534 | 6,250,000 | 60 | 6,250,000 | 60 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2006 Note that the Belgian population is divided in two distinct linguistic regions: The Dutch-speaking Flanders, and the French-speaking Wallonia. Like in the Netherlands, a high percentage of Flemish people speak English fluently, and in Wallonia, a lower percentage of people speak English, which brings down the total percentage. | - | ||
| 7,303,000 | 6,205,000 | 100,000 | 1.37 | 6,105,000 | Source: Ethnologue English is widely spoken, both by the Jewish majority and by minority ethnic groups. | - | ||
| 8,415,000 | 6,150,000 | 73 | 6,150,000 | 73 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 19,043,767 | 5,900,000 | 31 | 5,900,000 | 31 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 13,349,000 | 5,550,000 | 250,000 | 1.87 | 5,300,000 | Crystal, p. 109. | - | ||
| 10,787,690 | 5,500,000 | 51 | 5,500,000 | 51 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 5,866,000 | 4,900,000 | 500,000 | 8.52 | 4,400,000 | Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | ||
| 120,664,000 | 15,686,262 | 12.9 | 15,686,262 | 12.9 | Consulta Mitofsky-Tracking Poll Roy Campos: Las Lenguas Extranjeras en México, January 2013; and II Conteo de Población y Vivienda, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática. | - | ||
| 5,543,000 | 4,770,000 | 86 | 4,770,000 | 86 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 7,637,300 | 4,680,000 | 73,400 | 0.96 | 4,606,600 | Figure for speakers of English as "main language", according to Federal Statistical Office, Neuchâtel 2008 Source for number of non-native English speakers is 1999 publication by Prof. François Grin cited here: http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/countries/uk/language.html | - | ||
| 32,770,900 | 4,587,926 | 14 | 4,587,926 | 14 | Source: Euromonitor International report 2011 | - | ||
| 5,136,700 | 4,500,000 | 90 | 4,500,000 | 90 | Source: http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2014/03/norwegian-english-fusion-language/ | - | ||
| 40,044,238 | 7,207,962 | 18.0 | Source: EF English Proficiency Index | - | ||||
| 4,422,100 | 4,350,000 | 4,122,100 | 93.21 | 237,900 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2006; Central Statistics Office ; Travbla | - | ||
| 5,607,300 | 4,218,737 | 83.1 | 1,873,302 | 36.9 | 2,345,435 | Source: 2015 Census. Second language speaker figure only includes those literate in English aged 15 or more and does not include third language proficiency. | - | |
| 27,000,000 | 18,000,000 | 18,000,000 | 66.67 | Source: 2010 Ghanaian Census | - | |||
| 40,454,000 | 4,000,000 | 4,000,000 | 9.89 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| 4,275,100 | 3,673,623 | 3,673,623 | 85.93 | There were 4,027,947 responses to . 3,673,679 gave English as a response, 81,936 had no English but another language. The balance of 272,382 were; no language 75,195, no response 196,221, response unidentifiable 588, response outside scope 378. Hence it is most meaningful to express the English-speaking per cent without including the figures for these 272,382. This gives 97.8% English-speaking, 2.2% non-English-speaking Crystal, p. 109, gives figures of 3,700,000 native speakers and 150,000 second language speakers. | - | |||
| 5,410,000 | 3,800,000 | 70 | 3,800,000 | 70 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 10,623,000 | 2,900,000 | 27 | 2,900,000 | 27 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 6,331,000 | 3,150,000 | 150,000 | 2.37 | 3,000,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | ||
| 3,750,000 | 3,100,000 | 600,000 | 16 | 2,500,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | ||
| 6,598,000 | 2,969,370 | 45 | 2,969,370 | 45 | Source: Euromonitor International report | - | ||
| 2,714,000 | 2,650,000 | 45,900 | 17.1 | 50,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | ||
| 35,954,000 | 2,516,780 | 7 | 2,516,780 | 7 | Source: Euromonitor International report | - | ||
| 30,884,000 | 2,500,000 | 2,500,000 | 8.09 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| ' | 6,808,433 | 3,136,784 | 238,288 | 3.5 | 2,898,496 | According to 2011 population census, Hong Kong has approximately 3.1 million speakers, of whom 238,288 regard English as their "usual" language. | - | |
| 10,562,214 | 2,850,000 | 27 | 2,850,000 | 27 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 42,192,500 | 2,752,681 | 6.52 | Source:. Percentage of people who state to have a high level of English. Another 19.49% and 16.23% of people said they had an intermediate and low level, respectively, of English. | - | - | |||
| 24,800,000 | 2,232,000 | 9 | 2,232,000 | 9 | Source: Euromonitor International report 2011 | - | ||
| 4,555,000 | 2,200,000 | 49 | 2,200,000 | 49 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2006 | - | ||
| 47,661,368 | 2,012,950 | 75,600 | 1,937,350 | Total was estimated by multiplying projected population for 2014 by percentage of Colombian population that speaks English 4.09% then 63,600 was added to that figure which is the total of American and British residents. Figures for native speakers are as follows: 60,000 U.S. citizens that reside in Colombia 12,000 are Colombian Raizal from San Andrés and Isla de Providencia where they speak San Andrés–Providencia Creole 3,600 British expatriates | - | - | ||
| 9,982,000 | 2,000,000 | 20 | 2,000,000 | 20 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| ' | 3,991,000 | 1,940,000 | 100,000 | 1,840,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | |
| 11,922,000 | 1,910,000 | 110,000 | 1,800,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| 7,640,238 | 1,900,000 | 25 | 2,605 | 1,902,605 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 and 2011 Census | - | - | |
| 12,156,705 | 1,874,583 | 15.4 | 602 | 1,873,981 | Number of those who understand spoken English, from these 1.9 million: 311,435 can only read, 931,444 can read and write in English. The number of native speakers is the sum of Americans and Englishmen "by nationality". | - | - | |
| 4,265,600 | 1,706,000 | 40 | 1,706,000 | 40 | Source: Euromonitor International report | - | ||
| 16,634,603 | 1,585,027 | Source: 2012 Census. | - | - | ||||
| 10,137,400 | 1,520,610 | 1,520,610 | 15 | Source: Euromonitor International report 2009 | - | |||
| 5,397,036 | 1,400,000 | 26 | 1,400,000 | 26 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 1,305,000 | 1,145,000 | 87.74 | 1,145,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 2,050,000 | 1,210,000 | 59 | 1,210,000 | 59 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 3,053,800 | 1,160,000 | 38 | 1,160,000 | 38 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 2,070,371 | 950,000 | 46 | 950,000 | 46 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 751,000 | 680,000 | 650,000 | 30,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 1,639,833 | 630,000 | 630,000 | 38.42 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| 1,294,236 | 650,000 | 50 | 650,000 | 50 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 839,000 | 610,000 | 73 | 610,000 | 73 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 4,176,869 | 584,762 | 14 | ||||||
| 13,931,831 | 540,209 | 209 | 540,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109 and Kayambizinthu. | - | - | ||
| 1,795,000 | 500,000 | 500,000 | 27.86 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| 470,784 | 410,000 | 260,000 | 150,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 453,000 | 400,000 | 89 | 48,000 | 352,000 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | - | |
| 1,820,916 | 314,000 | 14,000 | 300,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| 509,000 | 290,000 | 56 | 290,000 | 56 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 330,549 | 288,000 | 260,000 | 28,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 279,000 | 275,000 | 262,000 | 13,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 301,270 | 246,000 | 190,000 | 56,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 23,042,300 | 4,147,614 | 18 | 4,147,614 | 18 | The main languages are French and Malagasy. | - | ||
| 4,910,526 | 400,415 | 8.2 | 400,415 | 8.2 | Source: Encuesta Nacional de Hogares 2017 http://www.inec.go.cr/sistema-de-consultas | - | ||
| 65,350,000 | 23,000,000 | 39 | 23,000,000 | 39 | Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 | - | ||
| 1,264,866 | 202,000 | 2,000 | 200,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| 215,446 | 180,000 | 60,000 | 120,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 853,445 | 176,000 | 6,000 | 170,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| 552,438 | 175,000 | 10,000 | 165,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| ' | 173,456 | 158,000 | 58,000 | 100,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | |
| 381,371 | 144,000 | 10,000 | 134,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| 120,000 | 114,000 | 114,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | |||
| ' | 108,448 | 113,000 | 98,000 | 15,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | |
| 110,000 | 100,000 | 100,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | |||
| 188,540 | 94,000 | 1,000 | 93,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| ' | 80,058 | 80,000 | 80,000 | - | - | |||
| 53,900,000 | 2,400,000 | 2,400,000 | 4.45 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| 165,000 | 71,000 | 31,000 | 40,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| ' | 84,000 | 70,000 | 5,000 | 65,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | |
| 85,000 | 68,000 | 66,000 | 2,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| ' | 57,345 | 45,933 | 1,791 | 44,142 | Source: | - | - | |
| 111,000 | 64,000 | 4,000 | 60,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| ' | 65,000 | 63,000 | 63,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| 67,000 | 63,000 | 3,000 | 60,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 59,000 | 58,000 | 500 | <1 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| 1,141,000 | 50,000 | 50,000 | 4.38 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| ' | 104,000 | 44,000 | 9,000 | 35,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | |
| 1,709,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 | 2.34 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | |||
| 50,000 | 39,000 | 39,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | |||
| ' | 47,000 | 36,000 | 36,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 87,000 | 33,000 | 3,000 | 30,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| ' | 28,875 | 28,875 | 28,000 | 875 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | |
| 100,000 | 30,000 | 30,000 | 30 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| 95,000 | 23,000 | 23,000 | 24.21 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | |||
| ' | 23,000 | 20,000 | 20,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| 20,000 | 18,500 | 500 | 18,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| 81,222 | 17,869 | 17,869 | 22 | Source . | - | |||
| ' | 13,000 | 12,000 | 12,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | ||
| 12,000 | 11,600 | 900 | 10,700 | English is spoken as the language of government and commerce. | - | |||
| ' | 20,200 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 3,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. | - | - | |
| ' | 5,900 | 4,000 | 4,000 | Source: Crystal, p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole. | - | - | ||
| TOTAL | 5,102,585,737 | 1,179,874,130 | 336,358,172 | 838,676,510''' |
- The European Union is a supranational union composed of 28 member states. The combined total English-speaking population is 256,876,220 including 65,478,252 native speakers and 191,397,968 non-native speakers, and would be ranked 2nd if it were included. English native speakers amount to 13% of the whole Union population, while the percentage of people that speak English "well enough in order to be able to have a conversation", either as first, second or third foreign language, was 38%.
- When taken from this list and added together, the total number of English speakers in the world adds up to around 1,200,000,000. Likewise, the total number of native English speakers adds up to around 350,000,000. This implies that there are approximately 850,000,000 people who speak English as an additional language.