List of official languages by country and territory
This is a complete list of the official languages of countries and dependent territories of the world. 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: one 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: one designated as having official status limited to a specific area, administrative division, or territory of the state
- Minority language: one spoken by a minority population within the state and officially designated as such; typically afforded protection and designated an officially permissible language for legal and government business in a specific area or territory of the state
- National language: one that uniquely represents the national identity of a state, nation, and/or country and so designated by a country's government; some are technically minority languages. Some countries have more than one language with this status
List of countries/Regions
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Georgian | Abkhaz | ||||
| Albanian | Italian | ||||
| French | |||||
| Catalan | |||||
| Portuguese | |||||
| English | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| Armenian | Armenian | ||||
| Armenian | |||||
| English | |||||
| German | German | ||||
| Azerbaijani | Azerbaijani | ||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| English | |||||
| Arabic | |||||
| Bengali | Bengali | ||||
| English | |||||
| Dutch, French, German | |||||
| English | Spanish | Kriol | |||
| French | |||||
| Dzongkha | |||||
| Tswana | |||||
| Portuguese |
| Portuguese | |||
| Bulgarian | |||||
| French | |||||
| Kirundi | Swahili | ||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Khmer | |||||
| Portuguese | Cape Verdean Creole | ||||
| French | Sango | ||||
| Spanish | |||||
| Mandarin | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| French | |||||
| French | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| Croatian | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| English | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Danish | German | ||||
| English | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Arabic | Egyptian Language | Egyptian Arabic | |||
| Spanish | |||||
| Tigrinya | |||||
| Estonian | |||||
| Amharic | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Sami | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| French | |||||
| English | |||||
| Georgian | |||||
| German | |||||
| English | |||||
| Greek | |||||
| English | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| French | |||||
| Portuguese | |||||
| English | Guyanese Creole | ||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Spanish | |||||
| Traditional Chinese | |||||
| Hungarian | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Indonesian | |||||
| Persian | Persian | ||||
| Arabic | |||||
| Irish | |||||
| Hebrew | Arabic | ||||
| French | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| English | |||||
| Japanese | Japanese | ||||
| Arabic | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Kazakh, Russian | Kazakh | ||||
| English | Swahili | ||||
| English | Kiribati | ||||
| Korean | |||||
| Turkish | |||||
| Standard Arabic | |||||
| Kyrgyz, Russian | Kyrgyz | ||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Lao | |||||
| Latvian | |||||
| Arabic | |||||
| Sotho | |||||
| English | |||||
| Arabic | |||||
| German | |||||
| Lithuanian | |||||
| Luxembourgish | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Chinese | |||||
| Malagasy | |||||
| Chichewa | |||||
| Malay | |||||
| Dhivehi | |||||
| French | Tamazight | ||||
| English, Maltese | Maltese | ||||
| Italian | |||||
| English | Marshallese | ||||
| Arabic | French | ||||
| English | French | ||||
| Spanish | |||||
| Woleaian | |||||
| Romanian | |||||
| French | Monégasque | ||||
| Mongolian | |||||
| Bosnian | Montenegrin | Serbian | |||
| Portuguese | |||||
| Burmese | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| English | Afrikaans | ||||
| Nepali | all languages spoken as the mother tongue in Nepal | ||||
| Dutch | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| French | |||||
| English | |||||
| Turkish | |||||
| Northern Sami | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Arabic | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Urdu | |||||
| Arabic | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| Filipino | |||||
| Polish | Kashubian | ||||
| Portuguese | Mirandese | ||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Arabic | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Romanian | |||||
| Russian | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| English | |||||
| English | |||||
| English | |||||
| English | Samoan | ||||
| Italian | |||||
| Portuguese | |||||
| Arabic | |||||
| French | |||||
| Serbian | |||||
| English | |||||
| Malay | |||||
| Slovak | |||||
| Slovene | |||||
| English | |||||
| Arabic | Somali | ||||
| Georgian | Georgian | ||||
| English | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| Dutch | Sranan Tongo | ||||
| Swedish | |||||
| Arabic | Kurdish | ||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Mandarin | Mandarin | ||||
| Tajik | Tajik | Russian | |||
| English | Swahili | ||||
| Thai | |||||
| French | |||||
| English | Tongan | ||||
| English | |||||
| Arabic | Arabic | ||||
| Turkish | Kurdish | ||||
| Turkmen | Turkmen | Russian | |||
| English | Tuvaluan | ||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Ukrainian | |||||
| Arabic | |||||
| English | |||||
| English | |||||
| Spanish | |||||
| Uzbek | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Bislama | |||||
| Italian | |||||
| Vietnamese | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| Arabic | |||||
| Country | Official language | Regional language | Minority language | National language | Widely spoken |
| English | |||||
Ranking
This is a ranking of languages by number of sovereign countries in which they are de jure or de facto official.| Language | World | Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Countries |
| English | 59 | 24 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 12 | United States, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines, United Kingdom. ' |
| French | 29 | 21 | 2 | - | 5 | 1 | France, DRC, Canada, Madagascar. ' |
| Arabic | 26 | 13 | - | 13 | - | - | Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia. ' |
| Spanish | 21 | 1 | 19 | - | 1 | - | Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina. ' |
| Portuguese | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique, Angola. ' |
| German | 6 | - | - | - | 6 | - | Germany, Austria, Switzerland. ' |
| Serbo-Croatian | 4–5 | - | - | - | 4–5 | - | Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo |
| Italian | 4 | - | - | - | 4 | - | Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City |
| Malay based | 4 | - | - | 4 | - | - | Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei |
| Russian | 4 | - | - | 2 | 2 | - | Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan |
| Swahili | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, DRC, Rwanda |
| Chinese | 4-5 | - | - | 4-5 | - | - | China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Taiwan |
| Dutch | 3 | - | 1 | - | 2 | - | Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname |
| Hindustani | 3 | - | - | 2 | - | 1 | Fiji, India, Pakistan |
| Persian | 3 | - | - | 3 | - | - | Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan |
| Tamil | 3 | - | - | 3 | - | - | Sri Lanka, Singapore, India |
| Quechua | 3 | - | 3 | - | - | - | Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador |
Several languages are officially used in two countries, these are:
- Albanian Albania and Kosovo
- Aymara Peru and Bolivia
- Bengali Bangladesh and India
- Berber Algeria and Morocco
- Greek Greece and Cyprus
- Guarani Bolivia and Paraguay
- Hausa Niger and Nigeria
- Korean North Korea and South Korea
- Romanian Romania and Moldova
- Rwanda-Rundi Burundi and Rwanda
- Sotho South Africa and Lesotho
- Swati South Africa and Eswatini
- Swedish Sweden and Finland
- Tswana South Africa and Botswana
- Turkish Turkey and Cyprus